Insight

Entertainment fit for a King or Queen: The Royal Variety Performance

Dating back to 1912, the Royal Variety Performance has seen an outstanding 87 spectacular shows. View image | gettyimages.com King George V and Queen Mary first agreed to attend a ‘Royal Command Performance’ which was to take place at the Palace Theatre in London. The performance supported the Variety Artistes’ Benevolent Fund (the previous name of the Entertainment…
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FeaturesHistory

The stories of Queen Victoria's granddaughters: Princess Irene of Hesse

It is fitting that this Hessian granddaughter of Queen Victoria was christened ‘Irene’ – a name meaning “peace” – an appropriate choice in more ways than one, as her character and the circumstances of her birth would prove. Perhaps the one of Princess Alice’s surviving daughters about which least is known, she was destined to outlive all her immediate family, dying in 1953. Princess…
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Insight

Highclere Castle: not just Downton Abbey

Highclere Castle, located in England’s southern county of Berkshire, is the seat of the Earl of Carnarvo,n and has been owned by the Herbert family since 1679. The history of the estate may be traced back some 1,300 years when owned by the Bishops of Winchester. George…
Insight

The Queen's Dressmaker: Angela Kelly

Part of the job of being royal is dressing the part and Queen Elizabeth II has never disappointed when it comes to choosing the right thing to wear. Whether she is entertaining guests at a glittering state banquet or performing a royal walkabout, Her Majesty The Queen always looks very elegant and beautiful. Much of this is due to her lovely dresses that never fail to entrance and enchant but…
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