The Queen, upon the advice of her Prime
Minister, is to confer peerages on 36 individuals in a highly
controversial honours list. A number of dissolution peerages and
political peerages were revealed on Friday, with critics making
allegations of nepotism. Among those to be elevated to the House of
Lords are former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, MP of
50 years Ken Clarke, and…
The Austrian Prince Maximilian was born
in 1832 as the son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess
Sophie of Bavaria. He grew up in safe surroundings in Austria and
pursued a career in the Austrian Navy. Following his career, he
became a close friend of Emperor…
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…
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 would go on to become
what was probably the most brilliant horsewoman of
nineteenth-century Europe, was often stitched into…
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…
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 when, past the age
of thirty, she refused to be photographed – thereby establishing
her own enigma. Her reputation…
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…
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 death, as the Great Western
Railway conveyed the Queen’s body in the Royal Train from
Paddington to Windsor for her…
