HistoryInsight

Scotland and the Act of Union: Over 300 years on

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18th January 2014
<![CDATA[On January 16, 1707 the Act of Union was passed under Queen Anne. This historic document, and one of the few important legislative pieces to be passed under her reign, brought together the thrones and Parliaments of England and Scotland, formally creating the United Kingdom. It was a long time coming, almost a century had passed since James VI & I took over control of the English…
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History

Mary - Queen Of Hearts?

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12th January 2014
<![CDATA[Whenever Queen Mary, Consort of King George V, is mentioned, what do you think? A stern, old fashioned matriarch who did not care about her family or do you think a traditional, caring queen who not only loved her family but also loved her country. Here I would…
History

Anne of Cleves, A Flanders Mare: Part 1

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11th January 2014
<![CDATA[Everyone knows that Henry VIII had six wives, with the rhyme ‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived’, recording their largely unenviable fates. Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, is a household name, but what of the other Queen Anne – the fourth wife of England’s most married king? Anne of Cleves was married for the shortest amount of time, but survived the…
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State & Ceremonial

Apprentice star Karren Brady among those up for New Year's Honours

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30th December 2013
The 2014 New Year’s Honours list, one of the two annual lists of those receiving honours from The Queen, has been announced today with notable recipients including singer Katherine Jenkins (OBE), Apprentice star Karren Brady (CBE), broadcaster Sandi Toksvig (OBE) and writer Antony Horowitz (OBE) among others. Businesswoman Karren Brady is among those up for a CBE in the New Year’s…
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History

William III - The Invader King

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28th December 2013
On this day in 1688, the Dutch Stateholder William III of Orange made a triumphant march into London ending the reign of King James II. In what history has since coined the “Glorious Revolution” William of Orange invaded England on the 5th of November 1688. It would…
State & Ceremonial

Codebreaker Alan Turing receives royal pardon

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24th December 2013
The codebreaker and computing pioneer, Alan Turing, has been granted a posthumous royal pardon. The Pardon addresses Turing’s conviction for homosexuality in 1952 and his treatment thereafter. It is believed that Mr Turing may have shortened World War II by two years after cracking the Enigma codes used by German U-boats in the Atlantic. Despite all of Mr Turing’s work, at the time…
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