FeaturesHistory

‘Fat Mary’ - The last Princess of Cambridge

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9th May 2015
by Alexander Bassano, half-plate glass negative, circa 1888 It has been quite some time since the last Princess of Cambridge – 132 years to be exact. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge was born in 1833. She had earned the nickname of Fat Mary and is recorded as a “jolly old maid” in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Luckily for her, that was not her only nickname.
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Introducing the Town Crier Tony Appleton

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2nd May 2015
As the birth of the new Royal Princess was announced, the unofficial town crier of England, in full pomp and splendour, made an appearance on the steps of the Lindo Wing.On the steps he cried: “Oyez, Oyez! On this day the 2nd of May in the year 2015, we welcome with…
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Crown Jewels in the rough: Alternative royal films you MUST see!

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24th April 2015
‘William, Kate, and George: The New Royals’ gets its UK Premiere on True Entertainment this Sunday. The royals have always been figures of fascination for their subjects – from the intrigue of the early Game of Thrones-worthy battles for the crown, to today’s rather more friendly modern manifestations in which the public jostle for selfies with their favourites. The family has…
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Preview: The Last Days of Charles I

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23rd April 2015
The Last Days… is a new series on Channel 5 which looks at the final moments of the lives of a variety of notorious and infamous characters in history. Tonight’s episode looks particularly at the final days of Charles I, the King who faced Civil Wars, was overthrown by…
FeaturesHistory

Stories of the Stuarts: Queen Anne's 18 pregnancies

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22nd April 2015
Queen Anne quite frankly had a tremendous reign becoming the first monarch of a united single sovereign state, known as Great Britain in 1707 as well as showing her worth as a Queen Regnant in a male-dominated society. Though tragedy was never far away from the last of the Stuarts as not many people will be aware that Queen Anne became pregnant an astonishing 18 times, though not one of her…
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Mother of a dynasty: Louisa Jane, first Duchess of Abercorn

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31st March 2015
On 31 March 1905 an extraordinary woman died at Coates Castle in Sussex, aged 92. Although she had been widowed since 1885, Louisa Jane, the first Duchess of Abercorn, was not going to let advancing years and the loss of a husband interfere with the rest of her life. She may have outlived her close friend, Queen Victoria, by four years, but she was unlikely to be lonely. This is a version of a…
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