In order to know how a story ends, it is indispensable to understand the essence of how it began. The years leading up to the French Revolution were tumultuous. Deep in a financial crisis, King Louis XVI and his advisors attempted to implement a taxation system, which was highly ostracised. This, coupled with the American Revolutionary War, the Seven Years’ War, and years of bad harvest, the…
Around 2:00 am on the 10th February 1567 the area around Kirk O’ Field in Scotland was rocked by two large explosions. Following them, two people were found dead in a nearby orchard. One was Lord Darnley, and the other his valet. His wife Mary, Queen of Scots, was not…
God save our gracious King…This famous anthem has potential to invoke trips down memory lane and possibly create aristocratic fantasies in the minds of those that sing it with pride. However, one of the greatest Monarchs in British history is not someone who had the dream…
The last letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots before her execution is being put for public display by the National Library of Scotland. She wrote the letter just six hours before her execution on 8 February 1587.
The letter has not been on display since 2009, and for preservation reasons, it will only be shown for six hours between 10 am and 4 pm. The entry is free.
The letter is written in…
On 24 March 1603 Queen Elizabeth I breathed her last and – left with no legitimate heir – the House of Tudor came to an end after more than 100 years on the English throne.
Beginnings
The House of Tudor was founded in 1485 when Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III in…
The less than flattering assessment given to King George III by many today has recently been shown to be rather inaccurate, pending new insights derived from a number of papers just uncovered that detail George III’s reign and activities during the course of the…
Kensington Palace to host new exhibition on Diana, Princess of Wales
15th January 2017
Kensington Palace is to host a new exhibition about Diana, Princess of Wales to mark 20 years since the death of the Princess, including a new temporary garden which is being installed in the grounds of the Palace in celebration of her life. The choice of a garden being built here, next to the home where the Princess lived for over 15 years is an appropriate one, especially as Kensington Gardens…
On 17 July 1918, after three centuries in power, the Romanov dynasty came to a tragic end with the brutal execution of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, Empress Alexandra and their five children.
Background
Tsar Nicholas II became Emperor of Russia on 1 November 1894 following the…
In March 2017, a major exhibition will be launched in Vienna to mark the 300th birthday of one of the most important figures in Austrian history, Empress Maria Theresia. Commemorated in the form of a huge statue on the Maria-Theresien-Platz in Vienna near where the so-called…
#OnThisDay in 1833 Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, mother of Queen Mary, was born
27th November 2016
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge was born on 27 November 1833 in Hanover, Germany. She was a granddaughter of King George III and great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II.
Her parents were Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the youngest surviving son of George III, and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel. She was the youngest of the couple’s three children.
She was christened Mary Adelaide…
