History

Royal Pictures from History: Elizabeth at Royal Ascot

Every picture tells its own story. In this occasional series, Royal Central looks at some of the most interesting regal images ever taken and today, it’s time to go to Ascot. The meeting, which takes place every June at the famous racecourse just down the road from Windsor Castle, is a high point of the royal calendar and the Queen’s presence is a must at this must see event. As the…
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FashionHistory

Where to see Wallis Simpson's fashion

Wallis Simpson was a polarising figure in the British Royal Family and continues to divide royal watchers today. Born on 19 June 1896 as Bessie Wallis Warfield, Simpson would go on to marry the former King Edward VIII. The women in the British Royal Family have been using…
History

Queen Victoria's memorials to her dogs

Queen Victoria’s love for her dogs was lavishly recorded in paint and sculpture and not least, in her sketches and words. Lord Melbourne, the Queen’s Prime Minister, once commented dryly: ‘You’ll be smothered with dogs‘. The Queen’s characteristic need to memorialise her friends and servants could also be why she wanted to create memorials to her dogs, for all these…
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History

'For my darling Nicky': A gift for the Tsarevich

On 29 May 1894, Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia wrote to his mother, Empress Marie Feodorovna, that he could see the sea from the room in which he was writing, in the imperial palace of Peterhof and that he had ‘such a longing for the yacht and want to fly there to join my betrothed’(Edward J. Bing, Letters of Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Marie, 81). He planned to leave for England on 31st…
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JordanRoyal Weddings

Royal Weddings: King Abdullah II and Queen Rania

On10 June 1993, then-Prince Abdullah marriedRania al Yassin in a traditional Muslim ceremony in Amman. The 31-year-old Prince and his 22-year-old fiancé had only been dating for a few months, after meeting at a dinner party in August of 1992, when they became engaged in January 1993. Abdullah would tell People Magazine a few years later that “It was love at first sight.” What…
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