In addition to the private gifts exchanged at royal weddings were also those public gifts given on behalf of a nation. Either to accompany its native bride on her marriage, or increasingly, to take the form of diplomatic presents, such as the Sevres porcelain dinner service from the Government and People of France for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, in 1947.
A plate sometimes…
The Coronation of Elizabeth II on June 2nd 1953 is often spoken of as the moment that a new era began. It was a moment of history and just the sixth time a queen regnant had been crowned in England’s history. As Royal Central marks 65 years since the Queen’s…
Today is the 65th anniversary of the coronation of The Queen. On 2 June 1953, Queen Elizabeth who succeded her father on 6 February 1952, held her coronation in which she was sworn in as Sovereign of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan…
It has been described as the most important British dress design of the 20th century and the gown that the Queen wore at her Coronation, on June 2nd 1953, has its own place in history. The work of Sir Norman Hartnell, created in partnership by the Monarch, it has become one of the most emblematic outfits of the House of Windsor.
This was arguably the most important commission of Sir Norman…
The third son of King George V and Queen Mary, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was born on 31 March 1900.
He was the first son of a monarch to be educated at school and went onto study at Eton College.
His life was full of tragedy starting with not being able to continue…
First and foremost, we think of bells as something we hear and don’t see. The bells of Westminster Abbey now mingle in between the great soundscape of London noise and the busy restlessness of Westminster, blending the secular with the divine, much as they have done for…
In St. Thomas’ Church, Newport on the Isle of Wight, stands an extraordinary monument, touching in its simplicity. It was erected over the tomb of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Charles I (1635-1650). This beloved royal child was immortalized as such by Van Dyck in his great portrait of the five children of Charles I, in which the future Charles II stands at the centre, his left hand resting…
Following her wedding at St James’s Palace to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on 10 February 1840, Queen Victoria drove to Windsor for her honeymoon. Windsor had mixed associations for the Queen. It was the place of the famous contretemps between her uncle, King…
Praised by Alexander Pope in his Moral Essays as possessing a ‘proud alcove’ in which one might happily be ‘galant and gay’, the great house of Cliveden, Taplow, where Meghan Markle spent the night before her wedding to Prince Harry, was visited by Queen Victoria in…
Given the inseparable links between music and the British Monarchy, it naturally follows that the music chosen for royal weddings reflected both the importance of the occasion as well as the personal taste of the monarch. Whether it was the splendour of Handel’s marriage anthem ‘Sing unto God’ for the wedding of Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1736 or the Chorale composed by Prince Albert…
