Frederick II, King ‘in’ Prussia, upon whom was bestowed the celebrated sobriquet of ‘the Great’ in his lifetime, was in his own words ‘a philosopher and want[ed] to be buried as such…” This was eventually carried out in 1991, in accordance with his wishes – two hundred and five years after his death, on the terrace at his beloved palace of Sanssouci [‘free of care’]; at the…
The marriage of Harald and Sonja of Norway on August 29th 1968 was a groundbreaking royal wedding. But the bride chose some very traditional blooms for her bouquet while the church where she said ‘I do’ was decked with popular flowers and foliage.
As Sonja Haraldsen…
This month, King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. The then Crown Prince of Norway married Sonja Haraldsen on 29 August1968 at Oslo Cathedral. Their wedding, attended by royalty from around Europe, came five months after the…
Today marks 50 years since then Crown Prince Harald married Sonja Haraldsen, and she became Crown Princess of Norway. The day will be celebrated today with a service in the same church as the wedding took place 50 years ago. However, you could not have a proper royal wedding without a sensational cake. The Crown Prince Couple’s wedding cake was a gift from Oslo’s Baker Society, and it was…
In the last days of August 1968, the Royal Family made a sad and surprising announcement. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent’s health was ”giving rise to anxiety” following the diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour. There was sympathy for the duchess, a…
Queen Victoria kept her journals from the year 1832 up until around two weeks before her death in 1901. Her voluminous correspondence is well known; indeed, it was averaged by the author Giles St Aubyn that the Queen wrote up to some 2,500 words per day (Christopher Hibbert…
Autumn Phillips is the wife of Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne and eldest grandchild of HM Queen Elizabeth II. She was born Autumn Patricia Kelly on the 3rd May 1978 in Montreal, Canada and has a twin brother, Chris and elder brother, Kevin. She grew up in a Catholic home and went to church schools until she went to McGill University; whilst at university, she also appeared in the film…
‘Islay [a pet dog] is still plagued by him [Lord Melbourne] every evening—a thing which he much enjoys—and constantly begs for the spectacles. I forgot to tell you that Karl has given me a pretty little Rowley, who likewise lives in the house. The multitude of dogs is…
Caught forever in a moment of time, they are the tragic family whose terrible end in World War One still appals and fascinates today. The children of the last Tsar of Russia died alongside their parents in Yekaterinburg one hundred years ago this summer. And yet Olga…
Royal weddings bring all kinds of expectations and among them is one filled with sparkle and glitter. For we all assume a royal bride will arrive for her marriage wearing a tiara and when the wedding will result in them becoming a consort or consort in waiting, the expectation is even higher. However, some of the most high profile royal brides of recent times have decided to ditch the diadem…
