British RoyalsInsightRoyal WeddingsThe Edinburghs

The Countess of Wessex's nod to her wedding day on her 20th anniversary

As she celebrated her twentieth wedding anniversary with a day out at Royal Ascot with her husband, it appeared that the Countess of Wessex was paying her own tribute to her famous day as a royal bride. For Sophie was in white and black on her big anniversary, just as she was two decades ago when she said ‘I do’ at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. Embed from Getty Images As she…
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British RoyalsInsightKing Charles III

Camilla’s very personal patronage: the story of Elephant Family

“The dedicated efforts of Elephant Family are helping to highlight and resolve the issues faced by Asia’s vulnerable elephants. Not only are these magnificent animals trapped in a daily battle for food, water and space with an ever-expanding human population, but they also face the increasing threat of being killed for their skin to supply a growing illegal market. Elephant Family’s work…
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HistoryInsight

Queen Victoria's earliest memories

The earliest memories of a historical personage are extraordinarily important, as not only do they reveal first consciousness of their world and circumstances but crucially, what they remembered first. They tell snippets of true events, as they saw them. Of course, we know…
HistoryInsight

'Dear Mama': A little-known memorial to the Duchess of Kent

On 16 March 1861, Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, died at Frogmore House, the private residence in Windsor Great Park which she had often used, living there for approximately two decades. After her death, the summer house she had planned during her lifetime was converted into a mausoleum on two levels, built on a mound overlooking the lake. The lower level contains the burial…
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HistoryInsight

Was Queen Victoria a Victorian?

Was Queen Victoria a Victorian? The question is a complex and fascinating one to answer. In the immediate response, Victoria would seem to typify what it meant to be ‘Victorian’ because her long reign straddled the nineteenth century, and the age was accordingly named after her. It begs then the further question of what a Victorian was if Queen Victoria wasn’t one, as well as…
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