Features

On May 7 1697, a fire broke out and destroyed much of the old royal palace in Stockholm. The castle Tre Kronor, or Three Crowns in English, is now only a footnote in history with the present royal palace of Stockholm built above the ruins of the old middle-aged castle that burned down over 320 years ago. But why exactly did the castle burn to ashes so mysteriously and suddenly? Tre Kronor…

You may think that all the Kings and Queens of Great Britain are buried somewhere in our sceptre isle, even if in the case of some efforts are still going on to work out exactly where. In fact, two of our Kings and one of their wives at buried at the Royal Abbey of Our Lady of Fontevraud, in Anjou, France. They are Henry II, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine and their son Richard I. For this was in…

The site of Christchurch Greyfriars, is a strange, haunting place, redolent of history. It is now a ruined, public garden and a popular place for Londoners to take their sandwiches for lunch. Long gone is the atmosphere of bells and prayer from the Middle Ages; although in an odd parallel to its previous use as a church, it manages to be a place of peace in the noise of the City and nearby Stock…

Elizabeth “Jane” Shore (née Lambert) was one of the many mistresses of King Edward IV of England. Jane would go on to become one of the most intelligent and beautiful women in the realm. Known as the witty mistress of the king, she would come to be known as a dangerous political conspirator against Richard III. [getty src=”51239545″ width=”475&#8243…