Prince Wilhelm of Prussia was the eldest
child of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany and Duchess Cecilie of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin. As such, he was the oldest grandchild of the
last Emperor of Germany, Wilhelm II. At his birth, he was second in
line to the German throne and was expected to succeed to the throne
had it not been for the end of the German Empire following World
War I. Prince Wilhelm of…
The ruby is the birthstone for July. It’s
been used in royal jewellery collections for centuries and it now
features in some of the most striking pieces in European vaults.
The Dutch royal gem collection has some famous examples of the
stone. Here are the Netherlands’…
Queen Blanche II was born on 9 June 1424
as the daughter of John II of Aragon, King of Navarre, and his
wife, Queen Blanche I of Navarre. Blanche grew up in the Palace of
the Kings of Navarre of Olite with her family. Blanche was a member
of the House of Trastámara which…
The ‘meeting’ between Marie Antoinette
and the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has a fabled quality, not
least because of the oft-repeated folklore that has grown around
it. From the point of view of posterity, it is a fascinating moment
to contemplate, when two legendary (Austrian) figures were in the
same room, their biographical futures lying still before them. I
want to explore the facts…
A chance listing on the Public Catalogue
Foundation Art UK, for an oil on canvas painting (35.8 x 30.7 cm)
said to be of Russia’s last Empress, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna,
when she was Princess Alix of Hesse (1872-1918) led me to
investigate this extraordinary artwork…
We’re caught in a flux, of sorts, as the
world begins to ease out of lockdowns and restrictions imposed by
the COVID-19 pandemic, but countries remain cautious about how to
proceed so as not to cause another spike in cases. As businesses
begin to reopen, one thing seems…
Archduchess Mathilde of Austria was born
in 1849 as the daughter of Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen and his
wife, Princess Hildegard of Bavaria. She grew up in a wealthy and
charming home with a kind family. During the summer, the family
spent their time at the Weilburg Palace in Baden bei Wien. The
winters were spent in the royal residence in downtown Vienna. The
family was very close to the…
One of the UK’s most famous royal
buildings is getting ready to welcome back visitors after
coronavirus pandemic restrictions began to lift. The Tower of
London will open its doors again to tourists as summer gets well
and truly under way. The Tower opens again on July…
The birthstone of July, the ruby, has
been used as a symbol of royalty for centuries. Today we’re looking
at the history behind the most famous ruby tiara in the Danish
Royal Family’s collection: the Danish Ruby Parure. Now most closely
associated with Crown Princess…
They were an unexpected king and queen
and their royal romance has weathered several storms but today King
Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium will mark their sixty first
wedding anniversary. The couple, who married on July 2nd 1959
in Brussels, now live quietly following Albert’s abdication. Royal
Central looks back at the wedding which would put a shy young
couple on the path to a…
