King Henry VIII certainly took enough
mistresses in his day, but only one of the resulting children was
acknowledged: his beloved son, Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and
Somerset. He was born in June 1519, the son of Elizabeth “Bessie”
Blount and Henry VIII. Bessie Blount was a 17-year-old lady in
waiting to Catherine of Aragon, and she caught the eye of the king
whilst his wife was…
This summer, Royal Central is taking a
look at who is who in the lines of succession around the world.
Today we are looking at the line of succession to the Norwegian
throne. Compared to many monarchies, the Norwegian order of
succession is relatively short and counts only…
The Queen has been named as one of the
most admired people in the world in a new poll. The YouGov research
also shows that Elizabeth II makes the top twenty most respected
women in every country where the survey took place. The overall
poll lists the top twenty most admired…
Hair works like a symbolic thread
throughout a person’s life history. For Queen Victoria, this was no
exception. Indeed, for a royal personage, hair plays a massive part
in ceremonial display and formal dressing as well as private
ritual. The role of royal hairdresser is also one that enables
exceptional intimacy, thereby an indication of great privilege.
Today we can visit Queen Victoria’s…
Throughout history, many royals have died
in brutal and bizarre ways. Royals have been killed in attacks, by
illnesses and by accidents. In 1889, a tragic incident happened
that ended up with not one, but two dead royals. Still to this day,
the event has not been clarified…
Today we’re looking at the Luxembourgish
line of succession, which has seen some changes to its rules since
current Grand Duke Henri ascended to the throne. Luxembourg now
practices absolute primogeniture, which Grand Duke Henri
established in 2011 to apply to his heirs.
For Queen Victoria, the number fourteen
held a terrible power. This date, the ‘14th’, could seem to haunt
the Queen like the shadow of death. Much as she later tried to
reclaim it as a sacred date, she beheld it with an almost mystical
sense of dark fascination and dread. Her feelings for this day of
the month were well founded and can be traced back to the date of
the death of her beloved…
We’ve just had another royal silver
wedding anniversary although the couple involved is so discreet,
it’s perhaps not a surprise that it’s passed pretty much under the
radar. Lady Sarah Chatto, niece of the Queen, celebrated twenty
five years of marriage…
In Berlin, there is a missing queen. Her
burial place in the historic Hohenzollerngruft [Hohenzollern vault]
in Berlin Cathedral is disputed and may be lost. Elisabeth
Christine, Frederick II’s (‘the Great’) unloved queen was a victim
of historical banishment, in…
This summer, Royal Central is taking a
look at the lines of succession across Europe and this latest
installment looks at the first twenty with a claim on the British
throne. Elizabeth II has achieved much in her long reign and from a
dynastic point of view she has another success to celebrate. For
the line to the throne under the Queen is as about as secure as it
could be. In fact, so solid…
