January 30th marks the anniversary of the
execution of King Charles I in 1649 at Whitehall, London. The
date is normally marked by a short ceremony in the Banqueting House
at Whitehall, however this year the ceremony will not take place
there due to the fact that the Banqueting House is the subject of a
major conservation programme. That bitter winter morning in
1649, the King was led at 10 a.m…
Are you eager to spend your Christmas as
if you were a member of the British Royal Family? Clear your
calendars, because you’re in for a busy week. Christmas with the
Queen begins the week before, with a pre-Christmas lunch at
Buckingham Palace for all members of the Royal…
The Spanish Christmas is kicked off in a
rather unusual way every year – with the Loteria de Navidad, or the
Christmas Lottery on December 22nd. School children announce the
winning numbers of what is the most popular lottery throughout the
year in Spain. Shortly…
With the question still looming over
whether The Duchess of Cornwall may be Queen, I have seen the
question proposed as to why divorcee Camilla may be Queen, but King
Edward VIII had to abdicate from the throne in order to marry
Wallis Simpson who was at divorced once and pursuing her second
divorce. First of all, the chances of Camilla becoming Queen are
slim as at the time of Prince Charles…
Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel is the ninth
Princess of Orange. She was born on 7 February 1688 as the daughter
of Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Maria Amalia of
Courland. Marie Louise was their 11th child. She was raised as a
protestant and she was noticed as a…
Next on our tour of Royal Christmas
festivities is Sweden. Like any good celebration, the Swedish Royal
Family keeps food in focus. With Queen Silvia’s birthday falling on
December 23 her needs and wants are always taken to heart. One of
her favourites is…
Continuing our series looking at how
royal families from across Europe celebrate Christmas, today we
will be looking at Norway and their festive traditions. In Norway,
Christmas time means family time, and that is no different for the
Norwegian royal family. King Harald, Queen Sonja and their two
children, Princess Märtha Louise and Crown Prince Haakon, always
enjoy the Christmas festivities.
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…
The 8th Princess of Orange was also a
British Princess and a namesake of the previous Princess. This Mary
Stuart was born on 30 April 1662 as the daughter of James II of
England and Anne Hyde. She grew up in the relative peace of
Richmond Palace with her sister Anne. She…
You may have heard of this Princess of
Orange before, as the 7th Princess of Orange was also an
English Princess. Mary was the daughter of Charles I and
Henrietta Maria of France and also the first bearer of the title,
‘Princess Royal’, which was created by Henrietta Maria who wished
to imitate the French ‘Madame Royale’ style. Mary was born
on 4 November 1631 at St. James’s Palace as…
