Whilst musical talent in the eighteenth
century was judged to be an appropriate feminine accomplishment,
Marie Antoinette’s personal relationship with music was a special
one, which reached far beyond mere natural inclination. Music
proved to be in many ways, perpetually present, like a main
character in her life story, giving parallel to key events or
lending them at least, poignant expression.
The site of Christchurch Greyfriars, is a
strange, haunting place, redolent of history. It is now a ruined,
public garden and a popular place for Londoners to take their
sandwiches for lunch. Long gone is the atmosphere of bells and
prayer from the Middle Ages; although in…
On trend, Arthur is suddenly the front
runner again for a baby prince as the final countdown to the
arrival of the third child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
gets well and truly under way. In the past few days this ancient
name has streaked ahead with the bookies and is now a firm
favourite. But while it might conjure up ideas of knights and
kings, the name hasn’t got quite as many royal…
Sayako Kuroda was born on 18 April 1969
as the first daughter and third child of the then Crown Prince
Akihito and then Crown Princess Michiko. Her grandfather, Emperor
Shōwa, named her Sayako and gave her the title of The Princess
Nori. From birth, she was also entitled to…
The country estate of Eastwell Park, in
the parish of Eastwell, near Boughton Lees, Ashford in Kent, is not
perhaps a name which immediately comes to mind when thinking of a
one-time royal residence. It was, however, the Kent home of Prince
Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and his family, when they were not at
their official London residence at Clarence House. The fact that
the sons of Queen Victoria…
When Sophie Rhys Jones married Prince
Edward on June 19th 1999 at St. George’s Chapel, she carried a
bouquet with more than a hint of the past about it. The couple who
starred in the last big Windsor wedding of the 20th century had
gone for something of a medieval…
You’ve probably seen the acronym CHOGM a
lot lately, or you’ve heard about a Commonwealth meeting that
begins today in London. What is CHOGM? And what’s the meeting?
CHOGM stands for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting,
which is a large meeting of all the nations in the Commonwealth
that takes place every two years. There are currently 53 nations in
the Commonwealth, and they touch…
