State & Ceremonial

Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant for North Yorkshire is killed in helicopter crash

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31st May 2018
Police have said that they believe a man who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday afternoon is Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Barry Dodd CBE. Formal identification has yet to take place, however, the police say that Mr Dodd is thought to be the victim. Mr Dodd was piloting the aircraft on Wednesday afternoon when it came down and caught fire in a field near…
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The bells of Westminster Abbey

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26th May 2018
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…
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Memorial to a Royal Child: Princess Elizabeth (1635-1650)

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22nd May 2018
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…
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Queen Victoria and Cliveden

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18th May 2018
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…
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Royal Wedding Music in Queen Victoria's family

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17th May 2018
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…
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The Quire at St. George's Chapel, Windsor

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17th May 2018
The Quire of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor is an area extraordinarily rich in the history of the English Monarchy, yet this sacred and mystical space in the Chapel enshrining the Order of the Garter – the Order’s spiritual home – is as much associated with royal…
British RoyalsFeaturesInsightPalaces & BuildingsThe Sussexes

Cliveden: Meghan Markle's bridal retreat and its royal past

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17th May 2018
From the roof, you can see Windsor Castle, but that’s not nearly the most regal thing about Cliveden in Buckinghamshire where Meghan Markle will spend the night before her marriage to Prince Harry. This palatial house, owned by the National Trust and leased as a hotel, has entertained many royals over the years and was once even home to a regal rebel. As Cliveden gets ready to add more…
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