Features

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 Minister Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Buckingham Palace after winning a landslide victory for the Labour party. There, in…

She was the ‘May Queen’ whose reign lasted little more than a month but left its mark in royal history. Marie-Jose was always a bit of a maverick who had her own views and no fear of sharing them. Those opinions would become a saving grace for the dynasty she married into when she became its one public dissenting voice against the fascism taking over their country. But…

Royal weddings are now major celebrations, glittering events that capture the imagination and draw huge crowds who cheer the vows and shout demands for a kiss when the deal is done. However, in centuries past a royal union might be a discreet event, witnessed by just a handful of people. And for that reason, rumours were able to grow of secret weddings, hidden spouses and possible threats to…

On July 12th 1543, a rather low key royal wedding took place.  The groom was Henry VIII and his sixth wife was Katherine Parr, a relatively unknown minor noblewoman who had risen from daughter of a knight to Queen of England in thirty years.  The woman who became a royal bride on that July day at Hampton Court was also one of her country’s most interesting consorts – here are ten…