FeaturesPrincess Anne and Family

Anne: a year in the life of an ever-busy princess

As she turns 71 years old, The Princess Royal remains one of the busiest royals. In 2020, despite a global health crisis, the Princes attended 148 official engagements. A year prior in what one could consider “normal times,” the Princess carried out 506 official engagements. With restrictions easing and diaries filling up, things are starting to look like they once were. As the…
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British RoyalsFeatures

Welcome, August Brooksbank, to a rather unusual club

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that I have very, very little in common with royalty. I love writing about them but the ruling dynasties of the world, past and present, are a long way removed from my origins in the East End. However, as the eighth month of the year reaches its peak in 2021, I am reminded of a strange little bond I share with the current twelfth in line to the throne. For…
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FeaturesHistory

Royal Mistresses: Louise de Kérouaille

Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kéroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth was born 5 September 1649 and is the daughter of Guillaume de Penancoët, Seigneur de Kéroualle and Marie de Ploeuc de Timeur. Nobles in Brittany, France, the family name is derived from an heriess whom an ancester François de Penhoët married in 1330. [getty src=”51243695″ width=”482&#8243…
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FeaturesHistoryHistoryInterests

Diane de Poitiers - the older mistress as an unofficial adviser

There have been countless French royal mistresses throughout the centuries, but some are better known than others. Diane de Poitiers was brought back into the spotlight in teen drama Reign in 2013 but has largely been forgotten in favour of later mistresses. This sixteenth-century noblewoman was not only a loyal companion to the king but established in her own right.  Diane was born on 9…
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