FeaturesInsight

A Very Dutch Christmas

In the Netherlands, Christmas is very much the same, but earlier in the month, they also celebrate on December 5 with Sinterklaas (the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas) bringing presents. There is a large public event when Sinterklaas arrives, which the Dutch Royal Family has taken part in . Arriving from Spain (no chilly North Pole weather for Sinterklaas!) on a steamboat with his white horse, the…
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FeaturesHistoryInsight

Looking at the birth of Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots was born on 8 December 1542, at Linlithgow Palace, incidentally the birthplace of her father, James V of Scotland, in West Lothian, some fifteen miles distance from Edinburgh. The palace’s name translates literally as the “loch in the damp hollow” and still overlooks a inland loch. Today it ismaintained by Historic Scotland and was the residence of…
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FeaturesHistoryInsight

Monarchy Rules: A Look At Stephen

King Stephen of England was born in Blois in France in either 1092 or 1096. It’s quite unusual that we do not have a birth date for a future King of England, but by the time of his birth, it was not expected that he would ever be king. His parents were Stephen-Henry…
Features

The Fifteen Princesses of Orange: Amalia of Solms-Braunfels

Amalia of Solms-Braunfels probably never expected she would make such a grand marriage, but she did when she went from lady in waiting to Princess consort of Orange. It seems like a fairytale. She was born the daughter of John Albert I, Count of Solms-Braunfels and Countess Agnes of Sayn-Wittgenstein on 31 August 1602. She grew up at the Palatine Court at Heidelberg and when Frederick V and…
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Opinion

Will Prince Harry fade from the headlines?

Growing up in the shadow of a future monarch must be hard. Firstly, while raised as a prince/princess, it is a job that you may never fully fulfil. The chances of one day being sovereign are very slim and society expects you to find a career path to match their expectations…
British RoyalsFeatures

The Last of the Saxons: Queen Margaret of Scotland

On Monday, 16 November, Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy will be attending a dinner in honour of Queen and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Queen and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Queen Margaret of Scotland was born as Margaret of Wessex circa 1045 in exile in Hungary to Edward the Exile and Agatha, who was of unknown origin. She was a granddaughter of the King of England, Edmund…
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