This is one royal wedding bouquet you’re
not going to miss. When the Princess Royal’s only daughter, Zara,
married Mike Tindall in Edinburgh on July 30th 2011, her flowers
made a striking impression. For, unusually among royal brides, Zara
included a splash of colour among the blooms she carried. This
wasn’t just any old burst of brightness. The bride’s bouquet
included thistles, a…
The spectacular beauty of the Empress
Elisabeth of Austria (1837-1898) was a reputation which, once
created, had to be determinedly maintained. This was only achieved
through rigorous beauty and exercise regimes, which she adopted as
her personal discipline. The Empress, who…
King Olav II of Norway was born in 993 at
a royal farm in Ringerike, west of the present capital of Oslo.
Even though neither of his parents were a king or queen, Olav was
the great-great-grandchild of King Harald I, Norway’s first king.
Being a decedent of King Harald…
Queen Elizabeth II is NOT the Queen of England – is it so hard to get it right?
28th July 2020
I am a bit of a stickler for correct
usage of styles and titles. So it is a bit of a pet peeve of mine
when these are used improperly. The main one that bugs me is
calling Elizabeth II, Queen of England. That bothers me because
“Queen of England” is not her correct title! Her correct title,
simplified here, is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland. England has not…
Empress Elisabeth of Austria was one of
the most beautiful women of nineteenth-century Europe, yet this
beauty was the determined result of intensive labour, at
considerable cost. The cult of that beauty which astonished her
contemporaries became Elisabeth’s personal myth…
Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia
have continued their tour through Spain in Pamplona in an effort to
promote tourism. Their Majesties have been visiting different areas
of the country after the pandemic lockdown in Spain was lifted. The
King and Queen arrived…
Who was Augusta Caroline Sophia, Dowager
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld? Born a Princess of Reuss Ebersdorf
(1757-1831), she was Queen Victoria’s ‘dear Grandmother’. In 1872,
Queen Victoria wrote down a short memoir which survives at Windsor,
which was reprinted in the three volumes of Queen Victoria’s
published letters, edited by A. C. Benson and Lord Esher (1908). We
do not know…
Queen Victoria’s relationship with the
railway began on 13 June 1842, when she drove from Windsor to
Slough with Prince Albert, to make the historic first royal journey
by train to Paddington. This relationship would continue throughout
her life and endure, even beyond her…
European royals in the British line of succession: Norway's Royal Family
24th July 2020
The British Royal Family has a vast line
of succession with over 5000 monarchs in waiting, but the line also
has links to European monarchies. King George II, who was King from
1727 to 1760, has links to many of those who are now heads of
Europe’s royal families…
Mary, Queen of Scots is one of the most
tragic figures in royal history. She inherited her crown at only
six-days-old and spent her childhood and adolescence in France.
After the death of her first husband, King Francis II died in 1560,
she returned to a turbulent and uncertain Scotland. With two
questionable Scottish marriages, she attempted to flee after an
unsuccessful uprising. Soon…
