FeaturesHistory

How Queen Charlotte and Queen Victoria & Albert introduced the Christmas Tree to Britain

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9th December 2021
Prince Albert is generally credited with introducing the Christmas tree to Britain, but in fact, it was the work of his wife’s grandmother, Queen Charlotte. Like Prince Albert, Charlotte was born and raised in Germany, where the tradition of bringing a tree inside at Christmas time, decorated with lights and sweets, is believed to date back to the 16th century. As a child, Charlotte’s family…
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Features

The beloved bride who became Monaco's first princess

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8th December 2021
Ippolita Trivulzio holds the distinction of being the first woman to hold the title of Princess of Monaco. Ippolita Trivulzio was born in 1600 in Palazzo Trivulzio,Duchy of Milan (what is today Italy), as the only daughter and younger child of Carlo Emanuele Teodoro Trivulzio, Count of Melzo and CaterinaGonzaga. She had one older brother, Italian Cardinal Gian Giacomo Teodoro…
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Insight

OBITUARY: The Dowager Duchess of Grafton, the Queen's most senior Lady-in-Waiting, who has died aged 101

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5th December 2021
The Dowager Duchess of Grafton was born on 24thFebruary 1920 into an aristocratic family of Barons, financiers, and of the banking dynasty Smith’s Bank of Nottingham (founded in 1658 by Thomas Smith). Born Ann Fortune Smith, Her Grace married Hugh FitzRoy, the then Earl of Euston, on 12thOctober 1946 after meeting him at a ball on his family’s ancestral home of the Euston estate…
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History

What happened to China’s Qing dynasty?

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5th December 2021
Imperial China has a long and illustrious history. It is a civilisation that began with the Shang dynasty in 1250 BC and lasted until the Qing dynasty that fell in 1912. The last emperor to rule China was Puyi, whose regnal name was Xuantong Emperor. He came to the…
HistoryPrince & Princess of Wales

Duchess of Cambridge visits Fabergé Exhibition

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3rd December 2021
The Duchess of Cambridge has visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to see a new exhibition with royal ties. Catherine visited the V&A on Thursday morning to see Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution, which recently opened. The exhibition includes over 200 pieces, including three Imperial Easter eggs that have never been seen in the UK before. The Moscow Kremlin Egg, which…
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