Features

A is for Anne but why did the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II end up with a name that, at the time, wasn’t a usual one for members of the Royal Family?The answer can perhaps best be found in the summer of 1930 and the arrival of another princess. In August that year, the future George VI and his Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) welcomed their second daughter. The baby girl…

It was a low key royal wedding, set against a backdrop of family illness and impending drama. But the marriage of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott, on November 6th 1935, began a royal partnership that would become a bedrock for the House of Windsor as it faced some of its most challenging times.Prince Henry, third son of King George V and Queen Mary, had…

Sweden is enjoying a summer of celebrations to mark a very special event. The reign of King Carl XVI Gustaf reaches half a century this year. The party for his Golden Jubilee will see Sweden sparkle but after this special milestone, the Jubilee juggernaut slows down.The Grand Duke of Luxembourg hits 25 years of rule in 2025 while Prince Albert II of Monaco will reach Silver Jubilee status by…

On an August day, over 500 years ago, Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, was promised in marriage to the French king, Louis XII.  She would wed him several months later. The spectacular ceremony in Abbeville in Northern France transformed Mary into the Queen of France.  No other English princess held that title after her.  In fact, only one other daughter of a King of England had married a King…