Britain
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
In the early morning of 6 February 1952 George VI died in his sleep at the age of only 56 after several years of poor health, and his elder daughter Elizabeth, in Kenya en route to Australia and New Zealand, became queen. She had to abandon the Commonwealth tour that had just started and return home to Britain to face a lifetime of duty and service to her country. Today marks the 60th anniversary of her accession.
Royal Wootton Bassett
For four years the people of the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett came out to line the High Street and pay their respects as the bodies of repatriated military personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan were driven from RAF Lyneham to a hospital in Oxford. In contrast to the secrecy of American repatriations, the community came together to mourn the loss of these young lives and show support to the bereaved families.
Death of the Earl of Harewood
George Henry Hubert Lascelles, seventh Earl of Harewood, died on 11 July 2011 at the age of 88. He was the eldest grandchild of George V and Queen Mary, and a first cousin of Elizabeth II. His parents were Henry Lascelles, the sixth Earl, and Mary, Princess Royal, daughter of George V. At his birth, he was sixth in line to the throne (at the time of his death, he had dropped to 46th).
Diana Conspiracy Theories
This year marked one of the biggest occasions in British history in over 30 years. Prince William announced back in November of 2010 that he would marry his long time girlfriend Catherine Middleton. For the royal family this secured the line of succession and signaled the beginning of 6 months of endless media coverage. But with this engagement, the media dug up the memory of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and dragged the question of her death back into the spotlight.
Prince Philip’s 90th Birthday
“He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments. He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know.”
These words were spoken by Elizabeth II about her husband Prince Philip during the celebration of their golden wedding anniversary in 1997.
Laurent vs Andrew – the enfants terribles of Laeken and Windsor
In early March, Andrew, Duke of York, was – yet again – in the middle of a major controversy: the favourite son of Queen Elizabeth II was linked to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and many other dubious “friends”, putting his position as trade envoy for the UK (temporarily) in question. Some weeks later, his Belgian colleague, Prince Laurent, also caused havoc, after word came out the Prince had made a trip to Congo against the express wishes of the government and the King.
Is Kate a Princess?
As expected, the Queen conferred a dukedom on Prince William on the morning of his wedding. He is now HRH The Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus. When Kate Middleton married him, she became HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, and Baroness Carrickfergus instead of Princess William of Wales, as she would have been known if Prince William hadn’t been given a dukedom.
Wedding of Prince William of Wales to Catherine Middleton
Today, 29 April 2011, was the day that royalty fans around the world had been waiting for for years: the day Prince William of Wales married long-term girlfriend Catherine (Kate) Middleton. Along with millions of viewers and thousands of fans in the streets of London, the Royal Universe team followed the royal wedding of the century.
Milestones for the British Royals
Elizabeth II, 2007
Today is Queen Elizabeth II’s 85th birthday. She was born on 21 April 1926, the first child of the Duke of York, second son of George V, and his wife, the former Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She wasn’t expected to become Queen; the Duke had an elder brother, the Prince of Wales, whose future children would precede her in the succession, as would any younger brothers of her own.
Louis Greig: The Man Who Made George VI
George VI, who died 59 years ago today, has been in the news recently as the main character in the highly acclaimed movie The King’s Speech (see this blog for a review), an account of his friendship with Lionel Logue, the Australian who successfully treated his stammer. In one scene in the movie, Logue asks him about his friends, and he says rather defensively that he doesn’t have any. It makes for a more dramatic story and casts Lionel Logue as the only person who saw past the unpromising exterior of the future king and made him believe in himself for the first time. The only problem is that it isn’t true.