The remains of Emma of Normandy, who was Queen of England twice in the 11th century, have possibly been found in a mausoleum discovered in Winchester Cathedral. Her great-nephew William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066 and began the Norman rule of England.
The names of eight kings, two bishops and that of Emma of Normandy were found on six mortuary chests in the cathedral, and now scientists…
After a broken engagement a few years earlier, Princess Madeleine of Sweden finally found the love of her life after fleeing to New York City to heal her broken heart. There, through mutual friends, she met American-British financier Christopher “Chris”…
As the ‘Grandmother of Europe’, as Queen Victoria was popularly termed, her very numerous grandchildren could, of course, expect to receive a variety of charming presents for their birthdays, just as we might treasure things sent to us by our grandmothers. These presents…
Looking Back at the Wedding of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
14th May 2019
Today we are going to look back at the wedding of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary which took place 15 years ago. Denmark’s Crown Prince married his Australian fiancée on a beautiful May morning at the Copenhagen Cathedral.
Crown Prince Frederik first met his future wife, Mary Donaldson, in Sydney while he was there for the 2000 Olympic Games. They met at the Slip Inn Bar, and the…
To Queen Victoria, she was ‘dear Marie Erbach’. That was what the Queen called Princess Marie of Battenberg, later Princess zu Erbach-Schönberg, whose memoirs first appeared in English in 1925, printed by London publishers George Allen & Unwin. Princess Marie…
Royal Presents at Osborne: New Exhibition to focus on Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
12th May 2019
English Heritage celebrates the bicentenary of the births of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with a new exhibition, Royal Presents at Osborne, focusing on the unique stories behind seven gifts exchanged by the royal couple.
Osborne itself was, of course, the Queen and…
Queen Victoria’s use of perfume is a subject of interest because of what it reveals about both her personal toilette and tastes. An equivalent in scent perhaps, of that distinctive signature we know so well on paper, adding an ‘I’ for ‘Imperatrix’ after she was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877. This perfume would have been part of the Queen’s daily dressing process. At Osborne, the…
In the German spa town of Bad Nauheim in Hesse, hangs a present – by tradition – from Imperial Russia. It is to be found within the solemnly beautiful church, the Reinhardskirche, in the old town quarter, built between 1732/33.
Like many baroque churches whose…
A royal burial site from over 1,400 years ago found near a supermarket in Essex is being called England’s answer to the tomb of Tutankhamun. And experts now believe they know which Anglo Saxon royal was laid to rest here as they prepare to display some of the artefacts…
The regal tradition of scratching signatures in windowpanes is long established and well known. The windows – particularly when in rooms of royal residences – formed a kind of living ‘guestbook’, often accompanied by the date the visit or signature, was made. These windowpanes are silent witnesses to vanished royal gatherings on long ago summers or essential occasions, represented today by…
