‘What sorrows this last year brought us,
what endless anxieties, what worries and losses – God grant the new
year may be a calmer and happier one for the whole of dear Russia.
Sleep well and peacefully…’ With these words, Tsarina Alexandra
Feodorovna (1872-1918) closed a letter on New Year’s Eve 1900 to
Princess Marie Bariatinsky, one of the few close friends of her
early years as…
This year marks 25 years since King
Baudouin of Belgium unexpectedly died while on holiday in Spain. He
was the sixth King of the Belgians and at the same time one of the
most popular kings Belgium ever had. King Baudouin reigned from
1951 until his death in 1993. However…
Queen Victoria famously wrote of her
wedding day – 10 February 1840: ‘“Oh! This was the happiest day of
my life!” The day – 10 February – became one which the Queen – so
peculiarly concerned with dates and anniversaries – would ever
refer to as having been…
A bedroom gives a uniquely personal
insight into any historical personality and a royal personage no
less so. Many key moments in Queen Victoria’s life also took place
in her bedrooms, which help in no small way, to tell the story of
that life. The furnishing of this most private of spaces – usually
the penultimate room in the sequence of rooms which defined through
architecture, the level of…
They are monuments to love that have told
a royal romance for seven centuries. The Eleanor Crosses are a
famous part of England’s regal history and, for hundreds of years,
they have told the story of the king who built them for the queen
he had lost and could never forget.
Queen Victoria’s love of dogs provided
the inspiration for royal sculpture and painting, as well, of
course, the Queen’s journal entries. References to her dogs abound
throughout. Interestingly, her life may in one way, be charted
through her dogs, because they were with…
On 25 June 1900, Victoria, Princess Louis
of Battenberg – born Princess Victoria of Hesse – gave birth to a
son at Frogmore House in Windsor Great Park, the erstwhile
residence of Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent, until
her death in 1861. Princess Louis of Battenberg had been the
firstborn child of Queen Victoria’s second daughter, Princess
Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, who…
Princess Alix of Hesse visited Malta in
1890. Little would appear to have been recorded about it, although
it is possible to piece together some details of the trip from
surviving accounts, biographies by those that personally knew her
and from extracts of letters she wrote…
The Queen's favourite song 'Dancing Queen' is played outside Buckingham Palace during Changing the Guard
27th July 2018
One of Her Majesty’s favourite songs was
performed outside of Buckingham Palace this morning by The Queen’s
guards during the Changing the Guard ceremony – ABBA’s Dancing
Queen. Can you guess this tune? #FridayFeeling Beautiful played by
@TheRLCBand during Changing…
Most people when you mention Jane
Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, remember that from a difficult
first meeting between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, true love
eventually blossoms when young Elizabeth realises first impressions
may be deceptive. However, a recent discovery by a student at
Windsor Castle has revealed that a man despised of by Jane, was
perhaps a fan of her writing and may have been…
