Outside the Houses of Parliament, standing rather boldly with a hand on his sword and the other clutching a Bible, stands a statute of Oliver Cromwell. For a time, Cromwell was the sole interruption in a long line of English monarchs, during which the British Isles were no longer governed by a monarchy but instead by a republican “Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland”. This…
The Royal Coat of Arms acts as the official coat of arms for the British monarch.
The Royal Coat of Arms features a shield divided into four quarters. The quarters represent the symbols of Ireland, England, and Scotland. Wales does not play a role in the Royal Coat of Arms…
Princess Ragnhild of Norway and Erling Lorentzen were married on 15 May 1953 at Asker parish church near Oslo.
The Princess was born on 9 June 1930 and was the older sister of the present King of Norway, Harald V, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday. At the time of her…
London has many plaques and memorials with royal connections but in fact, rather fewer statues. Some of these statues have interesting hidden histories of their own, of how they were made, how they came to be in the places that they are and why. Some of these statues may be much less known and indeed, too little seen.
Queen Charlotte, born Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Queen consort to…
The Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace will host its inaugural Real Tennis Champions Trophy between 11-16 July 2017, with the world-class competitors draw being reduced down to the eight top-ranking players from the UK, United States, Australia and France. The…
Looking Back at the Wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones
6th May 2017
On 6 May 1960, Princess Margaret became the first royal to marry in a televised ceremony when she married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in a glittering service at Westminster Abbey.
Princess Margaret had been linked to several beaus, most notably her father’s and…
Why the royal standard would never reveal clues to “emergency” Buckingham Palace meeting
5th May 2017
While #BuckinghamPalace trended on Twitter and the world waited in a frenzied state for news about the “emergency” meeting called on Thursday, many people turned their eyes to the flag flying over the palace. Though they may have hoped it would reveal a clue as to the nature of the meeting they would be disappointed because even if a monarch were to pass away, the Royal Standard would never be…
Throughout history, many royals have died in brutal and bizarre ways. Royals have been killed in attacks, by illness and by accident. However, only one European royal has ever been murdered by a monkey. That is the Greek King Alexander, who died at 27-years-old in…
Crisis averted for The Queen as Royal Ascot & the State Opening of Parliament fail to overlap
27th April 2017
A near-crisis has been averted for The Queen after it was revealed that the State Opening of Parliament and Royal Ascot meeting would fall on different days.
It was feared that Her Majesty would be forced to miss one of her favourite days of the year at the Berkshire…
La Reyne le veult - why are Acts of Parliament confirmed in Norman French rather than English?
27th April 2017
As part of the prorogation of Parliament, the giving of Royal Assent takes place for bills that have been passed by both houses. This is because prorogation signals the end of all parliamentary business, meaning if a bill isn’t passed into law by this point, it may not be carried on into the next Parliament.
Once Black Rod has summoned the House of Commons to the bar of the House of Lords…
