December 26, 1800: Death of Mary Robinson

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Actress, Banastre Tarleton, Celebrity, Feminist, HRH The Prince of Wales, King George IV of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover, Mary Darby, Mary Robinson, Novelist, Poet

Mary Robinson (née Darby; November 27, 1757 – December 26, 1800) was an English actress, poet, dramatist, novelist, and celebrity figure. She lived in England, in the cities of Bristol and London; she also lived in France and Germany for a time. She enjoyed poetry from the age of seven and started working, first as a teacher and then as actress, from the age of fourteen. She wrote many plays, poems and novels. She was a celebrity, gossiped about in newspapers, famous for her acting and writing. She was the first public mistress of King George IV while he was still Prince of Wales.

Mary Robinson was born in Bristol, England to Nicholas Darby, a naval captain, and his wife Hester (née Vanacott) who had married at Donyatt, Somerset, in 1749, and was baptised ‘Polle(y)’ (“Spelt ‘Polle’ in the official register and ‘Polly’ in the Bishop’s Transcript”) at St Augustine’s Church, Bristol, July 19, 1758, the entry noting that she was born November 27, 1756.

In her memoirs, Robinson gives her birth in 1758, but the year 1757 seems more likely according to recently published research. Her father deserted her mother and took a mistress when Robinson was still a child.

Mary Robinson

The family hoped for a reconciliation, but Captain Darby made it clear that this was not going to happen. Without the support of her husband, Hester Darby supported herself and the five children born of the marriage by starting a school for young girls in Little Chelsea, London, (where Robinson taught by her 14th birthday).

However, during one of his brief returns to the family, Captain Darby had the school closed (which he was entitled to do by English law). Darby died in the Russian naval service in 1785. Robinson, who at one point attended a school run by the social reformer Hannah More, came to the attention of actor David Garrick.

Marriage

Hester Darby encouraged her daughter to accept the proposal of an articled clerk, Thomas Robinson, who claimed to have an inheritance. Mary was against this idea; however, after falling ill and watching him take care of her and her younger brother, she felt that she owed him, and she did not want to disappoint her mother who was pushing for the engagement.

After the early marriage, Robinson discovered her husband did not have an inheritance. He continued to live an elaborate lifestyle, however, and made no effort to hide multiple affairs. Subsequently, Mary supported their family. After her husband squandered their money, the couple fled to Talgarth, Breconshire (where Robinson’s only daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born in November).

Here they lived in a fairly large estate, called Tregunter Park. Eventually her husband was imprisoned for debt in the Fleet Prison where she lived with him for many months. While it was common for the wives of prisoners to live with their husbands while indebted, children were usually sent to live with relatives to keep them away from the dangers of prison.

HRH Prince George, The Prince of Wales

However, Robinson was deeply devoted to her daughter Maria, and when her husband was imprisoned, Robinson brought the 6-month-old baby with her.

It was in the Fleet Prison that Robinson’s literary career really began, as she found that she could publish poetry to earn money, and to give her an escape from the harsh reality that had become her life. Her first book, Poems By Mrs. Robinson, was published in 1775 by C. Parker.

Additionally, Robinson’s husband was offered work in the form of copying legal documents so he could try to pay back some of his debts, but he refused to do anything. Robinson, in an effort to keep the family together and to get back to normal life outside of prison, took the job instead, collecting the pay that her husband neglected to earn.

During this time, Mary Robinson found a patron in Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, who sponsored the publication of Robinson’s second volume of poems, Captivity.

Theatre

After her husband obtained his release from prison, Robinson decided to return to the theatre. She launched her acting career and took to the stage playing Juliet at Drury Lane Theatre in December 1776. Robinson was best known for her facility with the ‘breeches parts’, and her performances as Viola in William Shakespeare’sTwelfth Night and Rosalind in As You Like It won her extensive praise.

But she gained popularity with playing in Florizel and Perdita, an adaptation of Shakespeare, with the role of Perdita (heroine of The Winter’s Tale) in 1779. It was during this performance that she attracted the notice of the young Prince of Wales, later King George IV of the United Kingdom. He offered her twenty thousand pounds to become his mistress. During this time, the very young Emma, Lady Hamilton sometimes worked as her maid and dresser at the theatre.

George IV, King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover

She was the first public mistress of George, then Prince of Wales, and was catapulted into the stratosphere of celebrity, becoming even more popular and trend-setting. Sadly their affair ended in 1781, and Mary went on to become distinguished for her poetry.

Mary Robinson, who now lived separately from her husband, went on to have several love affairs, most notably with Banastre Tarleton, a soldier who had recently distinguished himself fighting in the American War of Independence. Prior to their relationship, Robinson had been having an affair with a man named Lord Malden.

According to one account, Malden and Tarleton were betting men, and Malden was so confident in Robinson’s loyalty to him, and believed that no man could ever take her from him. As such, he made a bet of a thousand guineas that none of the men in his circle could seduce her. Unfortunately for Malden, Tarleton accepted the bet and swooped in to not only seduce Robinson, but establish a relationship that would last the next 15 years.

Banastre Tarleton

This relationship, though rumoured to have started on a bet, saw Tarleton’s rise in military rank and his concomitant political successes, Mary’s own various illnesses, financial vicissitudes and the efforts of Tarleton’s own family to end the relationship. They had no children, although Robinson had a miscarriage.

However, in the end, Tarleton married Susan Bertie, an heiress and an illegitimate daughter of the young 4th Duke of Ancaster, and niece of his sisters Lady Willoughby de Eresby and Lady Cholmondeley. In 1783, Robinson suffered a mysterious illness that left her partially paralysed.

Mary Robinson

Lastly, in 1800, after years of failing health and decline into financial ruin, Robinson wrote her last piece of literature during her lifetime: a series of poems titled the Lyrical Tales, published by Longman & Rees, in London. This poetry collection explored themes of domestic violence, misogyny, violence against destitute characters, and political oppression.

Mary Robinson died on December 26, 1800.

Mary Robinson was one of the first female celebrities of the modern era. She was dubbed as scandalous, but on the other hand educated and able to be partially independent from her husband. She was one of the first women to enter the sphere of writing, and to be successful there. Scholars often argue that she used her celebrity status only in her own advantage, but it is to be noted how much she contributed to the awareness of early feminism.

Titles of Royalty and Nobility within the British Monarchy: Baron

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Baron, Coronet, English Peerage, House of Lords, HRH The Prince of Wales, Norman Conquest, The Baron of Renfrew and The Baron Carrickfergus

The word baron comes from the Old French baron, from a Late Latin barō “man; servant, soldier, mercenary” (so used in Salic law; Alemannic law has barus in the same sense). The scholar Isidore of Seville in the 7th century thought the word was from Greek βᾰρῠ́ς “heavy” (because of the “heavy work” done by mercenaries), but the word is presumably of Old Frankish origin, cognate with Old English beorn meaning “warrior, nobleman”.

Cornutus in the first century already reports a word barones which he took to be of Gaulish origin. He glosses it as meaning servos militum and explains it as meaning “stupid”, by reference to classical Latin bārō “simpleton, dunce”; because of this early reference, the word has also been suggested to derive from an otherwise unknown Celtic *bar, but the Oxford English Dictionary takes this to be “a figment”.

Britain and Ireland

In the Peerage of England, the Peerage of Great Britain, the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of the United Kingdom (but not in the Peerage of Scotland), barons form the lowest rank, placed immediately below viscounts. A woman of baronial rank has the title baroness.

In the Kingdom of England, the medieval Latin word barō (genitive singular barōnis) was used originally to denote a tenant-in-chief of the early Norman kings who held his lands by the feudal tenure of “barony” (in Latin per barōniam), and who was entitled to attend the Great Council (Magnum Concilium) which by the 13th century had developed into the Parliament of England.

Feudal baronies (or “baronies by tenure”) are now obsolete in England and without any legal force, but any such historical titles are held in gross, that is to say are deemed to be enveloped within a more modern extant peerage title also held by the holder, sometimes along with vestigial manorial rights and tenures by grand serjeanty.

History

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Norman dynasty introduced an adaptation of the French feudal system to the Kingdom of England. Initially, the term “baron” on its own was not a title or rank, but the “barons of the King” were the men of the king.

HRH The Prince of Wales, The Baron of Renfrew and The Baron Carrickfergus

Previously, in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England, the king’s companions held the title of earl and in Scotland, the title of thane. All who held their feudal barony “in-chief of the king”, that is with the king as his immediate overlord, became alike barones regis (“barons of the king”), bound to perform a stipulated annual military service and obliged to attend his council.

The greatest of the nobles, especially those in the Marches, such as the Earls of Chester and the Bishops of Durham, whose territories were often deemed palatine, that is to say “worthy of a prince”, might refer to their own tenants as “barons”, where lesser magnates spoke simply of their “men” (homines) and lords of the manor might reference “bondmen”.

Baron (from the Old German baro, freeman). Always referred to and addressed as ‘Lord’; Baron is rarely used. The wife of a baron is a baroness and all children are ‘Honorables’.

Initially those who held land directly from the king by military service, from earls downwards, all bore alike the title of baron, which was thus the factor uniting all members of the ancient baronage as peers one of another. Under King Henry II, the Dialogus de Scaccario already distinguished between greater barons, who held per baroniam by knight’s service, and lesser barons, who held manors.

Thus in this historical sense, Lords of Manors are barons, or freemen; however they are not entitled to be styled as such. John Selden writes in Titles of Honour, “The word Baro (Latin for Baron) hath been also so much communicated, that not only all Lords of Mannors have been from ancient time, and are at this day called sometimes Barons (as in the stile of their Court Barons, which is Curia Baronis, &c. And I have read hors de son Barony in a barr to an Avowry for hors de son fee) But also the Judges of the Exchequer have it from antient time fixed on them.”

Within a century of the Norman Conquest of 1066, as in the case of Thomas Becket in 1164, there arose the practice of sending to each greater baron a personal summons demanding his attendance at the King’s Council, which evolved into the Parliament and later into the House of Lords, while as was stipulated in Magna Carta of 1215, the lesser barons of each county would receive a single summons as a group through the sheriff, and representatives only from their number would be elected to attend on behalf of the group.

These representatives developed into the Knights of the Shire, elected by the County Court presided over by the sheriff, who themselves formed the precursor of the House of Commons. Thus appeared a definite distinction, which eventually had the effect of restricting to the greater barons alone the privileges and duties of peerage.

Later, the king started to create new baronies in one of two ways: by a writ of summons directing a chosen man to attend Parliament, and in an even later development by letters patent. Writs of summons became the normal method in medieval times, displacing the method of feudal barony, but creation of baronies by letters patent is the sole method adopted in modern times.

Since the adoption of summons by writ, baronies thus no longer relate directly to land-holding, and thus no more feudal baronies needed to be created from then on. Following the Modus Tenendi Parliamenta of 1419, the Tenures Abolition Act 1660, the Feudal Tenure Act (1662), and the Fines and Recoveries Act of 1834, titles of feudal barony became obsolete and without legal force.

The Abolition Act 1660 specifically states: baronies by tenure were converted into baronies by writ. The rest ceased to exist as feudal baronies by tenure, becoming baronies in free socage, that is to say under a “free” (hereditable) contract requiring payment of monetary rents.

In the 20th century, Britain introduced the concept of non-hereditary life peers. All appointees to this distinction have (thus far) been at the rank of baron. In accordance with the tradition applied to hereditary peers, they too are formally addressed in parliament by their peers as “The Noble Lord”.

In addition, baronies are often used by their holders as subsidiary titles, for example as courtesy titles for the son and heir of an Earl or higher-ranked peer. The Scottish baronial title tends to be used when a landed family is not in possession of any United Kingdom peerage title of higher rank, subsequently granted, or has been created a knight of the realm.

Several members of the royal family with the style of Royal Highness are also titled Barons. For example, William, Prince of Wales is also The Baron of Renfrew and The Baron Carrickfergus. Some non-royal Barons are somehow related to the royal family; for example, Maurice Roche, 6th Baron Fermoy is William’s first cousin once removed, through William’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who was the 4th Baron Fermoy’s granddaughter.

Coronet

A person holding a peerage in the rank of baron is entitled to a coronet bearing six silver balls (called pearls) around the rim, equally spaced and all of equal size and height. The rim itself is neither jeweled nor “chased” (which is the case for the coronets of peers of higher degree).

The actual coronet is worn only for the coronation of a new monarch, but a baron can bear his coronet of rank on his coat of arms above the shield. In heraldry, the baron’s coronet is shown with four of the balls visible.

Style of address

Formally, barons are styled The Right Honourable The Lord [Barony] and barons’ wives are styled The Right Honourable The Lady [Barony]. Baronesses in their own right, whether hereditary or for life, are either styled The Right Honourable The Baroness [Barony] or The Right Honourable The Lady [Barony], mainly based on personal preference (e.g. Lady Thatcher and Baroness Warsi, both life baronesses in their own right). Less formally, one refers to or addresses a baron as Lord [Barony] and his wife as Lady [Barony], and baronesses in their own right as Baroness [X] or Lady [X]. In direct address, barons and baronesses can also be referred to as My Lord, Your Lordship, or Your Ladyship or My Lady. The husband of a baroness in her own right gains no title or style from his wife.

The Right Honourable is frequently abbreviated to The Rt Hon. or Rt Hon. When referred to by the Sovereign in public instruments, The Right Honourable is changed to Our right trusty and well-beloved, with Counsellor attached if they are a Privy Counsellor.

Children of barons and baronesses in their own right, whether hereditary or for life, have the style The Honourable [Forename] [Surname]. After the death of the father or mother, the child may continue to use this style.

Courtesy barons are styled Lord [Barony], and their wives Lady [Barony]; the article “The” is always absent. If the courtesy baron is not a Privy Counsellor, the style The Right Honourable will also be absent.

The title ‘Baronet’ was originally introduced in England in the 14th century and was used by King James I-VI in 1611 to raise funds for a war in Ireland. James sold the title, which lies below baron but above knight in the hierarchy, for £1000 to anyone whose annual income was at least that sum and whose paternal grandfather had been entitled to a coat of arms.

Seeing this as an excellent way to raise funds, later monarchs also sold baronetcies. It is the only hereditary honour that is not a peerage.

Peerages are created by the Monarch. New hereditary peerages are only granted to members of the Royal Family; for example on his wedding day, Prince William was given a dukedom by Queen Elizabeth II and became the Duke of Cambridge. The day after the death Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III created his eldest son Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.

The Monarch cannot hold a peerage him or herself, although is also the Duke of Lancaster.

As well as hereditary titles, the British peerage also includes life peerages, part of the British honours system. Life peerages are granted by the Government to honour individuals and give the recipient the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords. Today, most of those who sit in the House of Lords are life peers: only 90 of the 790 or so members are hereditary peers.

Proclamation of His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.