On January 18th 1919, the ringing of a telephone in Buckingham Palace signalled a tragedy for the Royal Family. The call brought news of the death of Prince John, youngest son of King George V and Queen Mary, who had passed away in his sleep at the age of 13. John had been epileptic for most of his short life and had died following a massive seizure. He was buried soon afterwards, his grave marked…
I first encountered Princess Louise Henriette Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Dessau (1750-1811) in Wörlitz, on an excursion from Berlin as part of a cultural travel programme in 2009. The English landscape gardens were the main reason for the Englandreise, or journey to England…
Queen Anne takes centre stage as 'The Favourite' leads this year's BAFTA nominations
9th January 2019
Just days after scooping one of Hollywood’s top acting prizes, Olivia Colman’s portrayal of Queen Anne in ‘The Favourite’ has been nominated for another major movie award. The star is in the running for Best Actress at the BAFTAs where the film leads the field with…
Even though it is Christmas, take some time to learn more about Norway’s history.
We are now 1000 years back in time when Norway broke out in a civil war which lasted for many decades. Around the year 1000, Norway had been established as a separate and stable kingdom. The question was who this kingdom belonged to.
King Harald I Hårfagre and his sons had their power base in Western Norway. In…
The Knut Alvsson is, outside Norway, a name that few have ever heard. Still, the name represented one of the biggest riots in Norway’s history. Knut Alvsson was born in 1455 and was a wealthy farmer and landowner in Norway who then was a part of the Kalmar Union. From 1497…
Queen Victoria’s winter sledge became synonymous with the Windsor Christmas, at least during the lifetime of Prince Albert, who is rightly credited with popularising Christmas traditions in England, including that of the Christmas tree. The royal trees were decorated with…
It’s one of the most famous events in royal history, and now the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is being brought to life once more. A new TV programme, presented by historian Lucy Worsley, will reconstruct the marriage that began years of happiness for a young couple and changed the idea of royal weddings forever.
Every aspect of the celebrations, represented at the time by…
In a continuation of our two-part series, our Historian, Elizabeth Jane Timms, looks back at the death of Prince Albert:
The passing of the Prince Consort is, of course, synonymous with the Blue Room at Windsor Castle, where it took place, a room which I have researched for…
In a two-part series, our Historian, Elizabeth Jane Timms, looks back at the death of Prince Albert:
Prince Albert, the beloved husband and Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, died on 14 December 1861, at Windsor Castle. So enormous were the consequences of this death, both…
The onset of winter provides another opportunity to look again at the links between the many fascinating outdoor pastimes and pursuits enjoyed by royalty, which I touched on in my article of December 2017, Snow and Royalty. Whilst the German Christmas was much popularised by Prince Albert, the preference of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort to spend Christmas at Windsor Castle with the royal…
