As the last Emperor of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II’s twenty-three-year reign came to an abrupt end when he abdicated on 15 March 1917. Those tumultuous years of his reign were defined by the Russo-Japanese War that saw the annihilation of the Russian Baltic Fleet, Bloody Sunday and an estimated 3.3 million Russians die during World War I. The relatives of Nicholas’s extended family tree insisted…
While the coronavirus continues to spread, we can rewind a little over a hundred years in time. In 1918 and 1919, another virus as ravaged countries across the globe. It caused widespread devastation but, despite its origins, it became known as Spanish flu because of a much…
While most of our “Last Queens” series focuses on consorts, this particular last queen was a reigning monarch. Liliuokalani was the only queen regnant and the last monarch of Hawaii before the Hawaiian kingdom was overthrown. It became the shortlived Republic of…
The life and times of the 18th Duchess of Alba, who had more titles than Queen Elizabeth II
2nd March 2020
The 18th Duchess of Alba, MarÃa del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, was born on 28 March 1926 at the vast Liria Palace, which has served as the Madrid residence of the Dukes of Albas for generations (most of the home was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and was rebuilt by the Duchess’s father and the Duchess).
The Fitz-James Stuarts, the most powerful aristocratic…
Every royal life is peppered with milestones, the moments that mark beginnings and ends, filled with joy and sometimes sadness. On Royal Central, we’re charting the famous dates throughout the year in our Calendars of Kings and Queens. And as March gets well and truly…
Early Life
Born on 14 October 1938, Empress Farah Pahlavi was the only child of Sohrab Diba and Farideh Diba Ghotbi in Tehran.
Less than ten years later, in 1947, she would lose her father at an early age; as Farah was very close to her father, his death deeply…
When Princess Patricia of Connaught, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, wed Alexander Ramsay in London in 1919, she more than made her mark. For not only had Patricia wed a man with no royal title. She had given up her own HRH to become his wife.
Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth, second daughter of Victoria’s third son, the Duke of Connaught, walked into Westminster Abbey on February 27th…
Oslo City Hall stands out in many ways from other city halls. It is best known for hosting the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony every December 10 with the entire Norwegian Royal Family present. Construction was completed in 1950. But an unknown side of the building is that it also…
Royal history is so rich that the year is peppered with anniversaries and milestones. From births to deaths, coronations to weddings, each month brings the memory of another landmark moment. Britain’s queens, past and present, have written themselves into the history…
Our royal history is filled with major moments and those attached to the monarchs and consorts whose names are all too familiar take on a significance all of their own. Each month, at Royal Central, we’re taking a look at the monarchical milestones that pepper the past and as the year winds on, here is a Calendar of Kings for February.
To Crown a King
February is rather light on kingly birthdays…
