On a hot summer day in 1543, a young
widow married an ageing and much wed king in a ceremony that took
many by surprise. By the time Katherine Parr said ‘I do’ to Henry
VIII in the Queen’s Closet at Hampton Court Palace on July
12th1543, his five previous unions and attitude towards marital
harmony were such that continental contenders to be consort of
England were all but running in…
While some links between royal houses are
well known and rather close, others are a little more distant and
perhaps all the more interesting for that. And although the links
between Albert II and Charles III might be stretched, they are
still there. The connection between…
Many of Queen Victoria and Prince
Albert’s grandchildren married into various royal families across
Europe. Not all did, though. Princess Patricia of Connaught was the
daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and
Princess Margaret Louise of Prussia, and…
It’s rare to see a royal engagement ring
featuring an emerald. The striking stone features in very few of
these most romantic pieces of jewellery but it has a starring role
in the ring worn by a princess who will walk down the aisle at this
summer’s biggest royal wedding. Princess Martha Louise of Norway’s
emerald engagement sparkler is a rare thing indeed. Queen…
While we often associate the French
royals with the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre Palace, they
owned far more than that over the centuries. The Palais-Royal in
Paris began as a cardinal’s palace but made its way into royal
hands. The Palais-Royal is in the…
All royal jewels have interesting stories
attached to them. From modern designs to the historic pieces that
have accompanied monarchies through centuries, every royal gem
tells a tale. And one pretty tiara that has become a favourite of a
popular queen has an intriguing…
The symbolism of the first photos of King Charles with his Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer
5th July 2024
They are pictures for the history books
and ones that speak volumes. As King Charles III appointed a new
Prime Minister there were, of course, official images of the
moment. And they told their own story. The King held an audience
with Sir Keir Starmer just after noon on July 5th 2024, hours after
Labour had won a landslide victory in the general election. As was
expected, King Charles asked…
When Edward VII had headed to Biarritz
for a springtime break in 1908, his government had been under the
stewardship of Liberal Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. But his health
was failing fast and on April 3rd, he resigned. Herbert Asquith,
the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was…
All The King's Prime Ministers: a trio of politicians who have held the keys to Number Ten in a brand new reign
5th July 2024
King Charles is about to appoint the
third Prime Minister of his reign. Just 22 months after his
accession, The King will ask another politician to form a
government. It took Queen Elizabeth II five years to reach the same
tally of Prime Ministers. Brand new Prime…
It was a quiet country house, described
by several who knew it as ‘’little’’ and a ‘’pied a terre’, given
as a wedding present to a royal couple who were expected to linger
on the fringes of regal life. Yet on July 2nd 1903, it became the
birthplace of one of the most popular and celebrated monarchs of
the 20th century. For it was at Appleton House, on the Sandringham
Estate, that…
