British RoyalsFeaturesHistoryThe Kents

Fifty years on: The death of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent

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 popular member of the House of Windsor for over three decades, and good wishes began to pour in. However, surprise turned to…
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FeaturesHistory

Queen Victoria's memoir

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…
FeaturesHistory

Queen Victoria's King Charles spaniel: Dash

‘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 really terrible!’ (ed. A. C. Benson & Viscount Esher, The Letters of Queen Victoria, Vol 1, 1837-1843, 204). So the…
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The children of the last Tsar of Russia

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…
FeaturesHistory

Five royal brides who didn't wear tiaras

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…
FeaturesNorway

Before they were royal: The life of Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has not always been Crown Princess of Norway. For many years of her life, she was just an ordinary Norwegian girl. The woman who was to become Norway’s Crown Princess, and in the future, Norway’s Queen was born as Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby. The regular girl came to this world on 19 August 1973 in Kristiansand, as the daughter of…
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Features

"The Royals" cancelled on E! after four seasons

If you were a fan of the campy alterna-monarchy of E!’s The Royals, alas, the show has been cancelled after four seasons. “E! will not be moving forward with another season of The Royals,” the network revealed in a statement provided to Deadline. “Over four seasons…
FeaturesSpain

Before they were royal: The life of Queen Letizia of Spain

Born Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano on 15 September 1972 in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain, the future royal was the eldest daughter of the journalist Jesús José Ortiz Álvarez and registered nurse and hospital union representative María de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez. Letizia has two younger sisters, Telma and the late Érika. Her compulsory education saw her attend the public La Gesta School in…
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