In 1888, a year whose numbering Queen
Victoria thought odd (‘Never can it be written again!’), her
daughter, the Princess Royal and Crown Princess of Prussia, had
become German Empress, prompting the proud words from her mother:
‘My OWN dear Empress Victoria… may God bless her!’ (cit., Elizabeth
Longford, Queen Victoria, 551). After a reign of a mere ninety-nine
days, her husband Emperor…
Frederick II, accorded the epithet ‘the
Great’ already during his own lifetime, had in fact, a whole other
life after death, aside from his legacy. The great King’s legend
stalks the eighteenth century like a gigantic historic shadow, much
as the oversize silhouette of…
It’s the hashtag to have this summer and
now the royals are part of the craze, too. England is awash with
wildflowers as the sun reaches its height with everywhere from
motorway verges to public parks going for the natural look. And now
Kensington Palace has shared its…
This summer, Royal Central is taking a
look at who’s who in the lines of succession around the world. And
our latest instalment takes us to Spain. By law, the line of
succession there is limited to the descendants of King Juan Carlos
I, a rule that remained unchanged following his abdication in 2014
in favour of his only son, Felipe. The law there also means
brothers always outrank sisters.
After the First World War, several of
Europe’s monarchies fell, and among them were the German and
Austrian-Hungarian Empires. While many of the royalty in these
countries fled to other countries to live their lives in exile,
others chose to remain in their country of…
A fond tradition arose in the lifetime of
Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield, Queen Victoria’s two-time
Prime Minister, namely that of his receiving flowers, often
primroses from the Queen. To Disraeli, Queen Victoria was the
‘Faery’ – his endearing name for his…
Today we’re looking at the line of
succession to the Belgian throne. Current Monarch: King Philippe,
who succeeded his father, King Albert II, on 21 July 2013 after he
stepped down for health reasons. Photo: Laura Dekkers King Philippe
was considered by many to be the heir to his uncle, King Baudouin,
but after his death in 1991, Baudouin’s younger brother, Albert
succeeded to the…
Perched atop Castle Rock, the ancient
volcanic plug that towers above the city of Edinburgh, sits the
most besieged place in Britain. Edinburgh Castle has served as a
military fortress, royal residence, and prison of war, but today it
stakes its claim as the most-visited…
They have been home to generations of
royals who have carved their names in the history books and in
2019, their power to fascinate continues. A new survey has taken a
look at the most popular regal residences in Europe and those
belonging to the British royals take four of…
In a new series, we are taking a look at
the various lines of successions in the world’s monarchies. This
edition is looking at the ten people in the Swedish line of
succession. Current monarch: King Carl XVI Gustaf (b. 1946) who
came to the throne in 1973 after the death of his grandfather, King
Gustaf VI Adolf. PHOTO: BENGT NYMAN/CC BY-SA 4.0/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The King was born to…
