Women have always struggled with how the
world sees them in positions of power, and historian and author Dr
Helen Castor compared some of England’s early royal women to modern
politicians in an online lecture this week. Pointing out “the
precedent set by the Tudor queens in England was partial and
pragmatic,” Castor explained how women learned that they “could
rule, but…
Most British monarchs have something that
their reign is remembered for more than anything else, even if they
actually had little to do with it beyond offering their support.
Think of Queen Victoria and the Industrial Revolution, or George VI
and the Second World War. But…
A new biography recently released by
Elisabeth Basford focuses on Princess Mary – the aunt of Queen
Elizabeth II. Princess Mary – The First Modern Princess is a dive
into the life of Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood. I should
preface this by saying that…
Last week it was announced that Their
Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of
Cornwall would travel to Greece later this month and attend its
Bicentenary Independence Day celebrations. This will be
Charles’s third visit to a country where his royal ancestry goes
back three generations. The Prince of Wales’s great-grandfather,
King George I of Greece, was the…
On Sunday March 21st 2021, the Census
takes place in the UK. Every ten years, all households in the
country are required to fill in a form with details of everyone
living in that one unit to give a picture of the population and
help plan future services. The information is…
It was a royal wedding for the history
books, the marriage of a future king and a regal love match to
boot. On this day in 1929, Olav of Norway married Martha of Sweden
in Oslo. The couple’s romance had captured the public imagination
while their rather glamourous…
Princess Louise, the sixth child and
fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, holds an
interesting spot in history. She supported higher education for
women and feminist causes and was closely involved in the arts –
not at all common for a Victorian princess. In opposition to her
siblings, her mother wanted her to marry a British suitor rather
than a foreign one. Louise married the…
Aquamarines are the birthstone for March,
and the blue-tinted stone features in many royal jewel sets across
Europe. This month, Royal Central is taking a look at our favourite
royal aquamarines. My all-time favourite is the Swedish royal
Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara. The…
It’s two hours of TV that has dominated
debate for days and looks set to keep us all talking for much
longer. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah
Winfrey has made headlines around the world. The Royal Central team
looks at the questions left now…
It might be very much in the ‘just in
case’ corner but The Regency Act 1937 is a powerful document that
decides who controls the Crown if the Monarch is either unable to
carry out their duties or if the throne passes to a child. And the
Act that sets the stall out in the 21st century is rather different
from previous provisions. For until the early 20th century, it was
presumed that if…
