Queen Blanche II was born on 9 June 1424
as the daughter of John II of Aragon, King of Navarre, and his
wife, Queen Blanche I of Navarre. Blanche grew up in the Palace of
the Kings of Navarre of Olite with her family. Blanche was a member
of the House of Trastámara which was a dynasty of kings in Spain
that first governed in Castile beginning in 1369 before expanding
its rule into Aragon…
The ‘meeting’ between Marie Antoinette
and the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has a fabled quality, not
least because of the oft-repeated folklore that has grown around
it. From the point of view of posterity, it is a fascinating moment
to contemplate, when two legendary…
A chance listing on the Public Catalogue
Foundation Art UK, for an oil on canvas painting (35.8 x 30.7 cm)
said to be of Russia’s last Empress, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna,
when she was Princess Alix of Hesse (1872-1918) led me to
investigate this extraordinary artwork…
We’re caught in a flux, of sorts, as the
world begins to ease out of lockdowns and restrictions imposed by
the COVID-19 pandemic, but countries remain cautious about how to
proceed so as not to cause another spike in cases. As businesses
begin to reopen, one thing seems clear: summer tourism figures will
likely fall very short of past years’ numbers. Enter the European
royals who are…
Archduchess Mathilde of Austria was born
in 1849 as the daughter of Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen and his
wife, Princess Hildegard of Bavaria. She grew up in a wealthy and
charming home with a kind family. During the summer, the family
spent their time at the Weilburg…
One of the UK’s most famous royal
buildings is getting ready to welcome back visitors after
coronavirus pandemic restrictions began to lift. The Tower of
London will open its doors again to tourists as summer gets well
and truly under way. The Tower opens again on…
The birthstone of July, the ruby, has
been used as a symbol of royalty for centuries. Today we’re looking
at the history behind the most famous ruby tiara in the Danish
Royal Family’s collection: the Danish Ruby Parure. Now most closely
associated with Crown Princess Mary, who has worn the tiara
exclusively since her 2004 wedding, the Danish Ruby Parure has been
used by a long line of…
They were an unexpected king and queen
and their royal romance has weathered several storms but today King
Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium will mark their sixty first
wedding anniversary. The couple, who married on July 2nd 1959
in Brussels, now live quietly following…
On the 59th anniversary of Diana,
Princess of Wales’s birth, Royal Central takes a look back at the
life of a remarkable woman who would become known as the ‘People’s
Princess’. Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961 at Park
House within the…
Several European nations have had members
of their royal families with American backgrounds – many of whom
have created scandals. In the British Royal Family, King Edward
VIII chose to abdicate in 1936 to marry divorcée Wallis Simpson,
and in more recent years, the Duchess of Sussex has been in the
headlines in newspapers around the world after she and the Duke of
Sussex stepped back…
