State & Ceremonial

Ariana Grande turned down damehood because it came "too soon" after Manchester bombing

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30th December 2018
The US pop star Ariana Grande has reportedly turned down the offer of a damehood following her response to the Manchester Arena bombing last year. According to The Sun, Miss Grande was to be made Dame Commander of the British Empire, however, rejected the offer because she felt it had come too soon. The Queen has the power to make anybody an honorary Knight or Dame who does not live within a…
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FeaturesHistory

Kings, Princes and Norway's 90 years long civil war

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28th December 2018
Even though it is Christmas, take some time to learn more about Norway’s history. We are now 1000 years back in time when Norway broke out in a civil war which lasted for many decades. Around the year 1000, Norway had been established as a separate and stable kingdom. The question was who this kingdom belonged to. King Harald I Hårfagre and his sons had their power base in Western Norway. In…
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History

The farmer who could have been Norway’s king

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27th December 2018
The Knut Alvsson is, outside Norway, a name that few have ever heard. Still, the name represented one of the biggest riots in Norway’s history. Knut Alvsson was born in 1455 and was a wealthy farmer and landowner in Norway who then was a part of the Kalmar Union. From 1497…
FeaturesHistory

Queen Victoria's Winter Sledge

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24th December 2018
Queen Victoria’s winter sledge became synonymous with the Windsor Christmas, at least during the lifetime of Prince Albert, who is rightly credited with popularising Christmas traditions in England, including that of the Christmas tree. The royal trees were decorated with…
FeaturesHistoryRoyal Weddings

Bringing Queen Victoria's wedding to life

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22nd December 2018
It’s one of the most famous events in royal history, and now the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is being brought to life once more. A new TV programme, presented by historian Lucy Worsley, will reconstruct the marriage that began years of happiness for a young couple and changed the idea of royal weddings forever. Every aspect of the celebrations, represented at the time by…
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FeaturesHistory

The death of Prince Albert - Part One

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14th December 2018
In a two-part series, our Historian, Elizabeth Jane Timms, looks back at the death of Prince Albert: Prince Albert, the beloved husband and Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, died on 14 December 1861, at Windsor Castle. So enormous were the consequences of this death, both for the British monarch publicly and Queen Victoria privately, that we can sometimes overlook the death itself, although any…
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