History

A Victorian Family Tree: the story of Queen Victoria's granddaughters

‘As a rule, I like girls more’. The opinions of Queen Victoria on babies were quite clear. She might have had a long line of male heirs waiting to inherit her throne but her devotion to her granddaughters was telling. The women of the second generation of her descendants were of prime importance to the great Queen Empress. To the rest of the world she was a severe looking woman who ruled an…
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History

Stories of the Stuarts: Holdenby House

Holdenby House in Northamptonshire first came to prominence in 1583 when it was built by Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor and favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Holdenby was the largest private house in Elizabethan and was built by Sir Christopher to honour his beloved…
FeaturesHistory

Frogmore House and Gardens - Profiling a royal retreat

For many, Frogmore’s associations are chiefly with those of royal burial. The estate, located between Windsor Great Park and Home Park, is indeed the setting for two important royal mausoleums – the Royal Mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Albert, the Prince Consort, together with that of the Queen’s mother, Victoria Duchess of Kent – with the royal burial ground in front of the Royal…
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History

Stories of the Stuarts: Great Storm of 1703

The Great Storm of 1703 occurred during the reign of Queen Anne and was one of the worst natural disasters ever recorded in Southern England. The week long hurricane began on 26th November 1703 and sent the roofs of houses flying and knocking flat thousands of trees…
Palaces & Buildings

Balmoral Castle to play host to BBC show Antiques Roadshow

It may be the summer residence of Her Majesty The Queen, but Balmoral Castle will open its doors to a whole new audience at the end of July as it plays host to the popular BBC programme, Antiques Roadshow. People are invited to visit The Queen’s summer retreat near Ballater on Thursday 30th July. Balmoral Castle will welcome the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow on July 30th. Since being…
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FeaturesHistory

Royalty and tennis: It hasn't always been strawberries and cream

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are keen followers of tennis. Here they are at Wimbledon in 2011. With so many focused on the attendance of royals at Wimbledon for the quarter-finals, it seems appropriate to take readers on a history of the sport and the influence royalty has played in shaping tennis over hundreds of years. When researching the history of tennis, it was no surprise to me why the…
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