Features

Nell Gwyn - the royal mistress remembered with a famous horse race

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17th April 2024
Wednesday marks the 63rd running of the Nell Gwyn Stakes – a group 3 horse race held annually in Newmarket.Ten fillies line up in the 2024 contest, which is run in memory of the small-time actress who became mistress to King Charles II.Gwyn was one of at least seven mistresses who were linked to King Charles II during his nearly 25-year-reign, so why was she so special in continuing…
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Features

The diamonds that became a royal tiara for just one night

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13th April 2024
As she stepped into the Royal Opera House for a concert marking one of the biggest political events of her reign, Elizabeth II was the picture of serenity. But just minutes earlier she had had to perform a tiara swap as her jewels fell apart in the back of her royal car.Queen Elizabeth II was on her way to attend the Fanfare for Europe gala in central London on January 3rd 1973 when the…
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Features

The symbolism of a pretty posy of flowers that became the wedding bouquet of a queen

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9th April 2024
The wedding bouquet carried by Queen Camilla on her wedding day, April 9th 2005 were a riot of early blooms that matched her pale blue and gold dress to perfection. But the flowers were also filled with personal touches that had their own place in a royal romance that made her a queen. For not only were the flowers in the posy highly significant, they had been grown by the bride and groom…
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History

The only joint coronation in British history

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9th April 2024
11 April will be the 335th anniversary of a very unique British coronation- the only joint coronation in British history. Queen Mary II and King William III were crowned as co-monarchs at Westminster Abbey after being offered the crown.King James II became King…
Features

Four bad lads and a wicked Queen

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6th April 2024
Queen Isabella of France and Roger MortimerFirst in the queue is Queen Isabella of France and Roger Mortimer. The Queen, often referred to as the She-Wold of France, joined forces with Mortimer and became known as a rather foul duo. For many years, they sought to remove…
History

The Warming Pan Scandal that rocked the monarchy

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6th April 2024
here are a number of events in English royal history that seem extraordinary and unbelievable, but the warming pan scandal has to be at the top of the list. The son of James II and Mary of Modena had a very interesting start to life and would be questioned for decades.James II was not an overly popular monarch; he was Roman Catholic (and was married to a Roman Catholic), attempted to…
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