Professor Stephen Hawking, who has died at the age of 76, was one of Britain’s greatest ever scientists but despite being given many honours, he declined a knighthood. However, that didn’t stop him developing an apparently relaxed relationship with the Queen. As the world pays tributes to one of its all-time great thinkers, let’s look back at the times royalty celebrated Professor…
Royal Wedding Flowers: Zara Tindall
10th March 2018
This is one royal wedding bouquet you’re not going to miss. When the Princess Royal’s only daughter, Zara, married Mike Tindall in Edinburgh on July 30th 2011, her flowers made a striking impression. For, unusually among royal brides, Zara included a splash of colour…
The first royal wedding at Windsor
10th March 2018
Windsor’s first royal wedding took place in the twelfth century. What do we know about this wedding and why exactly did it take place at Windsor Castle?
It was the second marriage of the third Norman King, Henry I (r. 1100-35). His thirty-five-year reign was one without…
Princess Margaret’s years as a single woman were followed with the most considerable interest in Britain, where there was a great deal of excitement over her choice of husband.
It was assumed in 1955 that she would marry Peter Townsend. However, Townsend was a divorcee at a time when the Church of England wouldn’t allow the remarriage of a divorcee with a living former spouse. Princess…
Royal Wedding Flowers: the Duchess of Cambridge
6th March 2018
All brides need a bouquet and a royal bride is no different. Flowers are as much a part of a wedding as the dress, the cake and the first kiss so as the countdown to the first Royal Wedding of 2018 hits its stride, Royal Central will be looking back at the bouquets…
Queen Victoria's wedding
3rd March 2018
“Oh! This was the happiest day of my life!”
With these words, Queen Victoria described her wedding day in her diary – 10 February 1840, writing up the event for the day’s entry from Windsor Castle. It marked the beginning of her marriage to her cousin, Prince Albert…
Why Charles and Camilla couldn’t wed at Windsor Castle
3rd March 2018
When the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall announced their engagement in February 2005 they wasted no time in setting a date or venue for their marriage. They immediately told the world they would marry in April that year in a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle followed by a service of blessing at St. George’s Chapel later the same day. Yet just a week later, they had to move their civil…
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been sharing more details of their marriage with just over two months to go until they say ‘I do’. The couple are promising a ‘moment of fun and joy’ so to get in that celebratory spirit, Royal Central rounds up everything we…
In the magnificent twelfth-century Gothic cathedral church of Roskilde on the island of Zealand, thirty-nine Kings and Queens of Denmark are buried. One Danish queen, however, is missing – and by no mere accident or fluke of history. Members of the Royal House of Denmark…
How important are the Royals to being British today?
1st March 2018
How important are the Royal Family to the idea of Britishness today? That’s one of the questions raised by a set of coins which go into circulation in the UK on March 1st 2018. The Royal Mint has launched a series of new ten pence pieces– 26 in all, created to form an A-Z of British life in the 21st century. They’re described as ‘Quintessentially British’ and two of the designs are…