On a hot summer day in 1543, a young
widow married an ageing and much wed king in a ceremony that took
many by surprise. By the time Katherine Parr said ‘I do’ to Henry
VIII in the Queen’s Closet at Hampton Court Palace on July 12th
1543, his five previous unions and attitude towards marital harmony
were such that continental contenders to be consort of England were
all but running in the…
On a summer’s day in 1818, a young German
princess walked into one of the most famous hotels in London to
meet a man twice her age. Just a year earlier, Adelaide of
Saxe-Meiningen and her suitor, William, Duke of Clarence, would
never have considered chatting let alone…
As King Felipe VI took on the latest of
his visits around Spain to boost the country following the
coronavirus pandemic, he found himself in a wine cellar. Dressed
down for Friday and wearing a mask, Felipe stood in the shadows,
gazing at the cobwebs. No one would have…
Prince Louis de Valois, Duke of Orleans
was born 13 March 1372 as the second-born son of the French
monarch, King Charles V. Louis de Valois had a close relationship
with his older brother, who had become the King of France by the
age of twelve. Louis was intelligent and relatively well educated
and thrived in the shadow of his brother. In 1374, Louis was
betrothed to Catherine, heir…
A 64-hectare solar farm near the Battle
of Bosworth site has been rejected by local councillors after a
long and public discussion on the matter. Councillor Jonathan
Collet posted the news on his Twitter account, writing, “Absolutely
delighted that my motion to protect…
Lady Jane Grey, or Lady Jane Dudley, was
proclaimed Queen on this day in 1553. She has been commonly
referred to as The Nine Days Queen. She was the great-granddaughter
of Henry VII through his daughter Mary, Queen of France. From 10
July to the 19 July, she was the de facto…
The only ruby tiara in the Spanish Royal
Family’s collection is the Niarchos Ruby Bandeau and its
accompanying parure. [getty src=”108407442″ width=”425″
height=”594″ tld=”ca”] Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark
received a treasure trove of jewels on her wedding day in 1962. In
addition to the Prussian Tiara, a gift from her parents (King…
Historic Royal Palaces’ chief curator
Lucy Worsley continued her series of online talks this week with a
look back at Diana, Princess of Wales’s wardrobe and how she was an
“influencer” before social media ever existed. Eleri Lynn, curator
for the…
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia was the eldest
child of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Duchess Cecilie of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin. As such, he was the oldest grandchild of the
last Emperor of Germany, Wilhelm II. At his birth, he was second in
line to the German throne and was…
The ruby is the birthstone for July. It’s
been used in royal jewellery collections for centuries and it now
features in some of the most striking pieces in European vaults.
The Dutch royal gem collection has some famous examples of the
stone. Here are the Netherlands’ famous royal rubies. Ruby Peacock
Parure [getty src=”1064092030″ width=”484″…
