Royal menageries became homes for the
many animals that were given in previous centuries as political
presents from their respective countries and thereby entered a life
of exalted captivity, the nature of any zoo now being a
controversial one. The oldest baroque zoo was founded at the
Austrian imperial summer residence of Schönbrunn, in 1760, just as
there was a Royal Menagerie in the fabled…
Queen Victoria, who ruled from 1837 to
1901, laid out some very specific instructions for her funeral. Her
personal physician was with her in her final hours when she died on
the Isle of Wight. She was surrounded by her family, including
her son and successor King Edward…
Continuing our series, we are taking a
look at the life of Sofia Hellqvist before becoming Princess Sofia
of Sweden. The pristine lakes, forests, and mountains of Älvdalen,
Sweden look straight out of a Disney fairytale. It’s no wonder that
a future princess spent her…
It was a quiet country house, described
by several who knew it as ‘’little’’ and a ‘’pied a terre’, given
as a wedding present to a royal couple who were expected to linger
on the fringes of regal life. Yet on July 2nd 1903, it became the
birthplace of one of the most popular and celebrated monarchs of
the 20th century. For it was at Appleton House, on the Sandringham
Estate, that…
The official announcement that King
Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will make a
state visit to the UK this autumn is confirmation of a long-awaited
and hotly anticipated trip. The visit will run between October 23rd
and 24th and will see the Dutch royals…
The life of Diana, Princess of Wales was
never far removed from royalty even before she married into the
House of Windsor. A member of the influential Spencer family, she
counted King Edward III, King Henry VII and King Charles II among
her ancestors while she’d been named…
The imperial palace of Schönbrunn in the
western suburb of Hietzing on the outskirts of Vienna, was the
summer residence of the former Habsburg dynasty. It stuns with its
magnificence, but then this, of course, was part of its purpose and
is the power of its architecture. It has the glory of the monarch’s
glare. The palace, like the great country house in an imperial
form, was intended to…
The Duchess of Cornwall married The
Prince of Wales in 2005, officially making her a member of the
Royal Family. But who was she before she officially became a royal?
We continue our “before they were royal” series with our fourth
edition on the former Camilla Shand (and…
Diana, Princess of Wales was well-known
all over the world and not just for being a member of the Royal
Family. Her famous dresses and outfits gained the attention of many
people all over the world. Although she had to follow royal
etiquette, Diana also followed her own…
History’s royal Kates have taken part in
some of the best-known stories in Britain’s regal history but while
royal Katherines can be found in England as far back as the 13th
century, it’s a name that has gone in and out of favour as a regal
choice. A handful of kings and queens have used it for daughters
and, sadly, some of them their princesses’ lives end far too
early. This part of the…
