Although Shakespeare credited King
Richard III with being a hunchback —and thus identified
him with an evil creature who could murder his two nephews to
gain the throne—new studies are calling this a mistake. Being one
of Duchess Cecily Neville’s three sons to live into adulthood,
Richard was given the title Duke of Gloucester before he took
to the throne after the death of his brother…
In 1704, Queen Anne decided that
Kensington Palace was to have a greenhouse. Not just a simple
greenhouse to care for her citrus trees during the bitter winter
but one crafted in a refined and sophisticated style. With this in
mind, The Orangery at Kensington Palace would…
Firstly, thank you for once again
allowing me the pleasure to discuss another one of your programmes
with Royal Central. My pleasure – I’m glad that your readers are
interested in the work we do at Historic Royal Palaces! You have
given viewers insight in the Royal…
In the last episode of this series,
historian Dan Cruickshank takes viewers through the developments
that occurred to a number of Britain’s royal palaces during the
nineteenth century and twentieth century. With the widowhood of
Queen Victoria, the break out of the First World War and the
difficult interwar period, Britain’s palaces faced numerous threats
of damage and possible ruin. Last…
Built between 1754 and 1759 for the 5th
Earl of Dumfries, Dumfries House has remained the same for the past
250 years. The main rooms, furnishings and contents are still as
they were when the 5th Earl was in residence. The property contains
an exceptional collection of…
After last week’s insightful
episode which gave audiences a glimpse into the
Tudor buildings which used to, and some of which still do,
dominate our landscapes, such as the White Tower at the Tower of
London, Hampton Court and Nonsuch Palace, in the
next episode…
King William IV had one dying wish and
that was to see the anniversary of Waterloo on 18 June. Two days
later on 20 June 1837, The King died around two in the morning at
Windsor Castle. William IV was 71 when he died. It has been noted
that he drank more than a bottle of sherry daily which did not help
his health issues. By living until June 1837 he did reach his
second goal of passing the throne…
On the first day of the races, Her
Majesty The Queen was joined by Prince Harry, The Prince of Wales,
The Duchess of a Cornwall and the Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. The Queen is hoping that
her young horse, Estimate, will win the…
The gardeners at Historic Royal Palaces
have “planted” the seeds of restoration at Hampton Court Palace and
what has grown is a newly restored Kitchen Garden. The Kitchen
Garden recreates the gardens that would have provided a wide
variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits…
The oldest recipient is 99-year-old Ethel
Dobbins, receiving the British Empire Medal for service to the
community in Thornton. Conversely, the youngest recipient this year
is George Fielding, aged just 19, who is the Chair of “Whizz Kidz”,
an organisation providing disabled children with wheelchairs and
mobility equipment, also receiving the British Empire Medal. Among
those receiving some of…
