On 21 September 1662, Samuel Pepys
entered the following words into his Restoration diary: “The Queen
coming by in her coach, going to her chappell at St. James’s (the
first time it hath been ready for her), I crowded after her, and I
got up to the room where her closet is; and there stood and saw the
fine altar, ornaments, and the fryers in their habits, and the
priests come in with their…
If ever a royal wedding dress summed up
its wearer, it was the gown chosen by Sophie Rhys-Jones for her
marriage to Prince Edward on 19 June 1999 at St George’s Chapel,
Windsor. Subtle, elegant and classic, this was the final Windsor
bridal dress of the 20th century and it…
If you were secretly hoping that the new
Lifetime movie – Harry and Meghan: A Royal Romance – would be good,
I’m sorry to burst your bubble. The Crown it is not. There’s always
an element of camp to Lifetime movies. The genre was basically
built for it, and A Royal…
Truth be told, I’ve always been Team
Doria. When we were all still wondering who would walk Meghan
Markle down the aisle at the Royal Wedding I was hoping that her
mum, Doria Ragland, would be included in the party making its way
through St. George’s Chapel…
With just days to go until the Royal
Wedding, we’re getting a feel for how Prince Harry and Meghan
Markle will mix modern and traditional for their marriage at St.
George’s Chapel, Windsor on May 19th. And there are plenty of royal
traditions for them to think…
The portrait by the Parisian painter
Jean-Marc Nattier of the 17-year-old Princess Isabella of Parma,
(1741-1763) – the best known that was made of her – seems in some
ways to symbolise her short life. Today it is kept in the vast
collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the city of
Isabella’s imperial marriage. The painting is stored in the Gallery
Depot and is not…
It is perhaps the most famous royal
wedding dress of them all. The gown worn by Lady Diana Spencer for
her marriage to Prince Charles, Prince of Wales on July 29th, 1981
at St Paul’s Cathedral has its special place in royal history.
Designed by David and Elizabeth…
It was filled with special symbolism for
the bride and groom and became a popular favourite,
too. The dress worn by the then Sarah Ferguson for her
marriage to Prince Andrew on July 23rd 1986 at Westminster Abbey is
still one of the most talked about royal weddings gowns…
It’s a formal moment in a ceremonial
event but amidst the ancient language and symbolic illustrations on
the Instrument of Consent for the marriage of Prince Harry and
Meghan Markle are some very personal links between them and the
Queen. For this document, revealed with just under a week to go
until the Royal Wedding, underlines the importance of the
Commonwealth to both the Monarch and the…
