Features

The Times apologises to the Duchess of Cambridge's hairdresser

The Times has issued an apology to the Duchess of Cambridge’s hairdresser after publishing an incorrect article in March. Richard Ward, who styled the Duchess of Cambridge’s hair on her wedding day, was accused of breaching Catherine’s confidence in a recent Relative Values magazine feature in the newspaper. The Times has since published a correction, saying that in actual…
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Features

Prince Gabriël of Belgium quits hockey

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde’s oldest son, Prince Gabriël has decided to quit hockey. The 16-year-old Prince of the Belgians is said to be very talented. It has, however, become impossible for the young man to combine his school work with his demanding…
Features

Royal Wet-nurses

With the birth of a new royal baby, I would like to explore the history of royal wet-nurses. Why were they once a perceived necessity? In historical terms, a wet-nurse would have been engaged for a royal baby and taken on as part of an official appointment. The wet-nurse might expect a pension or some kind of financial reward, and in some cases, her entire family could benefit. These…
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FeaturesHistory

Monarchy Rules: what happened to the House of Hanover?

Nine royal houses have ruled England since the Norman Conquest in 1066 and all of them have made their mark. But eight have seen their power pass elsewhere and this summer Royal Central is looking at what happened to those that have now faded into history. Today we look at a dynasty who arrived as outsiders and became the very fabric of British royalty. The House of Hanover Kings by accident…
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Features

The story of two royal photographs

At Hughenden, the Buckinghamshire manor and former home of Benjamin Disraeli, arguably Queen Victoria’s favourite Prime Minister, is a room with a poignant link to the family of the Queen’s second daughter, Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse. The story behind this…
Features

A monument to a royal child: Princess Elizabeth of Clarence

In the entrance hall of Frogmore House in Windsor Great Park is a sculpture of a royal child, remarkable in the sensitivity of its execution and the fineness of its detail. It may seem on first glance no more than a sentimental monument made to memorialise a beloved child and so immortalise its youth. The hands and feet of the nine children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were so…
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