presenting Elizabeth I with an annual New Year’s gift of sweet bags – these may have been quite small, as they could have been to contain potpurri to keep some of the less pleasant smells of court life at nose length. He began making his gifts in 1561...
When Elizabeth gained the throne and did not immediately defend her mother’s memory, to many onlookers it seemed strange “that during her long and glorious reign, none wrote in vindication of her mother, which officious courtiers are apt to do often, without any good grounds; so that silen...
The handsome Robert Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse; he was the son of the late Lord Protector and had been imprisoned in the Tower with Elizabeth during Mary’s reign. Not coincidentally, this position required close contact with the queen. Thus from the very beginning, a source ...
A summary of some of the most important achievements of Elizabeth I of England. Before the start of her reign, England had been weakened by war and religious strife. By the end of it, the country was rich and secure and enjoying its greatest literary per
By the time of her platinum jubilee in 2022 marking her 70 years as queen, the national celebration had added another dimension, a shared recognition that the reign was almost over and was of a type that would not be seen again in terms of its length, pomp and place in a changed Briti...
Stretched along the middle length of the long, narrow room are picnic tables, the sort that get stacked in village halls for events, joined end to end to accommodate the community meal this evening. It’s organized as an “Auberge Espagnole” which for the uninitiated is a gathering in whic...
Stretched along the middle length of the long, narrow room are picnic tables, the sort that get stacked in village halls for events, joined end to end to accommodate the community meal this evening. It’s organized as an “Auberge Espagnole” which for the uninitiated is a gathering in whic...
During the first half of the 20th century successivearchbishops of Canterbury, with whom lay the responsibility for revision, made various improvements in the service. Broadly speaking these were made with a view to decreasing its length, to removing the traces of past controversies which had becom...
Queen Elizabeth II: The Diamond Celebration: Directed by Alan Byron. With Gyles Brandreth, Tim Heald, Robert Lacey, Nicholas Owen. This feature length HD documentary of Queen Elizabeth II's reign is packed with rare archive footage and expert commentary
In a move that no other woman in the British monarchy would have dared, Bowles recycled the white knee-length number she wore to her wedding to Prince Charles. At the opening session of the 2007 National Assembly of Wales, the duchess was pictured sporting the ensemble, perHello. As noted...