The 11th Duke of Marlborough, who
recently died on October 16th, left a widow, Lily. Now the Dowager
Duchess, over thirty years the Duke’s junior, she married him in
2008 and became his fourth wife and second duchess. It was she who
was instrumental in reconciling the Duke with his son, Jamie, now
the 12th Duke – for historically it seems that relationships have
rarely run smoothly in this…
On ceremonial occasions, the Lord Great
Chamberlain wears a gold key of his office which hangs from his
waist, a scarlet court uniform and carries a white stave as the
insignia of his office. The Lord Great Chamberlain has authority,
entrusted by the Queen, for certain areas…
They are chosen by The Queen on the
recommendation of the Prime Minister and may be peers or commoners.
Lord Lieutenants were at first selected as part of the
restructuring of local Government during King Henry VIII’s reign.
The plan was for those chosen to take over the…
Today the Master of the Horse is mainly a
ceremonial office and seldom is seen apart from on state occasions,
and particularly when the Sovereign is mounted. Such events as the
State Opening of Parliament and Trooping the Colour will see the
Master of the Horse in attendance. The Crown Equerry has the
day-to-day administration of the Royal Mews, which affords
transport for the Sovereign, either by…
Coins convey a message to citizens, and
have a symbolic meaning that has consistently been used over the
past millennium. The Royal Mint is the largest exporter of coins in
the world, and ship to approximately fifty countries each year.
During the 1800s The Royal Mint began…
Upon the death of the Sovereign, he is in
charge of organising the funeral as well as the accession and
coronation of the new monarch. The Earl Marshal is a senior figure,
which takes precedence after the Lord Great Chamberlain before all
peers of his own degree other than…
Our journey of influential queen mothers
continues with Cecily Neville, the mother of two King’s of
England. Cecily was born in 1415 with royal lineage that linked her
to John of Gaunt, King Henry IV and Edward III of England. By the
age of nine she was betrothed to Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of
York, whom she married five years later. Cecily’s journey to
motherhood began in 1439 when she…
King William II and King Henry I When
William the Conqueror died in 1087, his eldest son Robert was made
the Duke of Normandy, leaving the throne of England for his
next surviving son, William Rufus, who ruled as King William
II. But less than 15 years later, William II…
A Painting Fit For The Queen: Royal Central talks to Michael Hanrahan
6th October 2014
Michael Hanrahan, who lives in Lahinch
and has a studio and gallery in Ennistymon, is the
only living Irish artist with work in the Royal Collection.
His claim to fame came after being given media accreditation to
access the historical Irish State Visits; firstly of Her…
Margaret Rose was born in 1930,
four years after her sister, Princess Elizabeth, at Glamis
Castle in Scotland, which was her mother's ancestral home. At
the time of her birth, George V was the reigning monarch, making
Margaret the fourth-in-line to the throne. Margaret's mother, the
then Duchess of York, wanted to call her second daughter
Ann Margaret, as she thought the two names…
