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…
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…
In 1874, Queen Victoria’s second son,
Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh got married. In great contrast,
however, to the weddings of his other siblings, he did not marry in
Great Britain, but instead, in Russia. The marriages of his
brothers all took place at St George’s…
Philippe of the Belgians was an unlikely
king. Although born second in line to the throne, he was never
expected to succeed. In fact, his whole royal life has been filled
with surprises. Yet since his accession, in July 2013, he has been
praised as a successful sovereign, a royal who has given his
dynasty strong foundations for the future. The man who would,
unexpectedly, be king was born on…
