In a recent life of Queen Victoria, (A.
N. Wilson, Victoria: A Life, 2014) I stumbled across an
illustration of one of the famous group photographs taken behind
the Palais Edinburg in Coburg, showing Queen Victoria surrounded by
a whole host of contemporary royalty – mostly members of her own
family through blood or marriage, including five of her children
and numerous grandchildren –…
Aged sixteen, Princess Victoria made a
pencil sketch of herself. Knowing the vividness of the watercolours
that she made for her sketchbook and the skilled drawings she made
during this time of other important figures in her youth, it is
fascinating that she chose to apply…
Frogmore House, royal residence and regal
wedding venue of choice for the Windsors, is throwing open its
doors to visitors. The famous building at Windsor will be open for
three charity days at the end of May this year. The visits are part
of the annual charity garden open…
Eternally beautiful, eternally tragic,
the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Sisi, continues to fascinate,
over a hundred years after her death. And now the story of this
groundbreaking royal is to hit TV screens in a new production. The
new version will be an adaptation of the successful novels based on
the empress by Allison Pataki. ‘The Accidental Empress’ and ‘Sisi:
Empress on…
There are thousands of images of royalty
but some regal pictures stand out. They capture a moment in time
that has its own resonance and which lasts beyond the day on which
it was taken. In this occasional series, Royal Central takes a look
back at some of the best known…
Whilst researching for a forthcoming
academic article on Louisa Louis, the devoted dresser to Princess
Charlotte of Wales (1771-1838) who was deeply valued by Queen
Victoria, I encountered the name of Mrs Brock. She belongs to that
fascinating roll-call of characters that…
When Baby Sussex is born in a few weeks
time, he or she will be seventh in line to the British throne. They
are not the only royals to hold the lucky number seven position in
a line of succession. Let’s take a look at Baby Sussex’s
counterparts in their lines of succession. Belgium: Archduchess
Anna Astrid, 2 – Anna Astrid is the only child of Prince Amedeo and
Princess…
Now April is here we can say in all
confidence that the next royal wedding happens next month. And as
Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston make the final
preparations for their big day, set for May 18th at St. George’s
Chapel, Windsor, there’s plenty of…
If you think royal baby mania is a new
thing, think again. For centuries, the arrival of a regal bundle of
joy has got plenty of people talking. Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert kept the papers and the people happy for the best part of
two decades as they went about building…
It’s not yet been announced where the
Duchess of Sussex has chosen to have her first baby and it’s just
as likely that we won’t find out until after the new seventh in
line to the throne has made their debut. But that hasn’t stopped
one location, the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, yet
again becoming the focus of royal baby watchers everywhere. Whether
or not we all end up…
