FeaturesHistoryRoyal Weddings

Princess Margaret's poignant nod to her father on her wedding day

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12th February 2021
The gowns worn by royal bridesmaids can often be overlooked but the creations made for the attendants at Princess Margaret’s wedding in May 1960 had a very special meaning. For they were a link between the bride and her beloved father, who had died almost a decade before her marriage. Margaret had turned to Norman Hartnell for her wedding ensemble and entrusted him with creating perfect…
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History

Queen Victoria's wedding dress - a huge contrast to the deepest black of her mourning dresses we are used to seeing

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10th February 2021
Queen Victoria’s weddingdress is a powerful symbol of what she would refer to in her journal as the ‘happiest day of my life’.Most probably, it represents more than any other item of clothing or object, the Queen’s identity as a royal bride. Certainly, she chose to wear it again in 1847, when she was painted in her wedding attire by the fashionable portraitist Franz Xaver…
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Features

The Royal Central Valentine's Day Gift Guide

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10th February 2021
Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that tends to creep up on you by surprise, and with it being less than a week away – and our UK readers still on lockdown – you might be struggling for ideas. If you’ve got a royal enthusiast in your life, not to fear, because we’ve got plenty of royal gifts to bring some cheer this Valentine’s Day (and with the current…
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FeaturesHistoryThe Netherlands

Pseudonym Prince - the day a future King took part in an ice skating competition under a fake name

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9th February 2021
As the temperature drops below freezing in the Netherlands, talk inevitably turns to the Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour) which has not taken place for 24 years, but it remains known as “The Tour of Tours.” But did you know that a future King skated in the penultimate tour in 1986 under a pseudonym? King Willem-Alexander, then known as the Prince of Orange, was just 18 years old…
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