FeaturesHistory

The Head of a Royal Angel: The Albert Memorial

The most important monument built to the memory of Prince Albert in London was the magnificent Gothic Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, designed by George Gilbert Scott, unveiled in 1872. Officially termed the Prince Consort National Memorial, its location is particularly appropriate, in what has been popularly termed ‘Albertopolis’.It lies within the cluster of the museums in…
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Who was King Carl XIV Johan?

This year it is 200 years since Carl XIV Johan became king of both Norway and Sweden. But who was he? King Carl Johan (1763-1818-1844), originally Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, was born in the south of France and became a soldier at 17-years-old. During the French Revolution, he…
DenmarkFeatures

Before they were royal: The life of Princess Marie of Denmark

In an interview for her 40th birthday in 2016, Princess Marie of Denmark said: “I had a great life – I didn’t need to be rescued by some Prince from Denmark.” Marie Agathe Odile Cavallier was born on 6 February 1976 in Paris, France. She is the only child of Alain Cavallier -a partner in an advertising agency – and Françoise Moreau – the owner of the Château de la Vernède in…
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FeaturesHistoryInsight

At Grillon's Hotel: an unlikely royal romance

On a summer’s day in 1818, a young German princess walked into one of the most famous hotels in London to meet a man twice her age. Just a year earlier, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen and her suitor, William, Duke of Clarence, would never have considered chatting let alone taking the step that would inevitably follow this brief exchange. But after a short time together, with chaperones, of…
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FeaturesHistory

Royal Wedding Dresses: Queen Mary

On July 6th 1893, London woke to a blazing hot morning after two days of rain. The streets were decked with flowers and large crowds were already settled on the pavements and lampposts as dawn broke. They had come for the royal wedding of George, Duke of York, second in line to the throne but what many really wanted to see was the bride. And Princess Mary of Teck was ready to step into the…
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