Proclamation of His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom

Tags

Accession Council, HRH The Prince of Wales, King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is proclaimed King.

Accession Council
Council proclaiming a new British monarch

In the United Kingdom, the Accession Council is a ceremonial body which assembles in St James’s Palace in London upon the death of a monarch to make formal proclamation of the accession of the successor to the throne. Under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, a new monarch succeeds automatically (demise of the Crown). The proclamation merely confirms by name the identity of the new monarch and formally announces the new monarch’s regnal name.

HM King Charles III of the United Kingdom

The Prince of Wales signing the Proclamation

HRH The Prince of Wales, HM The Queen, HM The King

Trumpets and cries of “God save the King” as Charles III is formally proclaimed monarch.

Happy 9th Birthday to HRH Prince George of Cambridge

Tags

Catherine Middleton, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, Prince George of Cambridge, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Prince George of Cambridge (George Alexander Louis; born 22 July 2013) is a member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of HRH the Duke of Cambridge and HRH the Duchess of Cambridge, (Prince William and neé Catherine Middleton)

Prince George is third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind his grandfather Prince Charles and his father.

Due to his rank in the line of succession, and the subsequent expectation that he will one day become the British monarch, his birth was widely celebrated across the Commonwealth realms. George occasionally accompanies his parents on royal tours and engagements.

Juky 17: Happy Birthday to HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

Tags

Camilla Parker Bowls, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, Queen Consort, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Happy Birthday to HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. The Duchess turns 75 on July 17th. A special photo, by Chris Jackson, has been released to mark her birthday.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay and Duchess of Edinburgh, Countess of Chester, High Steward of Scotland and Lady of the Isles.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall LG, GCVO, CSM, PC (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, July 17, 1947) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, and should he succeed, Camilla would automatically become Queen Consort.

Camilla was brought up in East Sussex and South Kensington in England, and was educated in England, Switzerland, and France. In 1973, she married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles, with whom she has two children.

They divorced in 1995. Camilla was periodically romantically involved with Charles both before and during each of their first marriages. Their relationship became highly publicised in the media and attracted worldwide scrutiny.

HRH The Prince of Wales, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, Duke of Rothesay, High Steward of Scotland and Lord of the Isles.

In 2005, Camilla married The Prince of Wales in the Windsor Guildhall, which was followed by a televised Anglican blessing at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

As the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla carries out public engagements, often alongside her husband. She is also a patron, president, or a member of numerous charities and organisations.

Since 1994, Camilla has campaigned to raise awareness of osteoporosis, which has earned her several honours and awards. She has also raised awareness of issues such as rape, sexual abuse, literacy, animal welfare, and poverty.

Legally, Camilla is Princess of Wales but has adopted the feminine form of her husband’s highest-ranking subsidiary title, Duke of Cornwall, because the title Princess of Wales became strongly associated with its previous holder, Diana. In 2021, her husband became Duke of Edinburgh upon the death of his father, making her the Duchess of Edinburgh.

If Charles becomes king, the Duchess would legally and automatically become queen consort, in accordance with English common law. Clarence House stated on the occasion of their wedding in 2005 that she would adopt the style of princess consort instead of that of a queen, but there is no legal or historical precedent for such a title.

In 2018, Clarence House removed the statement regarding Camilla’s proposed style from its official website.

In 2020, however, Clarence House confirmed that plans for Camilla to adopt the style of princess consort remained unchanged.

In her 2022 Accession Day message, published to mark the 70th anniversary of her reign, Elizabeth II stated that it was her “sincere wish” for Camilla to be known as Queen Consort upon Charles’s accession to the throne.

Happy 40th Birthday to HRH The Duchess of Cambridge

Tags

40th Birthday, Catherine Middleton, HM Queen Elizabeth II, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, HRH The Prince of Wales, Prince William

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, GCVO (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; January 9, 1982) is a member of the British royal family. Her husband, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is second in the line of succession to the British throne, making Catherine a likely future queen consort.

Born in Reading, Middleton grew up in Bucklebury, Berkshire. She was educated at St Andrew’s School and Marlborough College before studying art history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she met William in 2001. She held jobs in retail and marketing and pursued charity work before their engagement was announced in November 2010.

They married on April 29, 2011 at Westminster Abbey. The couple’s children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis of Cambridge—are third, fourth, and fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, respectively.

Since her marriage, the Duchess has undertaken royal duties and engagements in support of the Queen. She holds patronage within over 20 charitable and military organisations, including Action for Children, SportsAid, and the National Portrait Gallery. She undertakes projects through The Royal Foundation, with her charity work focusing on issues surrounding young children, addiction, and art. To encourage people to open up about their mental health issues, the Duchess envisioned the mental health awareness campaign “Heads Together”, launched with the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex in April 2016.

Happy 73rd Birthday to HRH The Prince of Wales

Tags

Camilla Parker Bowles, Duke of Cambridge, Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Susex, HRH The Prince of Wales, King Edward VII, King William IV, Lady Diana Spencer, Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Prince's Trust, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George; born November 14, 1948), is the heir apparent to the British throne as the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II.

Charles was born in Buckingham Palace on November 14, 1948, during the reign of his maternal grandfather King George VI, as the first child of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was baptised there by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, on December 15, 1948.

The death of his grandfather and the accession of his mother as Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 made Charles the heir apparent. As the monarch’s eldest son, he automatically inherited the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. Charles attended his mother’s coronation at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester by his mother on July 26, 1958. His investiture was not held until July 1, 1969, when he was crowned by his mother in a televised ceremony held at Caernarfon Castle.

The Prince of Wales is both the oldest and the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. He is the oldest Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay. He is also the longest-serving Prince of Wales. He surpassed the record held by Edward VII on September 9, 2017. If he becomes monarch, he will be the oldest person to do so, the current record holder being King William IV, who was 64 when he became king in 1830. Upon the death of his father, Prince Philip, on April 9, 2021, Charles also inherited the title of Duke of Edinburgh.

The Prince of Wales took his seat in the House of Lords in 1970, and he made his maiden speech in June 1974, the first royal to speak from the floor since the future Edward VII in 1884. He spoke again in 1975. Charles began to take on more public duties, founding The Prince’s Trust in 1976, and travelling to the United States in 1981.

He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun schools, both of which his father attended as a child. He later spent a year at the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976.

In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer, with whom he had two sons: William and Henry, the current Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Susex respectively.

In 1996, the couple divorced following well-publicised extramarital affairs by both parties. Diana died as the result of a car crash in Paris the following year. In 2005, Charles married his long-term partner Camilla Parker Bowles. Although legally she is the Princess of Wales out of respect for the late Diana, Princess of Wales she is known as the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Prince of Wales has five grandchildren. The children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The Children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are Archie and Lillibet Mountbatten-Windsor.

As the Prince of Wales, Charles undertakes official duties on behalf of the Queen. He founded The Prince’s Trust in 1976, sponsors The Prince’s Charities, and is a patron, president, or a member of over 400 other charities and organisations.

As a self-described environmentalist, Charles has spoken publicly about issues such as organic farming and climate change, which has earned him awards and recognition from environmental groups. His support for alternative medicine, including homeopathy, has been the subject of criticism.

His views on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings have received significant attention from British architects and design critics. Since 1993, Charles has worked on the creation of Poundbury, an experimental new town based on his architectural tastes. He is also an author or co-author of a number of books.

June 21, 1982: Birthday of HRH The Duke of Cambridge

Tags

Catherine Middleton, Diana Princess of Wales, HRH The Prince of Wales, Lady Diana Spencer, Prince Charles, Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William Duke of Cambridge, Prince William of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, The Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke of Cambridge

Official photo released on The Duke of Cambridge’s 38th birthday.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, KG, KT, PC, ADC (William Arthur Philip Louis; born June 21, 1982) is a member of the British royal family. He is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. Since birth, he has been second in the line of succession to the British throne.

HRH The Duke of Cambridge

His father is HRH The Prince of Wales eldest son and heir to the throne of HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her husband HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

His mother, Diana, Princess of Wales was born Lady Diana Spencer (1961-1997) the fourth of five children of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (1924–1992), and Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (née Roche; 1936–2004). The Spencer family had been closely allied with the British royal family for several generations; Diana’s grandmothers, Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer and Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, had served as ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

HRH The Prince of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales

Prince William was born at Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, at 9:03 pm on June 21, 1982 as the first child of Charles, Prince of Wales—heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth II—and Diana, Princess of Wales. His names, William Arthur Philip Louis, were announced by Buckingham Palace on June 28.

Prince William was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 4 August 4, the 82nd birthday of his paternal great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. He was the first child born to a Prince and Princess of Wales since the birth of Prince John in 1905.

William’s mother wanted him and his younger brother Prince Henry (Harry) to have wider experiences than are usual for royal children. She took them to Walt Disney World and McDonald’s, as well as AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless, and bought them items typically owned by teenagers, such as video games. Diana, who was by then divorced from Charles, died in a car accident in the early hours of August 31, 1997.

Prince William, then aged 15, together with his 12-year-old brother and their father, were staying at Balmoral Castle at the time. The Prince of Wales waited until his sons awoke the following morning to tell them about their mother’s death. William accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and his maternal uncle Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, at his mother’s funeral; they walked behind the funeral cortège from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

The decision to place William in Eton went against the family tradition of sending royal children to Gordonstoun, which William’s grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended. Diana’s father and brother both attended Eton. The royal family and the tabloid press agreed William would be allowed to study free from intrusion in exchange for regular updates about his life.

After completing his studies at Eton, William took a gap year, during which he took part in British Army training exercises in Belize, worked on English dairy farms, visited Africa, and for ten weeks taught children in southern Chile. By 2001, William was back in the United Kingdom and had enrolled at the University of St Andrews. The extra attention did not deter him; he embarked on a degree course in Art History, later changing his main subject to Geography, and earned a Scottish Master of Arts degree with upper second class honours in 2005.

Having decided to follow a military career, in October 2005 William attended the four-day Regular Commissions Board at Westbury in Wiltshire, where he underwent selection to judge his suitability to become an army officer. He passed selection and was admitted to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in January 2006. After completing the course, William was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at Sandhurst on 15 December 2006; the graduation parade was attended by the Queen and the Prince of Wales, along with other members of the Royal Family.

Prince William officially received his commission as a lieutenant at midnight. As “Lieutenant Wales”—a name based on his father’s title Prince of Wales—he followed his younger brother into the Blues and Royals as a troop commander in an armoured reconnaissance unit, after which he spent five months training for the post at Bovington Camp, Dorset.

In January 2009, William transferred his commission to the RAF and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. He trained to become a helicopter pilot with the RAF’s Search and Rescue Force. In January 2010, he graduated from the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury, where he had been under the instruction of Squadron Leader Craig Finch. On January 26, 2010, he transferred to the Search and Rescue Training Unit at RAF Valley, Anglesey, to receive training on the Sea King search and rescue helicopter; he graduated from this course on September 17, 2010. This made him the first member of the British royal family since King Henry VII to live in Wales.

In November 2011, he participated in a search-and-rescue mission involving a cargo ship that was sinking in the Irish Sea; William, as a co-pilot, helped rescue two sailors.

William was deployed to the Falkland Islands for a six-week tour with No. 1564 Flight from February to March 2012. The Argentine government condemned the Duke’s deployment to the islands close to the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Falklands War as a “provocative act”.

In June 2012 Prince William gained a qualification to be captain or pilot in command of a Sea King rather than a co-pilot. His active service as an RAF search-and-rescue pilot ended in September 2013.

Prince William’s private life became a subject of tabloid speculation, especially around his relationship with Catherine Middleton, one of William’s university flatmates whom William began dating in 2003. Middleton attended William’s passing-out parade at Sandhurst, which was the first high-profile event that she attended as his guest.

On November 16, 2010, Clarence House announced that Prince William and Middleton were to marry; the couple had become engaged in Kenya in October. The engagement ring given by William to Catherine had belonged to his mother.

The wedding took place on April 29, 2011 in Westminster Abbey, London. A few hours before the ceremony, Her Majesty the Queen ennobled Prince William with new peerage titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus were announced.

His wife’s first pregnancy was announced on December 3, 2012. She was admitted on July 22, 2013 to the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, where Prince William had been delivered. Later that day, she gave birth to Prince George. On September 8, 2014, it was announced that the Duchess of Cambridge was pregnant with her second child. She was admitted on May 2, 2015 to the same hospital and gave birth to Princess Charlotte. The Duchess’s third pregnancy was announced on September 4, 2017; Prince Louis was born on April 23, 2018.

New picture of four generations of British Royals.

Tags

HRH Prince George of Cambridge, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, HRH The Prince of Wales, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, King George V of the United Kingdom, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom

Buckingham Palace has released a new four generation picture with HM the Queen, HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH Prince George of Cambridge.

This picture is very reminiscent of the famous picture of Queen Victoria holding the future Edward VIII and the future Edward VII and George V in the back. If Queen had been holding George VI (father of the present Queen) these pictures would represent 8 generations of Kings and Queens of the United Kingdom.

Making Pudding with Four Generation of the British Royal Family.

Tags

British Legion, HRH Prince George of Cambridge, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, HRH The Prince of Wales, Pudding, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Together at Christmas

Four generations of The Royal Family have come together to support The Royal British Legion’s “Together at Christmas” initiative. In this picture are HM The Queen, HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH Prince George of Cambridge.

The Queen is Patron of the British Legion & the puddings will be the centerpieces of the charity’s Christmas get-togethers.
The pudding making was led by a Legion care home chef Alex Cavaliere & attended by veterans – Colin Hughes, Liam Young, Lisa Evans and Barbara Hurman.

Princess Helena Victoria and Princess Marie Louise of…nothing?

Tags

Helena of the the United Kingdom, Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, HRH The Prince of Wales, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, Me, My Memories of Six Reigns, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain

Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (Victoria Louise Sophia Augusta Amelia Helena; May 3, 1870 – March 13, 1948) and Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (Franziska Josepha Louise Augusta Marie Christina Helena; August 12, 1872 – December 8 1956) were the daughters of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (third son of Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Countess Louise af Danneskjold-Samsøe) and Princess Helena of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (the fifth child and third daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha).

Their Parents Marriage

In 1863, the Queen Victoria looked for a husband for her daughter Princess Helena. However, as a middle child, the prospect of a powerful alliance with a European royal house was low. Her appearance was also a concern, as by the age of fifteen she was described by her biographer as chunky, dowdy and double-chinned. Despite her biographer saying she was chunky with a double chin, photos from that time period do not provide evidence of that.

Princess Helena

Furthermore, Victoria insisted that Helena’s future husband had to be prepared to live near the Queen, thus keeping her daughter nearby. Her choice eventually fell on Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, 15 years her senior.

Princess Helena and Prince Christian at their engagement 1865

The engagement was declared on December 5, 1865, and despite the Prince of Wales’s initial refusal to attend (because of the political issues raised over the twin duchies of Schleswig-Holstein) Alice intervened, and the wedding was a happy occasion. The Queen allowed the ceremony to take place at Windsor Castle, albeit in the Private Chapel rather than the grander St George’s Chapel on July 5 1866.

The couple had six children: Christian Victor in 1867, Albert in 1869, and Helena Victoria and Marie Louise in 1870 and 1872 respectively. Their last two sons died early; Harald died eight days after his birth in 1876, and an unnamed son was stillborn in 1877.

Princess Helena Victoria & Princess Marie Louise

Princess Helena Victoria (always known to her family as Thora) was born at Frogmore House, near Windsor Castle. Princess Marie Louise was born at Cumberland Lodge, in Windsor Great Park. She was known to her family as “Louie”.

Princess Helena Victoria

On July 6, 1891, Princess Marie Louise married Prince Aribert of Anhalt (June 18, 1866 – December 24, 1933) at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. Prince Aribert was the third son of Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt, and his wife, Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. The bride’s first cousin, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, had been instrumental in arranging the match.

Princess Marie Louise

Though contemporary sources did not directly suggest it was a cause of his marriage dissolution, a number of contemporaries and subsequent historical accounts suggest Aribert was bisexual or homosexual, and some have suggested an indiscretion with a male attendant was the catalyst for the dissolution and that the marriage had never been consummated. The marriage was annulled on December 13, 1900 by his father. Princess Marie Louise, on an official visit to Canada at the time, immediately returned to Britain and was outraged. According to her memoirs, the marriage was unhappy and despite that, she regarded her marriage vows as binding, therefore she never remarried.

Princess Helena Victoria never married. She followed her mother’s example in working for various charitable organizations, most notably the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and Princess Christian’s Nursing Home at Windsor. During World War I, she founded the YWCA Women’s Auxiliary Force. As its president, she visited British troops in France and obtained the permission of the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, to arrange entertainments for them. Between the world wars, she and her sister, Princess Marie Louise, were enthusiastic patrons of music at Schomberg House, their London residence. After a German air raid damaged the house in 1940, the two princesses moved to Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square.

Titles of the Princesses.

As male-line granddaughters of Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Princess Helena Victoria and Princess Marie Louise we’re technically German Princesses and each were styled Her Serene Highness (Durchlaucht) within the German Empire. However, Under Royal Warrant (Letters Patent) of May 15 1866, Queen Victoria had conferred the higher style of Highness upon any children to be born of the marriage of Princess Helena and Prince Christian, although the children were to remain Prince or Princess of Schleswig-Holstein. This higher style was in effect only in the United Kingdom, while in Germany their styles would remain Serene Highness.

In July 1917, during World War I, King George V changed the name of the British Royal House from the very German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the British sounding House of Windsor. The King also relinquished, on behalf of himself and his numerous German cousins who were British subjects, the use of their German titles, styles, and surnames. Princess Helena Victoria and her younger sister, Princess Marie Louise, thereupon ceased to use the territorial designation “of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg”. Instead, they became known simply as “Her Highness Princess Helena Victoria” and “Her Highness Princess Marie Louise”. Although the two had borne German styles and titles, and belonged to the German Royal House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, (a collateral branch of the Danish/German House of Oldenburg) they were born and raised in England and their upbringing and domicile were entirely English. The Princesses were considered members of the British Royal Family.

Princess Helena Victoria and Princess Marie Louise

In June 1917, a notice appeared in the Court Circular that a Royal Warrant was to be prepared by George V dispensing with his cousins’ use of the “Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg” part of their titles. However no warrant was ever issued, nor were never they formally granted the titles of Princesses of Great Britain and Ireland nor of the United Kingdom in their own right. Therefore they were simply styled Her Highness Princess Helena Victoria and Her Highness Princess Marie Louise without any reference to a territorial designation.

This approach differed from the one accepted by George V’s other relatives, who relinquished all princely titles, not just their German designations, and in turn received British titles of nobility from the King. Their titles of Princess were derived from their father, and they were not officially princesses of the United Kingdom. However, their unmarried status and their right to be styled Highness dating from Queen Victoria’s concession of 1867 rendered their situations awkward, so that it was easier to allow them to retain their status as princesses while avoiding the question of immediate family membership altogether.

Between the world wars, Helena Victoria and Princess Marie Louise, were enthusiastic patrons of music at Schomberg House, their London residence where they resided together. After a German air raid damaged the house in 1940, the two princesses moved to Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square.

Helena Victoria

In ill health and using a wheelchair after World War II, one of Princess Helena Victoria’s last major appearance was at the November 20, 1947 wedding of her first cousin twice removed Princess Elizabeth, (future Queen Elizabeth II) to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.

Princess Helena Victoria died at Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square, on March 13, 1948? Her funeral took place at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and she was buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore, Windsor Great Park. She died at the age of 77, the same age at which her mother, Princess Helena, had also died.

Marie Louise

Princess Marie Louise attended four coronations in Westminster Abbey, those of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1902; King George V and Queen Mary in 1911; King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937; and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. In 1956, she published her memoirs, My Memories of Six Reigns. She died at her London home, 10 Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square, a few months later on December 8 1956 aged 84 and is buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore at Windsor Great Park.

This date in History: August 31, 1997. Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

Tags

8th Earl Spencer, Charles, Charles Prince of Wales, Diana, Diana Princess of Wales, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, HRH The Duke of Sussex, HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH The Princess of Wales, John Spencer, Lady Diana Spencer, Prince Harry, Prince Henry of Wales, Prince William, Prince William of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Diana, Princess of Wales (July 1, 1961 – August 31, 1997). Diana Frances Spencer was born on 1 July 1961, in Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the fourth of five children of John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer (1924–1992), and Frances Spencer, Viscountess Althorp (née Roche; 1936–2004). The Spencer family has been closely allied with the British royal family for several generations; Diana’s grandmothers had served as ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

The Spencers were hoping for a boy to carry on the family line, and no name was chosen for a week, until they settled on Diana Frances. The name Frances was chosen after her mother. Diana was the name chosen after Lady Diana Spencer (1710-1735) daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (1675-1722) and his second wife, Anne Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (née Lady Anne Churchill) (1683-1716). This Lady Diana Spencer was a many-times-great-aunt and she was chiefly remembered for the unsuccessful attempt to arrange a marriage between her and Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707-1751) eldest son of King George III of the United Kingdom.

Lady Diana Spencer (1710-1735)

Diana came to prominence in 1981 upon her engagement to Prince Charles, Princes of Wales the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, after a brief courtship. Their wedding took place at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981 which made her HRH The Princess of Wales, a role in which she was enthusiastically received by the public.

The couple had two sons, the Prince William (current Duke of Cambridge) and Henry (Harry, current Duke of Sussex), who were then second and third in the line of succession to the British throne. Diana’s marriage to Charles, however, suffered due to their incompatibility and extramarital affairs. The couple separated in 1992, soon after the breakdown of their relationship became public knowledge. The details of their marital difficulties became increasingly publicised, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1996.

(My favorite picture of Diana, Princess of Wales)

As Princess of Wales, Diana undertook royal duties on behalf of the Queen and represented her at functions across the Commonwealth realms. She was celebrated in the media for her unconventional approach to charity work. Her patronages initially centered on children and youth but she later became known for her involvement with AIDS patients and campaign for the removal of landmines.

She also raised awareness and advocated ways to help people affected with cancer and mental illness. As princess, Diana was initially noted for her shyness, but her charisma and friendliness endeared her to the public and helped her reputation survive the acrimonious collapse of her marriage.

Exceptionally photogenic, she was a leader of fashion in the 1980s and 1990s. Media attention and public mourning were extensive after her death in a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997 and subsequent televised funeral. Her legacy has had a deep impact on the royal family and British society.