British RoyalsEuropean RoyalsHistoryQueen Elizabeth IISpainThe Netherlands

The Queen invests King Felipe and King Willem-Alexander as Supernumerary Knights of the Order of the Garter

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17th June 2019
The King of Spain and the King of the Netherlands have been invested as supernumerary Knights of the Garter by the Queen at Windsor Castle. Their official welcome to the ancient Order of the Garter came just ahead of the traditional procession and service at St. George’s Chapel. King Felipe VI of Spain was made a Knight during his State Visit to the United Kingdom in the summer of 2017. King…
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History

Queen Victoria's memorials to her dogs

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17th June 2019
Queen Victoria’s love for her dogs was lavishly recorded in paint and sculpture and not least, in her sketches and words. Lord Melbourne, the Queen’s Prime Minister, once commented dryly: ‘You’ll be smothered with dogs‘. The Queen’s characteristic…
History

'For my darling Nicky': A gift for the Tsarevich

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12th June 2019
On 29 May 1894, Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia wrote to his mother, Empress Marie Feodorovna, that he could see the sea from the room in which he was writing, in the imperial palace of Peterhof and that he had ‘such a longing for the yacht and want to fly there to join my…
History

Imperial Operetta: Princess Alix of Hesse and Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia

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11th June 2019
During the time they were at Coburg, Princess Alix of Hesse and Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia became engaged, a date they would treasure for the rest of their lives – 8 April 1894. Whilst they were in Coburg, visited the theatre and saw an operetta of which they would become affectionately fond, Carl Zeller’s popular piece in three acts, Der Vogelhändler [The Birdseller]. Both recorded…
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HistoryInsight

Queen Victoria's earliest memories

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6th June 2019
The earliest memories of a historical personage are extraordinarily important, as not only do they reveal first consciousness of their world and circumstances but crucially, what they remembered first. They tell snippets of true events, as they saw them. Of course, we know…
HistoryInsight

'Dear Mama': A little-known memorial to the Duchess of Kent

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5th June 2019
On 16 March 1861, Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, died at Frogmore House, the private residence in Windsor Great Park which she had often used, living there for approximately two decades. After her death, the summer house she had planned during her lifetime was converted into a mausoleum on two levels, built on a mound overlooking the lake. The lower level contains the burial…
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History

From Scotland with love: Queen Victoria

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3rd June 2019
Queen Victoria’s visited Balmoral in her beloved Scottish Highlands in the late autumn of 1900. The Queen could not know it, but it was the last time that she would see the new castle which Prince Albert had erected in her words as his ‘own work… as at Osborne’ and…
HistoryOther

Royal Pictures from History: Parties for Elizabeth II's Coronation

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2nd June 2019
The Queen was crowned 66 years ago today. The coronation of Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey and while the ancient ceremony took place, a nation celebrated. This glittering moment in what would become a record breaking reign was shared by millions who took to the pavements of London to cheer their queen and the streets of Britain to party with their monarch. Here’s a look at some…
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