Features

It was the last Windsor wedding of the 20th century and a turning point for the Royal Family after a troubled time. The bride chose a modern gown with nods to history and it soon became a classic. If ever a royal wedding dress summed up its wearer, it was the gown chosen by Sophie Rhys-Jones for her marriage to Prince Edward on 19 June 1999 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Subtle, elegant and…

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 bride went on to enjoy a long and happy union that would help stabilise the Belgian monarchy after years of turbulence. Their…

Have we got the title of one of Britain’s most controversial kings right? If you think you know the answer, this special feature by Liam Foley might make you think again. One aspect of the evolution of monarchy that I find interesting is the development of Ordinal numbers, or regnal numbers, and also called post-nominal numbers used to differentiate between monarchs of the same name…

His birth secured the succession in a way the British royal family had never known before. When Mary, Duchess of York delivered a healthy boy on June 23rd 1894 she ensured that her royal dynasty had three heirs in direct line to the throne. But the baby who arrived that day would take the crown from ultimate security to compete crisis. The baby grew up to be Edward VIII, the king who abdicated for…