Sitting at my desk watching the trailer
for the upcoming season of The Crown for the first time last month,
my heart started to race as I broke out in goosebumps. From its
opening scene of Windsor Castle burning to Diana’s anguish and the
Queen’s despair, all set to a haunting rendition of The Verve’s
‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’, the show promises all the right
ingredients…
He created some of the most famous royal
looks of the 20th century and he’s still producing talked about
style picks. Sir Norman Hartnell was already a sought after wedding
dress designer when he was first commissioned to produce a bridal
outfit by the House of…
On November 6th 2003, the then heir to
the throne of Spain and his new fiancee met the press for the first
time. In the intervening years, the now Queen Letizia has made her
mark on the royal scene. And her name counts as one of the more
unusual among royalty. But the Queen…
It was a low key royal wedding, set
against a backdrop of family illness and impending drama. But the
marriage of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Montagu
Douglas Scott, on November 6th 1935, began a royal partnership that
would become a bedrock for the House of Windsor as it faced some of
its most challenging times. Prince Henry, third son of King George
V and Queen Mary, had…
Nine royal houses have ruled England
since the Norman Conquest in 1066 and all of them have made their
mark. But eight have seen their power pass elsewhere and this
summer Royal Central is looking at what happened to those that have
now faded into history. Today we look at a…
Remember remember the 5th of November,
gunpowder, treason and plot…” November 5th is still considered to
be one of the most important dates in British history. But why?
What are the royal links? And why do we still mark it today? On
April 13, 1570, Guido ‘Guy’…
James VI and I was crowned at just 13
months old and is best known for uniting the crowns of England and
Scotland, as well as authorising the King James Bible. The only
child of Mary, Queen of Scots, James was born on 19 June 1566 in
Edinburgh Castle. The young James’s father, Lord Darnley, was
murdered in February 1567 and that spring, Mary was imprisoned and
later forced to abdicate in…
When being a queen meant that you had
married a king, rather than being a ruler yourself, life stories
were told very differently. The queens of yesteryear might have
ended up as some of the best known personalities of their time but
the start of their stories were often as…
Queens and witchcraft aren’t words that
go together. In books and in films, witches are the wicked women
who stand in the way of pretty princesses as they search for a
happy ending. In the history of royalty, witchcraft was a tool to
use against women who might…
It’s become one of the cultural
highlights of autumn for millions around the world. The original
Oktoberfest in Munich might actually start in September but the
tenth month is now home to all kinds of carnivals inspired by the
German event. However, the royal story behind this big beer bonanza
remains one of the least known parts of its story. Munich usually
parties from late September to…
