British RoyalsQueen Elizabeth II

Stained-glass window of Her Majesty to be designed by David Hockney for Westminster Abbey

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23rd November 2016
Westminster Abbey announced on Tuesday, 22 November that influential contemporary painter David Hockney has accepted an invitation to design a stained-glass window at the Abbey to honour Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Though the Abbey will provide input, Mr Hockney will have artistic control over the design and in a statement posted on the Westminster Abbey website alongside the announcement…
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History

Royal Burials: Westminster Abbey

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7th October 2016
Westminster Abbey has been entwined with royalty since its foundation. All but two coronations have taken place there, as have 16 royal weddings (beginning with that of King Henry I of England to Matilda of Scotland, and most recently that of the Duke and Duchess of…
Prince PhilipQueen Elizabeth IIState & Ceremonial

Queen makes alternative entrance at State Opening of Parliament for first time in 63 years

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18th May 2016
In the most public concession yet of her age, The Queen took a lift to the Robing Room in the Palace of Westminster for this morning’s State Opening of Parliament, the first time in her 63 years of attending. The 90-year-old monarch, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, 94, avoided the 26 steps of the Sovereign’s staircase, in a move described by aides as a “modest…
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FeaturesHistoryInsight

Looking at the birth of Mary, Queen of Scots

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5th December 2015
Mary Queen of Scots was born on 8 December 1542, at Linlithgow Palace, incidentally the birthplace of her father, James V of Scotland, in West Lothian, some fifteen miles distance from Edinburgh. The palace’s name translates literally as the “loch in the damp hollow” and still overlooks a inland loch. Today it ismaintained by Historic Scotland and was the residence of…
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Princess Anne and Family

Edith Cavell: The war heroine who was given a royal farewell

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11th October 2015
“Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone.” These were the words of Edith Cavell, a British nurse who was shot for helping Allied soldiers escape from Belgium during the First World War. Now, Edith’s memory will be honoured in a service held in Belgium to mark the 100th anniversary of her execution. The service will be attended by a number of…
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