Features

A spectacular royal wedding cake that celebrated an historic marriage

It was a showstopper of a bake for a dream royal wedding. When Harald of Norway, then Crown Prince, married Sonja Haraldsen in 1968, their cake was truly spectacular. As well as being big enough to feed a palace full of guests it was decorated in spectacular style, as befits a regal celebration. It was a gift from Oslo’s Baker Society, and it was madeby only two bakers. It took…
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The royals whose first names ended up in second place

We know that sometimes monarchs choose a different regnal name than the one they have gone by throughout their life—King George VI is a famous example of this, having gone by Bertie (or Albert, his given name) until he became King – but what about those who go by…
Features

The royal weddings of York Minster

It’s one of the oldest churches in Britain the seat of one of England’s most important clerics yet the famous York Minster is a rare venue for royal weddings. Just two major regal marriages have taken place at this ancient church in almost 1,000 years. The most recent took place six decades ago. On June 8th 1961, the Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley there in front of royalty…
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The time Queen Elizabeth II accidentally stepped on the foot of the King of Norway

Weddings can be fraught businesses and nothing every goes completely to plan, even for royalty. When Queen Elizabeth II attended Princess Alexandra’s 1963 wedding to Alexander Ogilvy, she ended up having to say sorry to another monarch. Footage from Princess Alexandra’s wedding on 24 April 1963 shows The Queen accidentally standing on King Olav V of Norway’s foot as guests gathered…
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How many of Henry VIII's queens were crowned?

‘Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.’ That sad little rhyme, summing up the fates of Henry VIII’s six wives, is familiar to many. But while just about everyone knows that the monarch with a thing for wedding cake said ‘I do&#8217…
Features

The royal links of an historic church in the shadow of a world famous abbey

It’s hosted dazzling and trend setting royal weddings but St. Margaret’s Church at Westminster is always in the shadows for it stands, quite literally, beneath the world famous abbey. It traces its history back to pre Conquest times but the current building on the site is a Tudor creation with plenty of tales to tell. It hosted one of the most glamourous royal weddings of the…
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