She was the woman who would change royal
history forever. Wallis Simpson’s romance with King Edward VIII led
to him deciding between love and duty. In the end, it was a choice
of love. The King Emperor abdicated the throne as he was unable to
marry the American divorcée in the Church of England at the time.
The throne passed to his brother, Albert, who became King George
VI. And Edward headed…
It was a royal wedding that made history
and brought the House of Windsor one of its most popular ever
members. In June 1961, the Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley.
The new Duchess of Kent would go on to be an instant hit and,
alongside her husband, spend decades…
If ever a wedding dress summed up its wearer, it was the gown worn by Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
4th June 2025
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…
The importance of a royal hat: new play highlights why Queen Elizabeth II's clothes mattered
4th June 2025
Author Daisy Goodwin’s new play, By Royal
Appointment, opens this week in Bath with a close look at a special
royal relationship. Goodwin’s stage play, By Royal
Appointment, is a new play exploring the close relationship between
Queen Elizabeth II and her friend and dresser, Angela Kelly.
Running at the Theatre Royal Bath from 5 to 14 June, the show looks
at possible moments between…
MY OPINION: Slimmed down monarchy has failed - its time for Beatrice and Eugenie to step up
3rd June 2025
Charlie Proctor offers his thoughts on
why The King’s well-intentioned vision for a slimmed down monarchy
hasn’t worked, and says it’s perhaps time for young blood, in the
form of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to step up. Rumours are
swirling in the royal world…
The steel of Sweden: the sparkling tiaras with a link to a tragic royal that were hidden for decades
3rd June 2025
The Swedish Royal Family has a knack for
jewellery, and that’s especially true of their steel tiaras. There
are two steel cut tiaras in their vault and both have a link to a
tragic royal. The Cut Steel Tiara dates back to Queen Hortense of
Holland’s time; she was the…
One of the most recognisable and iconic
moments in The Queen’s historic 70-year reign was her 1953
Coronation. It was the first televised Coronation and was watched
by 27 million people in the United Kingdom, with millions more
watching from around the world. Queen Elizabeth II ascended
the throne upon her father’s death on 6 February 1952. King George
VI had only reigned for fifteen…
A newly published book by royal
biographer Tom Quinn has revealed that a member of The Royal Family
received a reputation for being something of a firestarter. In his
book, Mr Quinn goes behind palace doors to reveal some of the
secrets of the servants and staff who…
For a woman who had such a profound
effect on a whole country, she is surprisingly enigmatic. Catherine
of Valois changed royal history forever but even now, centuries on,
the prevailing image of her is the one created by Shakespeare for
whom this French princess was a…
We all love a royal ‘what if’ and perhaps
one of the most intriguing of recent times revolves around the
question of the king who renounced his throne for love. On December
11th 1936 Edward VIII announced to the world that he was ending his
reign to marry the woman he loved, Wallis Simpson. His reign had
lasted just under 11 months, starting on January 20th 1936. But
what if Edward VIII…
