The Royal and Military Order of Saint
Ferdinand is a Spanish military order and Spain’s highest military
decoration for gallantry. The Royal Military Order of Saint
Ferdinand was set up by the Cádiz Cortes in 1811 to honour the
heroic fight against the Napoleonic army. The Cádiz Cortes was the
first national assembly to claim sovereignty in Spain. It
represented the abolition of the old…
It was a famous royal love story that
shocked as much as it thrilled. John of Gaunt was the
ultra-ambitious prince whose desire to be a king almost cost him
his life, Katherine Swynford was the mysterious commoner who
supplanted a queen in his affections. Their relationship…
‘Saw good Mrs Clark, returned from
Darmstadt, who gave me an excellent account of Alice, the Baby &
dear little Victoria’(Quoted in Charlotte Zeepvat, From Cradle to
Crown, 13). With these words, Queen Victoria recorded in her
journal for 13 December 1864, that…
The white caps worn by Queen Victoria
have – correctly – come to be regarded as a symbol for her
widowhood. They represent one of the few contrasts in colour to the
deepest mourning that she adopted after 1861, as a declaration in
textile, of the colossal emotional significance to her of the
Prince Consort’s death. White had, of course, been symbolic of her
wedding to Prince Albert…
Following the recent wedding of Princess
Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, we take a look at other princesses who
have married commoners. Here is the story of Princess Margaret and
her photographer husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones. Princess Margaret
was always one to do things her…
She had been an integral part of the
House of Windsor for almost seventy years; she was the oldest ever
member of the Royal Family, and she had lived an adventure packed
life that broke the regal mould in many ways. The death of Princess
Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, on…
One advantage of a monarch who reigns for
a substantial period is you can potentially see a long line of
succession stretching into the future. Prince Charles is heir
apparent; he has a son, the Duke of Cambridge who has three
children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. But
how far does the line of succession stretch, how long is a piece of
string? We must remember in the time…
Continuing our series on princesses who
married commoners, we are taking a look at Princess Madeleine of
Sweden and her American-British husband, Christopher O’Neill. After
fleeing to New York City after a broken heart and engagement,
Madeleine met her soulmate in the…
The wedding dress of the Duchess of
Sussex is now on display at Windsor Castle. The gown chosen by
Meghan for her marriage at St George’s Chapel at the castle is part
of an exhibition on the big day which also features uniform worn by
the Duke of Sussex. The bridesmaid and…
Details of the major restoration project
being carried out at the final resting place of Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert at Windsor have been revealed. It’s a rare chance to
see behind the scenes at the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore where the
queen and her beloved consort were laid to rest. The Royal
Mausoleum at Frogmore was built on swampy land (photo Royal Family
Instagram) The work is needed…
