The royal order of the Norwegian Lion was
a Norwegian and Swedish royal order that was instituted by King
Oscar II on 21 January 1904. It had the King as the Grandmaster,
and the order consisted of only one degree, similar to the Order of
the Garter. The intention was that the Norwegian Lion should be a
“sovereign knight order” equivalent to the Swedish Seraphim Order
and the Danish Elephant…
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…
The Duchess of Cambridge is well-known
across the world for her iconic style, whether it’s a glamourous
dress on a red carpet or a cosy winter coat. I take a look back at
some of her most iconic style moments, from her stunning wedding
dress to the outfits she wore whilst…
Two of The Royal Family’s most senior
aides are leaving their jobs it has been announced. Director of
Royal Communications Sally Osman and The Queen’s Media
Secretary, Steve Kingstone, are leaving palace life for pastures
new. Ms Osman was appointed to the role of Communications Secretary
for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in 2013 after a
successful career in the media. Before…
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…
Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones was born on 20
January 1965 as the youngest child and only daughter
of Christopher Bournes Rhys-Jones and the late Mary O’Sullivan
at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. She has an elder brother,
David. One of her godparents was the late actor Thane…
She’s the future queen consort, a mother
of three – including a future king – and one of the most famous
women in the world. But back in 1982, the future Duchess of
Cambridge was just another baby in the nursery at Royal Berkshire
Hospital. Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born in Reading,
England, on 9 January 1982, the first child of Carole and Michael
Middleton. A baby sister, Philippa…
It was a quiet country affair, far
removed from the pomp and ceremony we’ve come to expect from royal
weddings. The setting was an English parish church, the regal guest
list only filled a couple of pews, and the bride walked in several
minutes late carrying her own train…
It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s
coming…the tapestry is coming home. The Bayeux Tapestry is heading
back to British shores, for the first time in almost 1000 years,
and you need to put 2022 in your diary right now if you want to see
this famous piece of…
‘The Royal Family in 1846’ by the
fashionable German painter, Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73) is
an extraordinarily important image. Queen Victoria regarded it as
the painter’s supreme achievement, although he painted the Queen on
other occasions, most notably in 1843, in the famous ‘intimate’
portrait, which was Prince Albert’s favourite of her, showing her
in a most private image…
