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…
Royal Baby Name Focus: Arthur
18th April 2018
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…
Who is Sayako Kuroda, the former Princess Nori of Japan?
18th April 2018
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 style of Imperial
Highness. According to her mother, Sayako was born two weeks before
expected and was a genuinely…
Eastwell Park and royalty
17th April 2018
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…
Royal Wedding Flowers: the Countess of Wessex
16th April 2018
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…
What is the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting?
16th April 2018
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…
Historic Swedish royal wedding dresses
16th April 2018
Within the historical collections of the
Royal Armoury [Livrustkammeran] in Stockholm are preserved some
astonishing examples of Swedish royal wedding dresses. Some are in
the forms of fully preserved dresses, others sections from the
same, such as trains or loosely attachable pieces of the robe de
cour,such as the corset. Whilst many are within the collections but
mostly not exhibited for…

