Westminster Abbey has been entwined with
royalty since its foundation. All but two coronations have taken
place there, as have 16 royal weddings (beginning with that of King
Henry I of England to Matilda of Scotland, and most recently that
of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011). There is a long and
storied history of the monarchs who rest at Westminster Abbey,
stretching from the 1060s to…
Though many of the details of life are
unknown or disputed by historians, Adela of Normandy is a saint of
the Roman Catholic Church and was the daughter of William the
Conqueror, the first Norman King of England and his wife, Matilda
of Flanders. Adela was born in the years…
In this edition of “In the beginning”, we
focuson the Bernadotte dynasty which currently rules over Sweden.
The Bernadotte’s first began ruling over the Kingdom of Sweden in
1818 with King Karl XIV Johan (also called King Charles XIV John),
who was also the…
#OnThisDay in 1240 Margaret of England, daughter of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence, was born
29th September 2016
Margaret Plantagenet was born on 29
September 1240 at Windsor Castle to King Henry III of England and
his wife, Eleanore of Provence. The second of five children, the
first few years of Margaret’s life were spent quietly in the care
of her affectionate and close family. Her first appearance in
historical record came when she was three years old and she took
part in a royal event in London with…
#OnThisDay in 1411 Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, father to Edward IV and Richard III, was born
21st September 2016
Richard Plantagenet was born on 21
September 1411 to Richard of Conisburgh, the third Earl of
Cambridge and his wife Anne Mortimer, who died giving birth to him.
Richard’s mother was the great-granddaughter of Lionel Antwerp, the
first Duke of Clarence, which gave Anne and…
The Cambridges in Canada: Following Princess Louise, Its First Royal Lady
20th September 2016
In September 2016 the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge will visit Canada for the second time since they married
in 2011, this time taking their children with them. It will be the
first official overseas visit for Princess Charlotte and the second
for Prince George. During his…
#OnThisDay in 1186 Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, son of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine died
19th September 2016
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, was the
third surviving son of King Henry II of England and his wife,
Eleanor of Aquitaine. He died on September 19, 1186, predeceasing
both his parents and two of his brothers. Geoffrey was born in
September 1158. At the time of his birth, King Henry and Queen
Eleanor were already parents to two sons, Henry and Richard, and a
daughter, Matilda. Geoffrey was named…
Accused teen who planned terror attack on Buckingham Palace appears in court
15th September 2016
On Tuesday, 13 September, Westminster
Magistrates’ Court saw the appearance of 19-year-old Haroon
Ali-Syed, who was arrested on 8 September on suspicion of planning
to carry out a terror attack on key London landmarks ‘on the scale
of 7/7’. Prosecutor Thomas Halpin…
In light of a new MP report, it is
possible that the State Opening of Parliament could be moved to
Westminster Abbey or Buckingham Palace for the duration of any
major renovations to the Palace of Westminster. In the recently
released 119-page document it was concluded that…
#OnThisDay in 1201 Constance, Duchess of Brittany, daughter of Margaret of Huntingdon died
5th September 2016
Constance of Brittany was born to Conan
IV, Duke of Brittany and his wife, Margaret of Huntingdon – sister
to Scottish kings Malcolm IV and William I – in 1161 at Brittany.
Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Richmond between 1166 and 1201,
Constance was born in a time of struggle as her father battled to
reunite the Duchy of Brittany in wars with King Henry II of
England. Following the wars…
