The wooden dolls of the future Queen
Victoria have long been the subject of fascination. Perhaps this is
because we are fascinated by something so strongly associated with
the childhood of that Queen who to a large extent, still remains in
the historical imagination as either the monochrome royal widow or
the elderly Queen-Empress of the Golden and Diamond Jubilee.
Several of these dolls are…
Part of the Battle of Bosworth site to be built on by developers
26th September 2018
It’s where Richard of York gave battle in
vain, the place where English history changed forever. But now the
site of Battle of Bosworth is facing changes of its own after local
councillors gave the go ahead for a vehicle test track to be
constructed in the…
It’s a striking example of royal PR at
its most dramatic and most powerful, and it’s about to go on public
display in England for the first time. The artwork, a tapestry
showing St Paul ordering the burning of heretical books, was
commissioned by King Henry VIII in the…
We’re already too excited about the new
documentary about the Queen set to air on ITV this week and now
there’s even more reason to look forward to it. For we’ve just
found out that the Duchess of Sussex will be answering one of the
questions still being asked about her wedding outfit. In the
programme, Meghan reveals just how she gave a nod to the tradition
of brides wearing ‘something…
In the latest instalment of our autumn
series, looking at what led to the fall of various monarchies
throughout history, Royal Central looks at the end of the monarchy
in Portugal. On a chilly February day in 1908, the King of Portugal
and his family were making their way…
If there’s one thing Instagram loves just
as much as a picture of food, it’s a picture of royals so put the
two together, and wonderful things are bound to happen. The post on
the official Kensington Palace Insta account marking the launch of
the charity cookbook…
Who was Empress Dowager Cixi - one of the most powerful women in China's history?
17th September 2018
The Qing dynasty was the last imperial
dynasty to rule China, collapsing in 1912 amid rising social and
political instability. Ruling for almost three hundred years, the
Qing dynasty was one of the largest empires in the world, trebling
the amount of land under China’s control. After its fall,
modern-day China was established by Sun Yat-sen. While Sun Yat-sen
gets all of the credit for being…
Some of the earliest Christmas cards to
survive in the Royal Collection date from the first half of Queen
Victoria’s reign. These were handmade by Queen Victoria’s children
and are typical of the sentimental nineteenth century; although in
the case of the Queen’s…
In the Royal Photograph Collection at
Windsor is an album which offers a uniquely personal insight into
Queen Victoria’s view of what she wanted to treasure in family
terms and what deserved special mention in a documentary way. This
is the splendid burgundy leather-bound…
Across the Quadrangle at Windsor Castle
is a room, clearly visible, jutting out in a pentagon shape amongst
the jigsaw of the Clarence, Queen’s, Augusta, York, and Lancaster
Towers and King George IV Gate. Part of the private apartments, it
was merely called what it was: The Oak Room or Oak Dining Room. The
room is important. It was the room in which Queen Victoria
breakfasted on occasion…
