Palaces & Buildings

Hampton Court Palace gardener 'picks' Tower poppy

<![CDATA[As the process of dismantling the art installation at the Tower of London began, a long-servinggardener at the Hampton Court Palace was given the honour of the picking the first ceramic poppy. 66 year-old John Mould from East Molesey has served as a gardener at the Royal Palace for nearly 50 years. The gardens and estates manager, Graham Dillamore, said about him: “We were…
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FeaturesHistory

History Rewind: Death of Queen Mary I

<![CDATA[ On the 17th November 1558 the first English Queen Regnant, Queen Mary I, died at St James’ Palace. At her funeral service, the Bishop of Winchester summed up her life quite aptly: “She was a King’s daughter, she was a King’s sister, she was a King’s wife. She was a Queen and by the same title a King also”. Some may argue that Mary’s legacy…
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FeaturesHistoryInsight

The Royal W: Scarlet Rod

<![CDATA[The Gentleman Usher of the Scarlet Rod is one of six administrative and ceremonial officers of the Order of the Bath and established in 1725. The Title ‘Scarlet Rod’ is from the characteristic insignia of the office which is a long silver gilt rod. The shaft…
Palaces & Buildings

Tower of London sees final poppy 'planted'

<![CDATA[The final poppy was ‘planted ‘at the Tower of London on Tuesday, completing the ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’, the ceramic art installation conceived by Paul Cummins. Cummins, a graduate and now PhD student at the University of Derby, handed the final poppy to 13-year-old Army cadet Harry Hayes who planted it in the Tower moat just before 11am. The installation now…
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History

Notable Name - Henry 'Hotspur' Percy

<![CDATA[In the Middle Ages, there were two prominent and influential families in England – the Nevilles and the Percys. The Percy's power was concentrated in the North, and as a result, they were the chief defenders of the Scottish border. They were aided in…
State & Ceremonial

Royal Remembrance Events in Pictures

<![CDATA[The Queen and the King of the Belgians open the new Flanders memorial at Wellington Barracks on Thursday. The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen, King of the Belgians and Duke of Cambridge on the dais.© Crown Copyright 2014, Sergeant Rupert Frere The Queen lays a…
Queen Elizabeth IIState & Ceremonial

Remembrance Sunday: The Queen leads National Service of Remembrance

<![CDATA[Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by members of the Royal Family, led the country's Remembrance Sunday tributes from The Cenotaph in London, this morning. Held every year since 1919, on the Sunday closest to Armistice Day (11th November), the ceremony commemorates the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars…
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