Royal Central takes a look at the tradition of celebrating the monarch’s birthday that began as Princess’s Day.
In the 19th century, King William III of the Netherlands faced quite a bit of unpopularity but his four-year-old daughter Wilhelmina, his future successor, was very popular. It was proposed that the Princess’ birthday be observed as a patriotic celebration and so the…
Her story is amongst the most controversial of all the Queens of England and now a new twist has appeared in the tale of Elizabeth Woodville. An expert at the National Archives in London has found a document suggesting that the consort who revolutionised royalty may have…
Jean of Luxembourg, who ruled the tiny state for 36 years, died early this morning. He was 98. As his family say their final farewells to a much-loved member, Royal Central takes a look back at his extraordinary story. From heir to exile, soldier to hero, Grand Duke to…
The wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip in November 1947 was a day of celebration in post-war Britain. The ceremony was broadcast to a worldwide audience of approximately 200 million people and as the princess arrived at Westminster Abbey with her father, King George VI, she was attended by eight bridesmaids.
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HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent
The daughter of the…
But for the moving memorial that Queen Victoria erected to her and for a letter in which this is described, the name of Ida Bonanomi might have been completely forgotten in historical terms. Thanks to these, this is not the case.
It can be found in Edinburgh’s Rosebank…
Royals join those sending messages of support to France as Notre Dame fire continues
15th April 2019
Millions are watching as efforts continue to save Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris which continues to burn after a huge fire broke out in the roof in the early evening of April 15th 2019. Messages of support for France are pouring in from around the world. And among those…
A race against time and flames to save the priceless artwork of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has begun after it caught fire on the late afternoon of April 15th 2019. Fortunately, it appears that no one has been hurt in the blaze which engulfed the top part of the church as the sun began to fade. Within hours, chunks of history had melted away as the flames took hold. And that history is…
An exquisite gold, sapphire and diamond brooch crafted in St Petersburg was consigned to auction in October 2018. I had first encountered it as a personal gift from Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) to the friend of her youth, Marion Louisa ‘Pollie’…
It’s the biggest royal anniversary of the year and it’s almost upon us. May 24th 2019 marks two centuries since the birth of Queen Victoria, a monarch so influential, she gave her name to an era. And as part of our Victoria series on Royal Central, we’ve…
In a recent life of Queen Victoria, (A. N. Wilson, Victoria: A Life, 2014) I stumbled across an illustration of one of the famous group photographs taken behind the Palais Edinburg in Coburg, showing Queen Victoria surrounded by a whole host of contemporary royalty – mostly members of her own family through blood or marriage, including five of her children and numerous grandchildren –…
