Princess Helena Victoria, known as Thora, loved tennis and golf
We’re used to seeing the Duke of Kent at Wimbledon and in recent years, the Duchess of Cambridge has become a regular supporter of the tennis played at the All England Club. But rewind nine decades and another royal was a familiar face there. A princess known to her family as Thora regularly cropped up on the Pathe newsreels of the…
For centuries prior to the Union of England and Scotland in 1603, there was a bitter rivalry between the two countries. King Edward, I of England in particular, despised the Scots and sought to rule over them, earning himself the nickname ‘Hammer of the Scots’.
For a princess who claimed a bit of a royal first at the baptismal font, it’s perhaps not surprising that Patricia of Connaught – known for most of her adult life as Lady Patricia Ramsey – ended up changing plenty of regal rules on her way.  The little…
King Richard III brings extra visitors to Leicester on the first Bosworth anniversary since his reinterment
21st August 2015
For years, August 22nd was the one time in the year when the focus really fell on Richard III. The last king of the House of York lost his throne and his life on that date when he lost the Battle of Bosworth to the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. And for the long time when Richard’s burial place was lost, the end of his story was remembered on the anniversary of Bosworth. But all that has…
The White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster had been in battle for the throne of England for quite some time. At the time of the Battle of Tewkesbury the Yorkists were being led by Edward of York, or Edward IV and the Lancastrians were being led by Margaret of…
Abigail Masham was the Daughter of Francis Hill and through relatives, she already had a very close connection to the court of Queen Anne. Abigail’s Mother was the former Elizabeth Jennings, aunt to Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, her second cousin was Robert Harley…
The stories of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters: Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
20th August 2015
Princess Beatrice was born Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria on 20 April 1884 at Eastwell Park in Kent. She was the youngest child of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. Her father was the second son of Queen Victoria and her mother the only daughter of Tsar Alexander II and Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.
Beatrice…
The Stuart Court was a very lively place with Music and Masques being the main form of entertainment and during the reign of King Charles I and his Queen, Henrietta Maria, music, poetry, drama and painting flourished at their cultured court.
The Court of King Charles I and…
In our present series on Royal Central, we are looking back at the women who were granddaughters of Queen Victoria. In some ways, their diverse and often surprising lives are the legacies of the great queen. A queen whose reign as longest reigning monarch in British history…
Being Queen of Spain isn’t the easiest royal role around. Ask the two women who currently hold that title – neither Sofia of Greece nor Letizia Ortiz have enjoyed totally smooth sailing. And a century ago, the woman who reigned as Spanish consort had more than her fair share of problems. She was Victoria Eugenie, known as Ena, and she was the youngest of the women who were granddaughters of…
