“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral
this afternoon”. These are the shocking words that echoed through
the United Kingdom just a month ago. Despite her age and her health
concerns in recent times, the death of Queen Elizabeth II came as a
surprise to many and caused a country to think, again, about its
own image. Looking back at those days and the late Queen’s life,
it’s…
It’s been a month since the United
Kingdom heard the dreadful news – its Platinum Queen had died. It’s
quite challenging to write down the rollercoaster of emotions felt
in those early hours: shock, sadness and an enormous sense of grief
for the loss of someone…
For over seven hundred years, albeit with
a few interruptions, the House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco. A
constitutional monarchy, it is currently headed by Albert II,
Prince of Monaco. The succession in Monaco is male-preference
primogeniture. Although Albert II is the…
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a
small landlocked country between Switzerland and Austria. The
current Prince of Liechtenstein is Prince Hans-Adam II, who has
reigned since 13 November 1989. Liechtenstein is the only remaining
European monarchy to practice strict agnatic primogeniture,
meaning only males can inherit the throne. Prince Hans-Adam II is
the country’s head of state, though…
While the House of Bourbon, a branch of
which rules over Spain, has a vey ancient origin, the history of
the current Spanish Monarchy is very recent. Spain’s modern history
has been troubled to say the least, and the country is still trying
to recover from some…
The historic significance of the date rumoured for the Coronation of King Charles III
5th October 2022
It’s been reported that King Charles III
will be crowned on June 3 2023 in Westminster Abbey. Bloomberg News
has said the date has been fixed although no formal announcement
has been made and Buckingham Palace has made no comment. It had
already been widely…
A favourite gown owned by Crown Princess
Mary of Denmark is on loan to Australia’s Powerhouse Museum. The
dress will go on display next month for a special exhibition
honouring the life of late fashion designer Carla Zampattti. The
pale pink brocade dress was custom made for the Crown Princess in
2013 to be worn as part of a shoot at Amalienborg Palace for
Australian Women’s…
The Easter of 1956 was a nightmare for
the Spanish Royal Family. Maundy Thursday in 1956 was the day when
18-year-old Juan Carlos, later King Juan Carlos of Spain, shot and
killed his younger brother Alfonso de Borbon. Alfonso was the
youngest child of Don Juan Carlos de…
King Willem-Alexander will mark a decade
on the Dutch throne next year, the first king the Netherlands has
seen since 1890. Though the Dutch monarchy has largely been
female-dominant in the past century, the rules about who could
reign weren’t officially changed until the…
King Charles III is only a month into his
reign but the laws that governed his accession to the throne, and
the succession for the House of Windsor, date back centuries.
Today’s succession laws can be traced back to two documents: the
Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701. Through
these documents, the Stuart dynasty and the Hanoverian dynasty
cemented their rule, leading to…
