This year marks thirty years since King
Baudouin of Belgium unexpectedly died while on holiday in Spain. He
was one of the most popular kings Belgium ever had. Even now, three
decades on, his memory is treasured. His nephew, King Philippe,
paid an emotional tribute to him as he gave a speech to mark the
tenth anniversary of his own rule. King Baudouin reigned from 1951
until his death in 1993.
King Philippe is about to celebrate his
tenth anniversary on the throne of Belgium, with many successes
behind him that surprised his past detractors. Many
considered him too quiet and shy to be an effective leader, and
when King Albert II announced his decision to…
Some monarchs are born in massive castles
that have stood for centuries while others are born in relatively
new palaces. Although the birth of a royal baby is a celebrated
event, some of these more modern palaces have darker connections.
King Philippe of Belgium was born at…
How many kings called Edward have there
been? If you think you know the answer, this special feature by
Liam Foley might make you think again. One aspect of the evolution
of monarchy that I find interesting is the development of Ordinal
numbers, or regnal numbers, and also called post-nominal numbers
used to differentiate between monarchs of the same name within the
same territory. In the…
We’re used to seeing royals at Wimbledon
with the Princess of Wales now patron of the All England Club. But
rewind nine decades and another royal was a familiar face there. A
princess known to her family as Thora regularly cropped up on the
Pathe newsreels of the time…
The Princess of Wales will be on Centre
Court to hand over the trophies at Wimbledon as this year’s
competition comes to a close. The last few years have seen the
Princess become a regular at the presentations but a whole host of
royals have done the honours over…
Sixteenth century kings, even those that
had worked their way through a quintet of queens, had a somewhat
preconceived idea of what a consort should bring to their royal
marriage. Henry VIII might well have been in love with the idea of
love but he also had a concept of court politics that his wives had
to match. However, his final wedding would prove to be the most
unusual of all his marriages…
He was the fifth son and the youngest of
the six children of King George V and Queen Mary and, briefly, a
star of the Royal Family. Now, over a century on from his life, his
story continues to fascinate. On the anniversary of his birth,
Royal Central looks at the story of…
Many people are used to thinking about
members of royal families as people with immense privilege and a
life free from pain and suffering. However, this was far from the
truth for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Born Prince Carl Gustaf
Folke Hubertus on 30 April…
This week a festival was held in Norfolk
to celebrate the life of a Sikh king that lived at Elveden Hall
near Thetford. The Festival of Thetford & Punjab 2023 marked the
130th anniversary of the death of By Capt. Goldingham of London. –
Singh was placed on the throne of the Sikh Empire in 1843 when he
was only five; regents ruled through him and used his young age to
their…