When the leading princess of a royal court marries, it’s usually a grand affair with tiaras, sparkle and endless celebrations. But when Astrid, then the de facto first lady of Norway, said her ‘I dos’ in 1961, it was a low key affair that changed the rules of royal romance. Her marriage to Johan Martin Ferner was controversial but the fact that it took place at all signalled a…
It’s not the most talked about royal wedding of all time but the marriage that took place on a cold, January day in 1967 has proved to be an important one for the Dutch Royal Family. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, aunt of the current monarch King Willem-Alexander…
The marriage of King Baudouin of the Belgians and Fabiola de Mora y Aragon, on December 15th 1960, gave a country a new queen and began a royal partnership that would become one of the most successful in modern regal history. The discreet monarch and his equally dignified…
It’s one of my all time favourite royal wedding dresses and just a glimpse of it can make me feel ever so slightly emotional. For not only was the pale blue gown worn by a lass called Lilian from Swansea on a cold, December day in 1976 a masterclass in elegance and chic, it was also the wedding dress of a princess decades in the making. It’s now forty four years since Prince Bertil of…
Royal Wedding Rewind: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
4th December 2020
It was the last major royal wedding of the 20th century and it began a new chapter in a royal story that would lead to a throne. On December 4th 1999, the then heir to the Belgian throne, Philippe, married Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz before a host of regal guests.
Royal Wedding Rewind: George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece
29th November 2020
It was a wedding featuring two very popular royals and two ceremonies and it led to one of the most influential unions of the 20th century. The marriage of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece, on November 29th 1934, was a day that changed the House of…
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie celebrate special anniversary, just months after his health scare
24th November 2020
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark have shared a new photo, taken by their daughter, to mark a special moment in their lives. The couple are celebrating their copper wedding anniversary with festivities coming just months after Joachim underwent emergency brain surgery.
Princess Athena, aged 8, snapped her parents on an autumn walk near their current home in Paris. The family moved…
Royal weddings tend to have a lot in common. They usually take place in huge, historic churches with brides decked in acres of white fabric and heirloom tiaras and grooms in military uniform, followed down the aisle by hoardes of bridesmaids and pageboys. Traditions must be…
Why does the 20th of November have good and bad memories for the Queen?
20th November 2020
Many dates in royal history will churn up positive and negative memories for members of the Royal Family. Perhaps this is most true for the Queen herself, who has been the head of the House of Windsor for almost sixty-nine years.
Several key anniversaries define Her…
How an heirloom necklace became the ultimate Windsor wedding tiara
16th November 2020
It’s become one of the big questions in the run up to a royal marriage – which tiara will the bride wear? It’s now an accepted part of any Windsor wedding and the decision of Princess Beatrice to wear the same tiara as her grandmother did as a bride for her big day is both sentimental and rather significant.
For Beatrice is now the third generation of the Queen’s family…
