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grandmaster-anne · 2 years ago

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Gyles Brandreth's Exclusive Extract Part 2

The Mail Plus | Published 26 November 2022

WHENEVER the names of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex come up in court circles, courtiers flinch and change the subject or refer to them as ‘persons who live overseas’.

If Harry and Meghan are mentioned to members of the Royal Family, they simply smile briefly and say ‘we wish them all the best’ and nothing else.

As I write this, members of the new King’s communications team are bracing themselves for what may come when Prince Harry publishes his much-talked-about memoir – the ‘accurate and wholly truthful’ account of his life – in January.

‘I’m writing this not as the prince I was born, but as the man I have become,’ said Harry when the book was initially announced. In fact, of course, he was not writing it at all: he was telling his story to a ghost-writer.

Harry’s tell-all memoir, for which he received an advance of $20 million (£16.53 million), was originally promised for the autumn of 2022. It seems he’d been informed his grandmother was quite poorly and decided to pause publication in consequence. Was he worried about adding stress, worry and disappointment to her final months? Possibly.

There is no evidence, however, that the Queen was distressed by her grandson’s decision to go ahead with the book in the first place. She ‘understood’ Harry’s desire to write his book, not only for the money but because he wanted to tell his story – to speak his truth, as Meghan might put it.

He wouldn’t have been the first member of the Royal Family to do so: the Queen remembered ‘the fuss there was’ in 1951 when her uncle, the Duke of Windsor, published his own ghost-written volume of memoirs, A King’s Story. He too had wanted to tell his truth, and he needed the money. The memoir itself has long since been forgotten.

Although the Queen had never read any of the books about the Royal Family, her attitude towards them had changed over the years.

Indiscrete: Marion Crawford with the then-Princess Elizabeth and her sister in 1939

In 1950, when Marion Crawford published an innocuous memoir about her years in the royal household as governess to the then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret, the Royal Family was utterly appalled.

But by the time ‘Crawfie’ died, aged 78 in 1988, Elizabeth II had forgiven her, though I am not sure Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, ever could.

More recently, the Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly published two books – Dressing The Queen: The Jubilee Wardrobe and The Other Side Of The Coin: The Queen, The Dresser And The Wardrobe. And she did so with her royal boss’s full blessing and approval.

As time went by, the Queen was increasingly able to take the long view. She had lived so long that she did sometimes feel that she had ‘seen it all before’.

For example, when the Duke of York (who did himself no favours with his self-justifying interview for Newsnight in 2019) was harrumphing about Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey on American television in 2020, the Queen chipped in gently: ‘Didn’t Sarah do something similar?’

She did. In 2011, the Oprah Winfrey Network in the US aired Finding Sarah, a six-part TV series in which the former Duchess of York shared her tears and her heartache with a TV psychiatrist and the viewing millions.

It was by no means Sarah’s first transgression – those infamous photos of her having her toes sucked by her financial adviser come to mind. Yet the Queen continued to go out of her way to stay in touch with Sarah, even though Prince Philip found his former daughter-law ‘beyond the pale’.

The Queen’s greatest quality, her husband told me once, was tolerance. ‘She is infinitely tolerant,’ the Duke of Edinburgh said, ‘and forgiving.’

Famously, in 2012, in a historic encounter at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, the Queen shook hands with Martin McGuinness, formerly an Irish Republican Army commander, despite having lost a close relative, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, to an IRA bomb in 1979.

Although she remained instinctively conservative, she was always tolerant of the traditions and beliefs of others and became increasingly accepting of the changing mores she saw around her. In the 1980s, she’d encouraged her then footman Paul Burrell to marry, and offered he and his wife a honeymoon at Balmoral.

The marriage later collapsed, and in 2017 Burrell married his new partner, Graham Cooper.

Discreetly, a few months after the marriage, a wedding present arrived from Her Majesty. ‘The Queen has always been incredibly broad-minded and accepting and generous,’ said Paul.

The Queen believed, too, in the reality of redemption. She looked for the good in people, not the bad.

So what does all this have to do with Harry and his wife, Meghan?

I can tell you, because I know this, that the Queen was always more concerned for Harry’s well-being than about ‘this television nonsense’, meaning both the Oprah Winfrey interview – which caused so much controversy – and the lucrative deal the Sussexes made with Netflix.

Again, her view differed from that of Prince Philip. I know from someone close to him that he thought Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah was ‘madness’ and ‘no good would come of it’.

I also know that the Queen liked Meghan’s mother, and was sorry the Markle family was ‘fractured’. And I know she was anxious that Harry should ‘find his feet’ in California and ‘find really useful things to do’.

The Queen was devoted to Harry. She loved him, she thought him ‘huge fun’, and she truly wished him well in his new life abroad.

Whenever Harry called his grandmother from Montecito, he was always put through to Her Majesty immediately.

The truth is that when her grandson told her he was marrying Meghan Markle, she was truly delighted by the prospect. She liked Meghan and told lots of people so. And she did everything she could to make her future granddaughter-in-law feel welcome.

She was concerned for her future happiness. At their first meeting, the Queen said to Meghan: ‘You can carry on being an actress if you like – that’s your profession, after all.’

She would have been totally understanding if Meghan had decided to continue her career. But the former Suits actress was ready for royal duty and, of course, the Queen was delighted by that. She was particularly delighted by the enthusiasm Meghan showed for the Commonwealth and by the commitment she made to do ‘whatever you think we should be doing for the Commonwealth’.

Indeed, Meghan promised that when it came to the Commonwealth, she wouldn’t let Her Majesty down.

The Queen (who, of course, had seen it all before) understood that Harry’s girl might find adjusting to royal life ‘challenging to begin with’ (as she put it). ‘It is very jolty, but you soon get used to it’ – that was Her Majesty’s experience going back many years.

To help Meghan, the Queen suggested that her daughter-in-law, Sophie Wessex, would be an ideal mentor. ‘Sophie can help show you the ropes,’ said the Queen.

Meghan made it clear that she did not feel she needed Sophie’s help. She had Harry. The Queen was a little concerned at that, and concerned, too, when word reached her that Meghan was reportedly occasionally a bit ‘high-handed’ with staff. The Queen put it down to pre-wedding nerves.

Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018 was warmly welcomed by all and sundry. No great play was made of it, but it was generally reckoned ‘a good thing’ having a mixed-race person joining the Royal Family.

Harry’s father expressed his genuine delight; Harry expressed his dewy-eyed devotion; Meghan announced she would retire from acting and become a British citizen (this may not happen, since you need to be resident in the United Kingdom for three consecutive years before you can apply for citizenship as a spouse).

Less than a month after the wedding, the Queen took Meghan on her first solo outing – to my old constituency, the City of Chester. The date marked the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the Queen wore a green outfit in memory of the victims of the fire.

Meghan (in cream-coloured Givenchy) looked beautiful – and did her bit, effortlessly and well, to the manner born. She kept a step behind the Queen without fail, she smiled, she chatted, she coped with her hair in the blustery weather and she admitted she had never been to the North of England before but was ‘loving it already’.

‘Top marks,’ said the Queen, who had chosen this particular day for her new granddaughter-in-law’s induction to royal duty, in part because it was ‘a fairly typical day’, but mainly because the programme included a visit to a theatre – ‘and she is an actress after all’.

The courtiers accompanying the royal party that day included Samantha Cohen, former assistant private secretary to the Queen, who had been persuaded to stay on in royal service to help Meghan as she began her new life as a member of the Family Firm.

Unhappily, as we know, it did not work out. During their short time as working members of the Royal Family, quite a number of staff left the Sussexes’ service, including Cohen and another private secretary, two personal assistants and two nannies. Cohen, after she had left, reportedly said it had been like ‘working for a couple of teenagers’. Others called Meghan ‘an outrageous bully’ and ‘a narcissistic sociopath’. Meghan’s solicitor denied the allegations, saying they were part of a ‘calculated smear campaign’.

The only concern the Queen let slip in the early days of the Sussexes’ marriage was to wonder to a friend if Harry wasn’t ‘perhaps a little over-in-love’. This was as far as she came – to my knowledge at least – to ever uttering a word against the new Duchess of Sussex.

On June 4, 2021, at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gave birth to her second child and first daughter and she and her husband, Harry, Duke of Sussex, decided to call their newborn Lilibet Diana – in honour of the Queen, Harry’s grandmother, and his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Lilibet had been King George V’s pet name for his favourite grandchild, based on the way Princess Elizabeth pronounced her name when she first began to talk. It was a very personal nickname: only a tiny handful of people outside the Queen’s immediate family called her Lilibet throughout her life.

According to the Sussexes, Harry sought his grandmother’s permission to use her family nickname as the Christian name for her 11th great-grandchild. The Queen’s recollection was a little different.

According to the Queen, Harry told her the Sussexes wanted to call the baby ‘Lilibet’ in her honour and she accepted their choice with good grace, taking it as the compliment it was intended to be.

Others in the family found the choice ‘bewildering’ and ‘rather presumptuous’, given that ‘Lilibet’ as a name had always been intimately and exclusively the Queen’s.

Later, the Queen said: ‘I hear they’re calling her “Lili”, which is very pretty and seems just right.’

Now that the Queen is dead, Lili Mountbatten-Windsor is seventh in the line of succession to the British throne – one behind her brother, Archie, and one ahead of her great-uncle, Prince Andrew.

As a male-line great-grandchild of a monarch, she was not a princess during Elizabeth II’s lifetime, but, technically, under a letters patent issued by George V in 1917, she could be entitled to become a princess now that her grandfather Charles is King.

This is not a likely prospect, however, given that Lili is being brought up in America and the Sussexes have withdrawn from official royal life in the United Kingdom.

The Queen took firm action in January 2020 when Harry and Meghan announced their desire to ‘step back’ from their lives as ‘senior royals’.

They planned to divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America; they wanted financial independence; they hoped to be able to continue to serve Queen and Commonwealth, but on their own terms. It was a naive hope and not to be. The Queen convened a family meeting at Sandringham – attended by Charles, William and Harry – and a way forward was agreed.

Harry and Meghan could do as they pleased, but they could not represent the Queen while doing so. Their HRH titles would be put in abeyance and Harry, to his dismay, was required to give up his royal patronages and military appointments. Harry was distressed, as he put it, ‘that it should come to this’. So was his grandmother.

In a personal statement, she made it clear that Harry and Meghan would always be close members of her family, and she went out of her way to praise her American granddaughter-in-law. But she was equally clear that she wasn’t going to have a couple of freelance royals roaming the world doing their own thing in any sense in her name.

The Duke of Edinburgh was not pleased: he did not believe Harry and Meghan were doing the right thing, either for the country or for themselves. ‘It’s a big mistake to think about yourself,’ he told me, more than once. ‘No one is interested in you in the long run. Don’t court popularity. It doesn’t last. Remember that the attention comes because of the position you are privileged to hold, not because of who you are. If you think it’s all about you, you’ll never be happy.’

Although Prince Philip regretted Harry’s decision, he did not get involved in its aftermath. On the day the Queen held her Sandringham ‘summit’, he made himself scarce, deliberately leaving the main house at Sandringham and retreating to Wood Farm.

‘I’ll soon be out of it,’ he said, ‘and not before time.’

George Harewood, the grandson of Queen Mary and King George V, remembered a family where emotional inhibition was the order of the day. ‘We did not talk of love and affection and what we meant to each other,’ he said, ‘but rather of duty and behaviour and what we ought to do.’

That was the Windsor way – and the world Elizabeth II was born into, a million miles from the world of Meghan Markle who, famously, said of her relationship with Prince Harry ‘we’ve just focused on who we are as a couple’, and ‘this is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours.’

There was a streak of hysteria in Diana, Princess of Wales: you sensed it even with a brief acquaintance. Some see a streak of narcissism in Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The Queen was not like that.

The Queen was as sane and sensible as they come. She kept her feet on the ground. (Actually, spending time with her, I noticed she stood for long periods, feet slightly apart, moving her weight regularly from one foot to the other.)

She was rarely flustered: however hectic the schedule, however many stops on the tour, her own steady pace did not vary. ‘Steady as she goes’ was her way – but it wasn’t all plain sailing. Now and again, she did hit choppy waters.

But if you asked her ‘how are you?’, she would invariably reply: ‘Very well, thank you.’ She would never say, as Meghan famously did: ‘Thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK.’

Unlike Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, she did not avoid unpleasantness by putting her head in the sand but nor was she an interfering busybody.

Time heals so much and ‘least said soonest mended’ is a policy that often pays dividends. The Queen believed in prayer and patience and hoping for the best.

Sometimes she admitted to being tired at the end of a long day, but Elizabeth II never complained – ever – of doing her royal duty.

‘I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for this,’ Meghan is reported to have said, in an aside, while meeting Australians on her first royal tour. That was not something the Queen would ever have said – or thought.

Nor, according to the Duke of Edinburgh, did she ever cry. Some thought they detected tears when the Royal Yacht, launched by the Queen in 1953, was taken out of service in 1997. ‘It was the middle of December,’ snorted Prince Philip. ‘It was bloody cold. We all had tears in our eyes.’

Crying in public is not the Windsor way. The only person seen to conspicuously shed a tear on the day of the Queen’s funeral was Meghan.

To the Queen, the parallels between Harry’s marriage to Meghan and that of her uncle David, the name she used for Edward VIII, to Wallis Simpson, would have been obvious.

The Prince of Wales (who became Edward VIII) and the Duke of York (who became George VI) were brothers, born only a year or so apart in the mid-1890s, and very close when they were young. The present Prince of Wales (William) and the Duke of Sussex (Harry), are brothers, too, born only a year or two apart in the early 1980s, and they, also, were very close when they were young.

With each set of brothers, the arrival of a 35-year-old American divorcee changed the dynamic of their relationship and ruined everything. And, like the Duke of Windsor, Harry opted for a life in exile. In 1956, the Duchess of Windsor published her own book – The Heart Has Its Reasons – just as surely as Meghan will one day publish hers, possibly with a not dissimilar title.

That same year, the Windsors even gave a no-holds-barred television interview to the Oprah Winfrey of the day, Edward R. Murrow, appearing on the legendary broadcaster’s Person To Person chat show.

Four years earlier, the Duke had returned to England for the funeral of the late King, his younger brother, and reported to his wife that, superficially, he was handled impeccably by courtiers and relations alike – ‘but gee,’ he added, ‘the crust is hard & only granite below.’

Is that how Meghan feels? We may know one day when she ‘speaks her truth’ in full.

The Duke of Windsor returned to England again in 1953 to attend his mother, Queen Mary’s funeral, but was not invited to the family dinner at Windsor Castle that followed. He wrote to his wife: ‘What a smug, stinking lot my relations are and you’ve never seen such a seedy worn-out bunch of old hags most of them have become.’

Whether Harry, when talking privately to Meghan, has ever been as vitriolic about his family as the Queen’s Uncle David was when writing privately to Wallis, we shall never know. Or perhaps we shall.

Seventy years on, Harry chose not to attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey. And when he and Meghan came over from California for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, they were welcomed at some, but by no means all, the family gatherings.

‘Family rifts are always sad,’ the Queen once said to her cousin Margaret Rhodes.

In later life, the Queen came to regret not having been closer to her uncle David. Had she lived on for a few more years, she would almost certainly have continued to provide loving support to Harry and his wife.

Would that have made a difference? Shortly before Elizabeth II’s death, Meghan let slip in an interview that she was not obliged to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) when she and Harry stepped down from their royal duties in 2020.

She also revealed that when she returned to their home at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, she’d found a journal that she had kept during her days as an active member of the Family Firm.

This sorry Sussex saga will run and run, just as the earlier sorry saga of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor did from the time of the Abdication in 1936 until their dying days.

When we get to the Coronation of Charles III, the issue of ‘Harry and Meghan’ – where they are seated, what uniform (if any) he will be allowed to wear, what her body language is telling us, etc, etc – will be unavoidable.

And, from the new King’s point of view, deeply regrettable.

In 2022, when she heard that Harry and Meghan would not be attending the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen reportedly said: ‘Thank goodness.’

What did she mean? Thank goodness they’re not coming? Or thank goodness, because they’re not coming the press coverage won’t be all about them? I suspect the latter, but I don’t know. I do know that in 2020, when she read that Pope Francis had used his Sunday morning homily to urge the faithful to steer clear of gossip, calling it ‘the devil’s work and more deadly than the coronavirus’, she heartily agreed.

Tentatively, I once raised all this with the Duke of Edinburgh. I suggested to him that he and the Queen were both ‘emotionally self-sufficient’. He agreed, but added: ‘Being emotionally self-sufficient does not make one unfeeling.’

The Queen was delighted when Zara and Mike Tindall named their middle child Lena Elizabeth. She was, however, confused when told the name is pronounced ‘Lay-na’.

‘It is short for Elena,’ explained Zara.

‘What’s wrong with Elena?’ asked the Queen, ‘Elena’s a lovely name.’

‘Her initials would then have been E.T.,’ said Zara.

‘I’m afraid you’ve lost me there,’ said the Queen.

#i missed part 1 yesterday #will post it right after this one #elizabeth: an intimate portrait #gyles brandreth #queen elizabeth ii #biography

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quintessbrit · 2 years ago

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🤍☕️🧁 for the royal ask game

(my knowledge + answered are based on the modern BRF)

🤍: who is your favourite underrated royal

The Duchess of Edinburgh - aka Sophie

I think a lot of people assume that women have "won" their equal rights in terms of the law and that now more work needs to be done regarding societal roles, whilst that is true in some cases, it is not true for all.

Sophie is making sure that we don't forget that there are still women and girls who are victims of sex trafficking, violent sexual assault, patriarchal laws, etc. Sophie does a lot of work with ensuring this visibility remains in the forefront with various different organisations and charities around the world.

☕: what is your favourite royal name

Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

I love this name for so many different reasons. But the over arching one is that each of her names honours each side of her family.

Charlotte = giving her her own name and identity without the expectstion, the feminine version of her grandfather Charles, her aunt (Catherine's sister Pippa) middle name = Middleton family

Elizabeth = Catherine's (her mother's) middle name, her great-grandmother's name (the Queen + highly loved by William), a similar middle name to many in the BRF = Mountbatten-Windsor family (BRF)

Diana = acknowledgement of her grandmother who left this world too soon without the expectation of making it her first name, honouring her father's lost mother = Spencer family

🧁: which royal deserved better

The Princess of Wales - Catherine

I could literally write an essay about this but I don't think enough attention or awareness is out there about how much Catherine has dealt with.

In the decade as William's girlfriend, she was not afforded the same benefits and security as others in the family.

And as a member of the family, she continually makes allowances for others when she shouldn't have to.

Let me know if you want me to go on 👀

#brf #british royal family #royals #Sophiebernadotte #Asked #Answered

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die-greifen · 8 months ago

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when: royally fun facts

They may not be fun, but some of them are made-up. Made up facts are in italics.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia

(Karolina Augusta's great-great-grandmother)

Is the granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia

Is the mother of Alexandrine, Queen Consort of Denmark

Is the mother of Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Is the mother of Cecilie, Crown Princess of Germany

Following the death of her husband, had a illegitimate son with her personal secretary

Three of her brothers were murdered by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution

Princess Karola of Urach

(Karolina Augusta's great-grandmother)

Karola’s father, Wilhelm Karl, 2nd Duke of Urach, was briefly elected as the King of Lithuania in 1918.

Princess Karola of Urach was the first queen consort of Mecklenburg, and also the last Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Karola was the grand-niece of Empress Elisabeth ‘Sisi’ of Austria.

Karola was the half-niece of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians.

Karola half-first cousins include Leopold III of Belgium, and Marie José, the last Queen Consort of Italy.

Karola and Mary of Teck, Queen of the United Kingdom, both descend from morganatic branches of the House of Württemberg. Karola and Mary were third cousins as great-great-granddaughters of Friedrich II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg.

Karola was a Roman Catholic and retained her faith following her marriage to Heinrich Ludwig, though their children were brought up in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg.

Duchess Thyra of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

(Karolina Augusta's grandmother)

Thyra’s father, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, was overthrown by her father-in-law, King Heinrich Ludwig of Mecklenburg

Thyra was the first Crown Princess of Mecklenburg (1939 - 1954)

Thyra was the second Queen of Mecklenburg (1954 - 1980)

Thyra was the niece of Alexandrine, Queen of Denmark (1912 - 1947)

Thyra was the first cousin of Frederik IX of Denmark (1947 - 1972)

Thyra was the niece of Cecilie, Crown Princess of Germany (1905 - 1951)

Thyra was the first cousin of Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (1951 - 1994)

Thyra was the niece of Marie Louise, Margravine of Baden (1928 - 1929)

Thyra was the first cousin of Berthold, Margrave of Baden (1929 - 1963), who married Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark (the older sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh)

Thyra was the niece of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick (1913 - 1918) and head of the House of Hannover (1923 - 1953)

Thyra was the first cousin of Ernst August, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, Prince of Hanover (1953 - 1987)

Thyra was the first cousin of Frederica, Queen of Greece (1947 - 1964) (the mother of King Constantine II of Greece and Queen Sofia of Spain)

Princess Eleonora of Leiningen

(Karolina Augusta's mother)

Descends from all three children of Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld: Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen; Princess Feodora of Leiningen; and Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Queen Karolina Augusta I of Mecklenburg

Is the first female ruler in Mecklenburg’s 900 year history.

Will be the final ruler from the House of Mecklenburg which will eventually bring an end to the House’s status as the longest still reigning house in European history.

Is descended from both Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and of King Christian IX of Denmark.

Has been the youngest monarch in the world since 1992.

Has 15 godparents:

HRH Princess Cecilie Auguste, Duchess of Ludwigslust (paternal aunt)

HRH Princess Marie Anastasia, Duchess of Grevesmühlen (paternal aunt)

HRH Princess Benedikte of Denmark (paternal second cousin once removed)

HRH Princess Alexandra of Hanover, Princess of Leiningen (maternal aunt-by-marriage)

HSH Princess Margarita of Hohenlohe-Oehringen, Princess of Leiningen (maternal aunt-by-marriage)

HM Silvia, Queen of Sweden (family friend)

HM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (paternal and maternal second cousin twice removed)

HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (paternal third cousin once removed)

HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (paternal third cousin once removed and family friend)

HRH Prince Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark (paternal third cousin)

HH Prince Harald of Denmark (paternal first cousin once removed)

HSH Prince Hermann Friedrich of Leiningen (maternal first cousin once removed)

HRH Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias (paternal third cousin)

HH Borwin, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (distant cousin and family friend)

HSH Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein (distant cousin and family friend)

#admin #dg: when

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thepastisalreadywritten · 10 months ago

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Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, GCVO, GCStJ, CD (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965)

20 January 2024

Today is a special day in the calendar of the British royal family as Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, celebrates her 59th birthday.

The Duchess of Edinburgh has earned herself many loyal watchers over the years as she has attended charity events, made visits to organisations that matter to her, and been spotted at historic royal events.

Prince Edward's wife has worn some supremely elegant looks over the years.

We are sure that as she enters her 59th year and her first full years as the Duchess of Edinburgh, she will continue to pull out the stops in all the public outings to come.

A Regal Vision

The state visit of the president of the Republic Of Korea in 2023 was a momentous occasion.

The Duchess did not disappoint, in fact, she stunned in a glorious white Suzannah London dress.

The elegant gown featured a sheer embroidered panel on the shoulders and up the neck for an ethereal touch.

It also had long sleeves that were cuffed at the wrist. The royal styled the piece with the breathtaking aquamarine tiara and a modest silver clutch.

A Barbie Moment

In June 2022, the then-Countess of Wessex stunned in a block colour moment next to her sister-in-law, the then-Duchess of Cambridge.

The royal ladies attended the Order of The Garter service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where Sophie stunned in a bubblegum pink A-line dress with long fluted sleeves and a rounded neck.

She paired the knee-length piece with a pair of nude heels, a beige floral and feathered fascinator, and a beige croc-print clutch.

Festive Blues

The Duchess attended the Christmas Day church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in 2018.

She pulled out one of her numerous fabulous dress coats. Sophie rocked the cornflower blue belted piece with a pair of navy tights, black platform heels, and a pair of chic black leather gloves.

Peeking out from the top of the coat was a blue and black ditsy floral printed dress with a ruffled neckline. Her black netted fascinator completed the look.

A Bronzey Moment

In 2021, Sophie once again embraced blue but in a totally different way.

The royal was seen arriving at the biennial Rifles Awards Dinner at the City of London Guildhall wearing a stunning aquamarine floor-length evening dress with a square neckline and cinched waistline.

The bronzed Duchess teamed the dress with a glitzy clutch in blue and black sequins and flesh-coloured shiny pointed-toe heels.

The perfect finishing touches were added in the form of a diamond-encrusted brooch and coordinating drop earrings that were shown off by her hair being styled in an elegant updo.

The Picture-Perfect Wedding Guest

In 2021, Sophie was photographed alongside her husband, the then-Earl of Wessex, at the wedding of Flora Ogilvy, granddaughter of Princess Alexandra, to Timothy Vesterberg, at St James's Church in Piccadilly, London.

The Duchess looked stunning in a rosy pink shin-length A-line dress, which featured cinching around the neck and on the cut-off sleeves.

She coordinated the pink dress with a cream clutch adorned with pink raffia flowers, a pair of cream patent heels with a buckle around the ankle, and the pièce de résistance was a cream lace fascinator with a corsage detail.

Trendy Taupe

The Duchess is known for getting out her best looks when she attends a special wedding.

In 2011, she was seen with her husband Prince Edward leaving the Hotel de Paris to attend the religious ceremony of the royal wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco to Charlene Wittstock in Monaco.

The royal opted for a taupe aesthetic that with the 90s fashion revival we have seen over the last year and the wearing of trendy browns is a look that would go down well today.

The then-46-year-old Sophie paired the taupe piece with a cowl neckline with a coordinating feathered fascinator, ruched clutch, and peep-toe heels.

A Classic LBD

In 2014, Sophie switched it up entirely and opted for a classic little black dress that exuded glamour.

The royal was pictured alongside Strictly host Tess Daly at the star-studded St John Ambulance Everyday Heroes celebration of the nation's life savers at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in 2014.

The Duchess's floor-length gown had a diamanté-encrusted halterneck and she swept her hair over to one side for an effortless look.

#Duchess of Edinburgh #Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh #Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones #British Royal Family #Countess of Wessex #fashion #style

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college-girl199328 · 2 years ago

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When members of a regiment from Ontario's Niagara Region took part in a military skills competition organized by their honorary colonel-in-chief in England last month, they claimed first place. Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, has been the Lincoln and Welland Regiment's colonel-in-chief since 2004 on top in the competition involving her other Canadian- and U.K.-affiliated units meant a lot to its members.

But it wasn't everything. While winning is the bond we share as allied units under [Sophie] is just as important to our soldiers," Lt.-Col. Christopher Canavan, the regiment's commanding officer, said via email.

Canavan said he has "always felt a great sense of pride" talking with Sophie about the unit, where its soldiers are serving or training, and how their families are adjusting with personnel away on training or operations. Sophie "has always been genuinely interested in the affairs of her soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers," he said.

Such sentiments are often attached to Sophie, the 58-year-old sister-in-law of King Charles, who became Duchess of Edinburgh earlier this month as her husband, Prince Edward, was granted the title Duke of Edinburgh, which had been held by his late father, Prince Philip. She's credited with the ability to listen with a smile and look interested and genuinely respond and engage," Judith Rowbotham, a social and cultural scholar and visiting research professor at the University of Plymouth in southwestern England, said in an interview.

"I think of people of manner, and her accessibility before the new title was a sense that Sophie's profile was the rise. Charles is widely to want a slimmed-down monarchy. The passage of time and other family circumstances have played into that plan, as some members age out of more active roles, and others — Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex — step back of their own accord.

Along with Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, Sophie and Edward have become the "key extra support" to King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, Rowbotham said. While Sophie's public profile may rise, she has long been considered a no-fuss royal who is diligent and devoted to the many causes she supports, with little need for fanfare. Areas of interest developed during her time as Countess of Wessex range from support for women who are victims of conflict-related sexual violence to those who are facing challenges in the agricultural sector.

"She picked up an awful lot of the traditional, but unglamorous … philanthropic involvement and other kinds of patronage involvement," Rowbotham said.

"She's working on women's rights long before it became high-profile and fashionable. She has been working on various forms of disability — particularly blindness because there was a problem with her daughter's sight soon after birth."

Sophie has also urged openness around women's health issues, such as menopause. I've always found that when we talk about women's health, it's actually preceded by talking about women's problems or women's issues, which immediately puts it into a negative light," Sophie said in a virtual chat a couple of years ago, as she took on the royal patronage for Wellbeing of Women, a U.K. women's health charity.

"But armed with knowledge and choice, our lot would be so much better, and I think it is up to us to try and inform women about that knowledge, about those choices that they have, in a way that is bringing the subject out into the open. Sophie's approach and openness have drawn the attention of others.

Rowbotham said activists she knows who work in areas such as domestic violence welcome Sophie's involvement.

"They credit her with listening and learning from them, also putting forward to help enrich the publicized, Rowbotham said, is how much time Sophie spends in her local hospital maternity units and similar places.

"She's one of the people known to be able to add value to an event personally, based on her personal insights, experience, and ideas. It's why Sophie is popular "in a low-key way, why she is so recognized and so welcome wherever she goes," Rowbotham said. "People enjoy meeting her and listening to her."

Sophie's visits with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment include time spent with members in 2012 when she presided over the presentation of new regimental colors. She also visited a training exercise in 2015.

"We look forward as her regiment in the Niagara Region to host [Sophie] when she is next able to visit," Canavan said. At first, the thinking went, the next horse the RCMP would give to the Royal Family would be a gelding — after all, that's what Queen Elizabeth suggested when she broached the idea a year and a half ago.

But when King Charles met the horse that eventually he rides on ceremonial occasions, it was a relatively young mare named Noble, which offered her nose for a nudge.

Noble, a seven-year-old Hanoverian who stands 16.2 hands high, arrived at the Royal Mews in Windsor, west of London, a few days ago.

Those who worked with Noble in Musical Ride stables in Ottawa have heard she's taken quite comfortably to her new surroundings. "I'm … in contact with the folks of the Royal Mews they've all [fallen] in love with her," Sgt. Maj. Scott Williamson, the RCMP's riding master, said in an interview. "She's really settled in well."

After the Queen suggested the need to think about a successor to George — the horse Charles is riding that was a gift to Elizabeth from the RCMP in 2009 — the search was on for a suitable replacement within the RCMP's equine ranks.

When Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, were in Canada last May, they visited the Musical Ride stables.

"We had actually set aside a couple horses that we thought might be good fits," Williamson said. But when Charles commented that those animals were folks thinking maybe they needed to reassess just what horse they were putting forward.

Plus, the Musical Ride hadn't been touring for almost three years, limiting the potential to assess how the horses behave and perform in public with noise and music.

Once the Musical Ride for its summer tour season, one horse stood out, presenting the qualities most sought for the royal role. "The main quality that we're looking for is a calm disposition," Williamson said, "a horse that when it is in a very raucous or intense environment … can withhold its temperament, stay steady and continue to commit to its duties."

After the Musical Ride came back from its summer tour, Williamson put Noble through her paces, seeing how she would behave in environments, such as loud music being played, and how she would work on her own, without other horses to support her, as happens within the Musical Ride.

"She just took it like a champion and … I thought, OK, yeah, this is the horse we'll put the work into." That meant mimicking what Noble would encounter in ceremonial parades for Charles.

"We had live music, we had the RCMP pipes and drums band coming in regularly, playing with Noble to the point where she was just … bomb-proof with anything and everything that went on around her."

"She's an incredibly, incredibly sweet horse," Williamson said. "Any of us that worked with her developed a strong bond with her…. "She is such a willing partner [and] really wants to please whoever she's working with."

All that leaves Williamson with some envy of Charles will spend with Noble. "But by the same token, I'm incredibly proud to represent our country."

Noble arrived at Windsor after quite a journey, flying with an RCMP vet to Frankfurt, where she was met by Royal Mews staff, put on a truck, and transported to England.

Noble follows a long line of RCMP horses given to the Royal Family. Throughout Elizabeth's reign, the RCMP presented her with eight, beginning in 1969 with Burmese, which the Queen rode at Trooping the Colour, marking her official birthday, for 18 years.

The relationship between the Royal Family and the RCMP is one that Williamson describes as special and unique, both in the ceremonial connections through attendance at every coronation for more than a century and other royal protection detail they provide when Royal Family members visit Canada.

Noble's first public appearance in the U.K. may come within a few weeks, as the Mounties take part in another coronation procession, this time for King Charles on May 6.

"My understanding is that we will be the first people to ride her in the first public performance when we ride her for the coronation," said Williamson, who was one of four Mounties riding in the lead position of the procession following the Queen's funeral in September.

"Everything in her demeanor and her steadiness is everything Canadians hope to see, and I think Canada should be proud that we represent our country."

After a noticeable silence from the federal government, a few details have emerged regarding how the coronation of King Charles will be marked in Canada.

An official ceremony in honor of the event will be held in Ottawa on May 6, the Prime Minister's Office announced the other day's speeches, artistic performances, and unveilings, according to the federal government's website.

"This historic event, the first coronation of a Canadian head of state and monarch in seven decades, will allow communities to come together and highlight themes that both King Charles III and Canadians hold dear, including service, the environment and sustainability, and our nation's diversity," the government said.

Canadians will also be invited on May 6 and 7 to celebrate the coronation at Rideau Hall, the residence of Charles's representative in Canada, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

That same weekend, federal buildings in the National Capital Region and landmarks across the country will be invited to light up in emerald green to mark the coronation, the federal government said.

Several provincial lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners are also expected to hold celebrations. The federal plans are known and described so far came as a surprise to Justin Vovk, a royal commentator and a Ph.D. candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton who specializes in the history of the monarchy.

"I wasn't expecting something so monarch-centric, you could say," Vovk said, noting the emphasis the government places on the fact that Canada is a constitutional monarchy and that the monarch is central to the functioning of our political institutions.

Vovk was also surprised we have not heard anything about celebrating Canada's Indigenous history" or diversity. "If you're going to make it relevant for Canadians, you need to acknowledge the tremendous diversity, so I'm hoping that acknowledgment will start in the coming weeks."

Vovk will be watching what Buckingham Palace starts to announce "because the cards they start to show will begin to indicate what our government is going to do," he said.

"The King and our prime minister have similar values. They espouse similar causes. So that in and of itself shouldn't be difficult, but it is important to the same messaging."

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graceofromanovs · 3 years ago

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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝: 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐧𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚 & 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐱𝐞-𝐂𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐚

During a visit to her maternal relatives at Jugenheim in August 1868, fifteen years old Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna met Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), the second son of Queen Victoria. He was visiting his sister, Princess Alice, who was married to the Grand Duchess’ first cousin. Alfred's voyage around the world with the Royal Navy kept him away, traveling for the next two years. They saw each other again in 1871. During that summer, Maria and Alfred felt attracted to each other, spending their days walking and talking together. They had a common love of music; Alfred was an enthusiastic amateur violinist, while Maria played the piano. Although they wished to marry, no engagement was announced. Her parents were against the match. Alexander II did not want to lose his daughter, to whom he was deeply attached. The Tsar also objected to a British son-in-law, due to the general anti-English feeling in Russia following the Crimea War. Queen Victoria was also against the match. No British prince had ever married a Romanov, and she foresaw problems with Maria's Orthodox religion and Russian upbringing. Against all odds, negotiations went under away and the couple eventually became engaged in 1873. The wedding was celebrated in great splendour, at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace on January 1874.

The couple would go on to have five children, including Queen Marie of Romania. With the passing of the years, Alfred and Maria grew apart. They had little in common other than a shared interest in music and their children. He was reserved, taciturn, moody, ill-tempered, and a heavy drinker. The Duke was described as "rude, touchy, willful, unscrupulous, improvident, and unfaithful." The Duchess resented her husband's attitude, but kept her marriage going, hiding her troubled married life from her children, providing a happy environment for them. She later confessed to one of her daughters that she felt she was never anything more than her husband's "legitimate mistress". She despaired in finding a topic of conversation with her difficult husband as he hated her interest in literature and the theater, while she found his fondness for politics and hunting "dull". The Duchess was relieved when her husband was away. She wrote to her eldest daughter "if only you knew how easy and comfortable life is without him."

Maria and Alfred were third cousins once removed. Their closest common ancestor was Duke Charles Louis of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

#maria alexandrovna #prince alfred #duke of edinburgh #duke of saxe-coburg and gotha #ancestry

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drosera-nepenthes · 3 years ago

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The latest and youngest of royal brides, Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg, shares with her sisters the distinction of being among the prettiest and most accomplished of the Queen's granddaughters. Although all the Duke of Edinburgh's children owed their education to English and German tutors and governesses, his four daughters have inherited from their mother a strong Russian strain, and with it that curious charm of manner inherent in the syrens of the North.

Princess Alexandra is devoted to the sea, and her trousseau includes many smart yachting-frocks built in England. She also shares her father's musical gifts, and is an excellent accompanist. The Grand Duchess of Saxe-Coburg is, from a Continental point of view, an admirable mother. Each of her three elder daughters' marriages was arranged the moment the princely damsel entered her teens; but it is but fair to say that the royal matchmaker takes the greatest pains to ascertain the private life and character of any would be son-in-law. It seems not unlikely that the bride's greatest friend and cousin, Princess Feodore of Saxe-Meiningen, will shortly be engaged. She will ultimately be one of the wealthiest women in the world.

The Sketch, April 22, 1896

#Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh #Princess Alexandra of Hohenlohe-Langenburg #british royal family #hohenlohe-langenburg #1890s #magazine article

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greekroyalfamily · 3 years ago

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PART 1

George (24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Hellenes (Greeks) from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913.

Originally a Danish prince, he was born at the Yellow Palace, an 18th-century residence at 18 Amaliegade Street, right next to the Amalieenborg Palace complex in Copenhagen and seemed destined for a career in the Royal Danish Navy.

(1st Collage)

Although he was of royal blood (his mother and father were both great-grandchildren of Frederick V of Denmark and great-great-grandchildren of George II of Great Britain) his family was relatively obscure and lived a comparatively normal life by royal standards. In 1853, however, George's father was designated the heir presumptive to the childless Frederick VII of Denmark, and the family became princes and princesses of Denmark.

(2nd and 3rd collage)

George's siblings were Frederick (who succeeded their father as King of Denmark, and whose second son was elected as Haakon VII of Norway in 1905), Alexandra (who became wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom and the mother of George V), Dagmar (who, as Empress Maria Feodorovna, was consort of Alexander III of Russia and the mother of Nicholas II), Thyra (who married Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover) and Valdemar.

George's mother tongue was Danish, with English as a second language. He was also taught French and German.He embarked on a career in the Royal Danish Navy, and enrolled as a naval cadet along with his elder brother Frederick. While Frederick was described as "quiet and extremely well-behaved", George was "lively and full of pranks".

(4th Collage)

He was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the unpopular Otto.

His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Second French Empire and the Russian Empire.

Following the overthrow of the Bavarian-born King Otto of Greece in October 1862,the Greek people had rejected Otto's brother and designated successor Luitpold, although they still favored a monarchy rather than a republic. Many Greeks, seeking closer ties to the pre-eminent world power, the United Kingdom, rallied around Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.British prime minister Lord Palmerston believed that the Greeks were "panting for increase in territory",hoping for a gift of the Ionian Islands, which were then a British protectorate. The London Conference of 1832, however, prohibited any of the Great Powers' ruling families from accepting the crown, and in any event, Queen Victoria was adamantly opposed to the idea. The Greeks nevertheless insisted on holding a plebiscite in which Prince Alfred received over 95% of the 240,000 votes.There were 93 votes for a Republic and six for a Greek.King Otto received one vote.

With Prince Alfred's exclusion, the search began for an alternative candidate. The French favored Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale, while the British proposed Queen Victoria's brother-in-law Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, her nephew Prince Leiningen, and Archduke Maximilian of Austria, among others. Eventually, the Greeks and Great Powers winnowed their choice to Prince William of Denmark, who had received six votes in the plebiscite.Aged only 17, he was elected King of the Hellenes on 30 March 1863 by the Greek National Assembly under the regnal name of George I

(5 th and 6th Collage )

He married Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia in 1867, and became the first monarch of a new Greek dynasty.

George first met Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia in 1863, when she was 12 years old, on a visit to the court of Tsar Alexander II between his election to the Greek throne and his arrival in Athens. They met for a second time in April 1867, when George went to the Russian Empire to visit his sister Dagmar, who had married into the Russian imperial family. While George was privately a Lutheran, the Romanovs were Orthodox Christians like the majority of Greeks, and George thought a marriage with a Russian grand duchess would re-assure his subjects on the question of his future children's religion.Olga was just 16 years old when she married George at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg on 27 October 1867. After a honeymoon at Tsarskoye Selo, the couple left Russia for Greece on 9 November.

(7th and 8th Collage)

As a wedding gift, the Tsar gave George a group of islands in the Petalioi Gulf, which the family visited on the royal yacht Amphitrite.

(1st picture in 9th Collage)

George later purchased a country estate, Tatoi, north of Athens, and on Corfu he got from the people of Corfu as a gift for Ionian Islands transferred from British to Greek sovereignty a summer villa called Mon Repos former English High Commissioners summer residence.

(2nd picture in 9th Collage)

George developed Tatoi, building roads and planting grapes for making his own wine, Chateau Décélie

(3rd and 4th pictures in 9th Collage)

Over the next twenty years, they had eight children:

Constantine (1868–1923), who married Princess Sophia of Prussia;

George (1869–1957), who married Princess Marie Bonaparte;

Alexandra (1870–1891), who married Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia;

Nicholas (1872–1938), who married Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia;

Maria (1876–1940), who married firstly Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and secondly Admiral Perikles Ioannidis;

Olga (1880), who died aged seven months;

Andrew (1882–1944), who married Princess Alice of Battenberg parents of Philip Duke of Edinburgh Prince consort of Queen Elizabeth II of the UK

Christopher (1888–1940), who married firstly American widow Nancy Stewart Worthington Leeds and secondly Princess Françoise of Orléans.

(10th Collage)

MΕΡΟΣ 1ο

176 χρόνια από τη γέννηση του Α.Μ. Γεωργίου Α΄ των Ελλήνων Πρίγκηπα της Δανίας

Ο Γεώργιος (24 Δεκεμβρίου 1845 – 18 Μαρτίου 1913) ήταν Βασιλιάς των Ελλήνων (Ελλήνων) από τις 30 Μαρτίου 1863 μέχρι τη δολοφονία του το 1913.

Αρχικά Δανός πρίγκιπας, γεννήθηκε στο Κίτρινο Παλάτι, μια κατοικία του 18ου αιώνα στην οδό Amaliegade 18, ακριβώς δίπλα στο συγκρότημα των παλατιών Amalieenborg στην Κοπεγχάγη και φαινόταν προορισμένος για μια καριέρα στο Βασιλικό Ναυτικό της Δανίας.

(1ο Κολάζ)

Αν και ήταν βασιλικού αίματος (η μητέρα και ο πατέρας του ήταν και τα δύο δισέγγονα του Φρειδερίκου Ε' της Δανίας και τρισέγγονα του Γεωργίου Β' της Μεγάλης Βρετανίας), η οικογένειά του δεν ήταν σχετικά επιφανης και ζούσε μια σχετικά φυσιολογική ζωή για τα βασιλικά πρότυπα. Το 1853, ωστόσο, ο πατέρας του Γεωργιου ορίστηκε ως ο κληρονόμος του άτεκνου Φρειδερίκου Ζ' της Δανίας και η οικογένεια έγινε πρίγκιπες και πριγκίπισσες της Δανίας.

(2ο και 3ο κολάζ)

ήταν σύζυγος του Αλέξανδρου Γ' της Ρωσίας και μητέρα του Νικολάου Β'), η Θύρα (που παντρεύτηκε τον Ερνέστο Αύγουστο, διάδοχο του Ανόβερου) και τον Βαλντεμάρ.

Η μητρική γλώσσα του Γιώργου ήταν τα δανικά, με δεύτερη γλώσσα τα αγγλικά. Διδάχτηκε επίσης γαλλικά και γερμανικά. Ξεκίνησε μια καριέρα στο Βασιλικό Ναυτικό της Δανίας και γράφτηκε ως ναυτικός δόκιμος μαζί με τον μεγαλύτερο αδελφό του Φρειδερίκη. Ενώ ο Φρειδερίκος χαρακτηρίστηκε ως «ήσυχος και εξαιρετικά καλοσυντηρημένος», ο Τζορτζ ήταν «ζωηρός και γεμάτος φάρσες».

Ήταν μόλις 17 ετών όταν εξελέγη βασιλιάς από την Ελληνική Εθνοσυνέλευση, η οποία είχε καθαιρέσει τον αντιδημοφιλή Όθωνα.

Η υποψηφιότητά του προτάθηκε και υποστηρίχθηκε από τις Μεγάλες Δυνάμεις: το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο της Μεγάλης Βρετανίας και της Ιρλανδίας, τη Δεύτερη Γαλλική Αυτοκρατορία και τη Ρωσική Αυτοκρατορία.

Μετά την ανατροπή του γεννημένου στη Βαυαρία βασιλιά Όθωνα της Ελλάδας τον Οκτώβριο του 1862, ο ελληνικός λαός είχε απορρίψει τον αδελφό του Όθωνα και είχε ορίσει διάδοχο τον Λούιτπολντ, αν και εξακολουθούσε να ευνοεί μια μοναρχία και όχι μια δημοκρατία. Πολλοί Έλληνες, αναζητώντας στενότερους δεσμούς με την κατεξοχήν παγκόσμια δύναμη, το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο, συσπειρώθηκαν γύρω από τον πρίγκιπα Άλφρεντ, δούκα του Εδιμβούργου, δεύτερο γιο της βασίλισσας Βικτώριας και του πρίγκιπα Αλβέρτου. Ο Βρετανός πρωθυπου��γός Λόρδος Πάλμερστον πίστευε ότι οι Έλληνες «λαχανιάζουν για αύξηση σε επικράτεια», ελπίζοντας σε δώρο των Ιονίων Νήσων, που τότε ήταν βρετανικό προτεκτοράτο. Η Διάσκεψη του Λονδίνου του 1832, ωστόσο, απαγόρευσε σε οποιαδήποτε από τις κυρίαρχες οικογένειες των Μεγάλων Δυνάμεων να αποδεχθεί το στέμμα, και σε κάθε περίπτωση, η βασίλισσα Βικτώρια ήταν κατηγορηματικά αντίθετη στην ιδέα. Οι Έλληνες, ωστόσο, επέμειναν στη διεξαγωγή δημοψηφίσματος στο οποίο ο πρίγκιπας Άλφρεντ έλαβε πάνω από το 95% των 240.000 ψήφων. Υπήρχαν 93 ψήφοι για μια Δημοκρατία και έξι για έναν Έλληνα. Ο βασιλιάς Όθωνας έλαβε μία ψήφο.

Με τον αποκλεισμό του πρίγκιπα Άλφρεντ ξεκίνησε η αναζήτηση εναλλακτικού υποψηφίου. Οι Γάλλοι ευνόησαν τον Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale, ενώ οι Βρετανοί πρότειναν μεταξύ άλλων τον κουνιάδο της Βασίλισσας Βικτωρίας, Ερνέστο Β', δούκα του Saxe-Coburg και Gotha, τον ανιψιό της πρίγκιπα Leiningen και τον αρχιδούκα Maximilian της Αυστρίας. Τελικά, οι Έλληνες και οι Μεγάλες Δυνάμεις κέρδισαν την επιλογή τους στον πρίγκιπα Γουλιέλμο της Δανίας, ο οποίος είχε λάβει έξι ψήφους στο δημοψήφισμα. Σε ηλικία μόλις 17 ετών, εξελέγη Βασιλιάς των Ελλήνων στις 30 Μαρτίου 1863 από την Ελληνική Εθνοσυνέλευση με το βασιλικό όνομα Γεώργιος Ι

Παντρεύτηκε τη Μεγάλη Δούκισσα Όλγα Κωνσταντίνοβνα της Ρωσίας το 1867 και έγινε ο πρώτος μονάρχης μιας νέας ελληνικής δυναστείας.

Ο Γεώργιος συνάντησε για πρώτη φορά τη Μεγάλη Δούκισσα Όλγα Κωνσταντίνοβνα της Ρωσίας το 1863, όταν ήταν 12 ετών, σε μια επίσκεψη στην αυλή του Τσάρου Αλέξανδρου Β' μεταξύ της εκλογής του στον ελληνικό θρόνο και της άφιξής του στην Αθήνα. Συναντήθηκαν για δεύτερη φορά τον Απρίλιο του 1867, όταν ο Γεώργιος πήγε στη Ρωσική Αυτοκρατορία για να επισκεφτεί την αδελφή του Ντάγκμαρ, η οποία είχε παντρευτεί τη ρωσική αυτοκρατορική οικογένεια. Ενώ ο Τζορτζ ήταν ιδιωτικά Λουθηρανός, οι Ρομανόφ ήταν Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί όπως η πλειονότητα των Ελλήνων, και ο Τζορτζ πίστευε ότι ένας γάμος με μια Ρωσίδα μεγάλη δούκισσα θα επαναβεβαίωνε τους υπηκόους του για το ζήτημα της μελλοντικής θρησκείας των παιδιών του. Η Όλγα ήταν μόλις 16 ετών όταν παντρεύτηκε τον Γιώργο στα Χειμερινά Ανάκτορα στην Αγία Πετρούπολη στις 27 Οκτωβρίου 1867. Μετά από ένα μήνα του μέλιτος στο Tsarskoye Selo, το ζευγάρι έφυγε από τη Ρωσία για την Ελλάδα στις 9 Νοεμβρίου.

Ως γαμήλιο δώρο, ο Τσάρος έδωσε στον Γιώργο ένα συγκρότημα νησιών στον κόλπο των Πεταλιών, το οποίο επισκέφτηκε η οικογένεια με το βασιλικό γιοτ Αμφιτρίτη. Ο Γιώργος αργότερα αγόρασε ένα εξοχικό κτήμα, το Τατόι, βόρεια της Αθήνας, και στην Κέρκυρα πήρε από τους Κερκυραίους ως δώρο για τα Επτά��ησα, μεταβίβασε από την αγγλική στην ελληνική κυριαρχία μια θερινή βίλα που ονομαζόταν Mon Repos πρώην θερινή κατοικία των Άγγλων Ύπατων Αρμοστειών.

Ο Γιώργος ανέπτυξε το Τατόι, χτίζοντας δρόμους και φυτεύοντας σταφύλια για να φτιάξει το δικό του κρασί, Chateau Décélie

Τα επόμενα είκοσι χρόνια απέκτησαν οκτώ παιδιά:

Κωνσταντίνος (1868–1923), που παντρεύτηκε την πριγκίπισσα Σοφία της Πρωσίας.

George (1869–1957), που παντρεύτηκε την πριγκίπισσα Μαρία Βοναπάρτη.

Αλεξάνδρα (1870–1891), που παντρεύτηκε τον Μέγα Δούκα Παύλο Αλεξάντροβιτς της Ρωσίας.

Νικόλαος (1872–1938), ο οποίος παντρεύτηκε τη Μεγάλη Δούκισσα Έλενα Βλαντιμίροβνα της Ρωσίας.

Μαρία (1876–1940), που παντρεύτηκε πρώτον τον Μέγα Δούκα Γεώργιο Μιχαήλοβιτς της Ρωσίας και δεύτερον τον ναύαρχο Περικλή Ιωαννίδη.

Όλγα (1880), που πέθανε σε ηλικία επτά μηνών.

Andrew (1882–1944), ο οποίος παντρεύτηκε την πριγκίπισσα Αλίκη του Battenberg, γονείς του Φίλιππου Δούκα του Εδιμβούργου, πρίγκιπα συζύγου της βασίλισσας Ελισάβετ Β του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου

Christopher (1888–1940), ο οποίος παντρεύτηκε πρώτα την Αμερικανίδα χήρα Nancy Stewart Worthington Leeds και δεύτερον την πριγκίπισσα Françoise της Ορλεάνης.

Η βασιλεία του Γεωργίου σχεδόν 50 ετών (η μεγαλύτερη στη σύγχρονη ελληνική ιστορία) χαρακτηρίστηκε από εδαφικά κέρδη καθώς η Ελλάδα εδραίωσε τη θέση της στην Ευρώπη πριν από τον Α' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο. Η Βρετανία παραχώρησε ειρηνικά τα Επτάνησα το 1864, ενώ η Θεσσαλία προσαρτήθηκε από την Οθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία μετά τον Ρωσοτουρκικό πόλεμο (1877–1878). Η Ελλάδα δεν ήταν πάντα επιτυχημένη στις εδαφικές της φιλοδοξίες. ηττήθηκε στον ελληνοτουρκικό πόλεμο (1897). Κατά τον Α' Βαλκανικό Πόλεμο, αφού τα ελληνικά στρατεύματα είχαν καταλάβει μεγάλο μέρος της ελληνικής Μακεδονίας, ο Γεώργιος δολοφονήθηκε στη Θεσσαλονίκη. Σε σύγκριση με τη δική του μακρά θητεία, η βασιλεία των διαδόχων του Κωνσταντίνου Α', Αλεξάνδρου και Γεωργίου Β' αποδείχθηκε σύντομη και ανασφαλής.

Εκτός από τα Επτάνησα, η επέκταση του ελληνικού βασιλείου από το 1863 έως το 1947. Η Θεσσαλία μεταφέρθηκε από την Οθωμανική στην Ελληνική κυριαρχία το 1881 και τα Δώδεκα Νησιά του Αιγαίου μεταφέρθηκαν από τους Ιταλούς στην Ελλάδα κατά τη διάρκεια της βασιλείας του βασιλιά Παύλου Α' των Ελλήνων εγγονός στον βασιλιά Γεώργιο Α' .

Καθώς πλησίαζε την πεντηκοστή επέτειο από την άνοδό του, ο Βασιλιάς έκανε σχέδια να παραιτηθεί υπέρ του γιου του Κωνσταντίνου αμέσως μετά τον εορτασμό της χρυσής ιωβηλείας του τον Οκτώβριο του 1913. Όπως έκανε στην Αθήνα, ο Γεώργιος περιηγήθηκε τη Θεσσαλονίκη χωρίς καμία ουσιαστική δύναμη προστασίας . Ενώ βρισκόταν σε μια απογευματινή βόλτα κοντά στον Λευκό Πύργο στις 18 Μαρτίου 1913, πυροβολήθηκε από κοντά στην πλάτη από τον Αλέξανδρο Σχινά, ο οποίος «έλεγε ότι ανήκε σε σοσιαλιστική οργάνωση» και «όταν συνελήφθη δήλωσε ότι είχε σκοτώσει τον βασιλιά. γιατί αρνήθηκε να του δώσει χρήματα». Ο Γιώργος πέθανε ακαριαία, με τη σφαίρα να έχει εισχωρήσει στην καρδιά του. Η ελληνική κυβέρνηση αρνήθηκε οποιοδήποτε πολιτικό κίνητρο για τη δολοφονία, λέγοντας ότι ο Σχινάς ήταν αλκοολικός αλήτης. Ο Σχινάς βασανίστηκε στη φυλακή και έπεσε μέχρι θανάτου από το παράθυρο του αστυνομικού τμήματος έξι εβδομάδες αργότερα.

Η σορός του βασιλιά μεταφέρθηκε στην Αθήνα στην Αμφιτρίτη, συνοδεία στολίσκου πλοίων του πολεμικού ναυτικού. Για τρεις ημέρες το φέρετρο του Βασιλιά, ντυμένο με τη δανική και την ελληνική σημαία, βρισκόταν στον Μητροπολιτικό Καθεδρικό Ναό της Αθήνας πριν το σώμα του παραδοθεί σε τάφος στο παλάτι του στο Τατόι.

Τα αδέρφια του Γεωργίου ήταν ο Φρειδερίκος (ο οποίος διαδέχτηκε τον πατέρα τους ως βασιλιάς της Δανίας και του οποίου ο δεύτερος γιος εξελέγη ως Haakon VII της Νορβηγίας το 1905), η Αλεξάνδρα (η οποία έγινε σύζυγος του Εδουάρδου Ζ' του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου και μητέρα του Γεωργίου Ε'), η Ντάγκμαρ (η οποία, ως αυτοκράτειρα Μαρία Φεοντόροβνα, ήταν σύζυγος του Αλέξανδρου Γ' της Ρωσίας και μητέρα του Νικολάου Β'), η Θύρα (που παντρεύτηκε τον Ερνέστο Αύγουστο, διάδοχο του Ανόβερου) και τον Βαλντεμάρ

Η μητρική γλώσσα του Γιώργου ήταν τα δανικά, με δεύτερη γλώσσα τα αγγλικά. Διδάχτηκε επίσης γαλλικά και γερμανικά. Ξεκίνησε μια καριέρα στο Βασιλικό Ναυτικό της Δανίας και γράφτηκε ως ναυτικός δόκιμος μαζί με τον μεγαλύτερο αδελφό του Φρειδερίκο. Ενώ ο Φρειδερίκος χαρακτηρίστηκε ως «ήσυχος και εξαιρετικά καλοσυντηρημένος», ο Γεωργιος ήταν «ζωηρός και γεμάτος φάρσες».

(4ο Κολάζ)

Μετά την ανατροπή του γεννημένου στη Βαυαρία βασιλιά Όθωνα της Ελλάδας τον Οκτώβριο του 1862, ο ελληνικός λαός είχε απορρίψει τον αδελφό του Όθωνα και είχε ορίσει διάδοχο τον Λούιτπολντ, αν και εξακολουθούσε να ευνοεί μια μοναρχία και όχι μια δημοκρατία. Πολλοί Έλληνες, αναζητώντας στενότερους δεσμούς με την κατεξοχήν παγκόσμια δύναμη, το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο, συσπειρώθηκαν γύρω από τον πρίγκιπα Άλφρεντ, δούκα του Εδιμβούργου, δεύτερο γιο της βασίλισσας Βικτώριας και του πρίγκιπα Αλβέρτου. Ο Βρετανός πρωθυπουργός Λόρδος Πάλμερστον πίστευε ότι οι Έλληνες «λαχανιάζουν για αύξηση σε επικράτεια», ελπίζοντας σε δώρο των Ιονίων Νήσων, που τότε ήταν βρετανικό προτεκτοράτο. Η Διάσκεψη του Λονδίνου του 1832, ωστόσο, απαγόρευσε σε οποιαδήποτε από τις κυρίαρχες οικογένειες των Μεγάλων Δυνάμεων να αποδεχθεί το στέμμα, και σε κάθε περίπτωση, η βασίλισσα Βικτώρια ήταν κατηγορηματικά αντίθετη στην ιδέα. Οι Έλληνες, ωστόσο, επέμειναν στη διεξαγωγή δημοψηφίσματος στο οποίο ο πρίγκιπας Άλφρεντ έλαβε πάνω από το 95% των 240.000 ψήφων. Υπήρχαν 93 ψήφοι για μη Βασιλευομένη Δημοκρατία και έξι για έναν Έλληνα. Ο βασιλιάς Όθωνας έλαβε μία ψήφο.

Με τον αποκλεισμό του πρίγκιπα Άλφρεντ ξεκίνησε η αναζήτηση εναλλακτικού υποψηφίου. Οι Γάλλοι ευνόησαν τον Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale, ενώ οι Βρετανοί πρότειναν μεταξύ άλλων τον κουνιάδο της Βασίλισσας Βικτωρίας, Ερνέστο Β', δούκα του Saxe-Coburg και Gotha, τον ανιψιό της πρίγκιπα Leiningen και τον αρχιδούκα Μαξιμιλιανο της Αυστρίας. Τελικά, οι Έλληνες και οι Μεγάλες Δυνάμεις κέρδισαν την επιλογή τους στον πρίγκιπα Γουλιέλμο της Δανίας, ο οποίος είχε λάβει έξι ψήφους στο δημοψήφισμα. Σε ηλικία μόλις 17 ετών, εξελέγη Βασιλιάς των Ελλήνων στις 30 Μαρτίου 1863 από την Ελληνική Εθνοσυνέλευση με το βασιλικό όνομα Γεώργιος Ι

(5ο και 6ο Κολάζ)

Ο Γεώργιος συνάντησε για πρώτη φορά τη Μεγάλη Δούκισσα Όλγα Κωνσταντίνοβνα της Ρωσίας το 1863, όταν ήταν 12 ετών, σε μια επίσκεψη στην αυλή του Τσάρου Αλέξανδρου Β' μεταξύ της εκλογής του στον ελληνικό θρόνο και της άφιξής του στην Αθήνα. Συναντήθηκαν για δεύτερη φορά τον Απρίλιο του 1867, όταν ο Γεώργιος πήγε στη Ρωσική Αυτοκρατορία για να επισκεφτεί την αδελφή του Ντάγκμαρ, η οποία είχε παντρευτεί στη ρωσική αυτοκρατορική οικογένεια. Ενώ ο Γεωργιος ήταν ιδιωτικά Λουθηρανός, οι Ρομανόφ ήταν Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί όπως η πλειονότητα των Ελλήνων, και ο Γεωργιος πίστευε ότι ένας γάμος με μια Ρωσίδα μεγάλη δούκισσα θα επαναβεβαίωνε τους υπηκόους του για το ζήτημα της μελλοντικής θρησκείας των παιδιών του. Η Όλγα ήταν μόλις 16 ετών όταν παντρεύτηκε τον Γιώργο στα Χειμερινά Ανάκτορα στην Αγία Πετρούπολη στις 27 Οκτωβρίου 1867. Μετά από ένα μήνα του μέλιτος στο Tsarskoye Selo, το ζευγάρι έφυγε από τη Ρωσία για την Ελλάδα στις 9 Νοεμβρίου.

(7ο και 8ο κολάζ)

Ως γαμήλιο δώρο, ο Τσάρος έδωσε στον Γιώργο ένα συγκρότημα νησιών στον κόλπο των Πεταλιών, το οποίο επισκέφτηκε η οικογένεια με το βασιλικό γιοτ Αμφιτρίτη.

(1η εικόνα στο 9ο Κολάζ)

Ο Γιώργος αργότερα αγόρασε ένα εξοχικό κτήμα, το Τατόι, βόρεια της Αθήνας, και στην Κέρκυρα πήρε από τους Κερκυραίους ως δώρο για τα Επτάνησα, μεταβίβασε από την αγγλική στην ελληνική κυριαρχία μια θερινή βίλα που ονομαζόταν Mon Repos πρώην θερινή κατοικία των Άγγλων Ύπατων Αρμοστειών.

(2η εικόνα στο 9ο Κολάζ)

(3η και 4η εικόνα στο 9ο κολάζ)

Τα επόμενα είκοσι χρόνια απέκτησαν οκτώ παιδιά:

1)Κωνσταντίνος (1868–1923), που παντρεύτηκε την πριγκίπισσα Σοφία της Πρωσίας.

2)Γεώργιος (1869–1957), που παντρεύτηκε την πριγκίπισσα Μαρία Βοναπάρτη.

3)Αλεξάνδρα (1870–1891), που παντρεύτηκε τον Μέγα Δούκα Παύλο Αλεξάντροβιτς της Ρωσίας.

4)Νικόλαος (1872–1938), ο οποίος παντρεύτηκε τη Μεγάλη Δούκισσα Έλενα Βλαντιμίροβνα της Ρωσίας.

5)Μαρία (1876–1940), που παντρεύτηκε πρώτον τον Μέγα Δούκα Γεώργιο Μιχαήλοβιτς της Ρωσίας και δεύτερον τον ναύαρχο Περικλή Ιωαννίδη.

6)Όλγα (1880), που πέθανε σε ηλικία επτά μηνών.

7) Ανδρέας (1882–1944), ο οποίος παντρεύτηκε την πριγκίπισσα Αλίκη του Battenberg, γονείς του Φίλιππου Δούκα του Εδιμβούργου, πρίγκιπα συζύγου της βασίλισσας Ελισάβετ Β του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου

8) (1888–1940), ο οποίος παντρεύτηκε πρώτα την Αμερικανίδα χήρα Nancy Stewart Worthington Leeds και δεύτερον την πριγκίπισσα Φρανγκισκη της Ορλεάνης.

(10ο και 11ο κολάζ)

(12ο Κολάζ)

Σε σύγκριση με τη δική του μακρά θητεία, η βασιλεία των διαδόχων του Κωνσταντίνου Α', Αλεξάνδρου και Γεωργίου Β' αποδείχθηκε σύντομη και ανασφαλής.

(13ο Κολάζ)

(14ο,15ο Κολάζ)

Ο δολοφόνος Αλέξανδρος Σχινάς, που «έλεγαν ότι ανήκε σε σοσιαλιστική οργάνωση» και «όταν συνελήφθη δήλωσε ότι σκότωσε τον Βασιλιά επειδή αρνήθηκε να του δώσει χρήματα».

Ο Γιώργος πέθανε ακαριαία, με τη σφαίρα να έχει εισχωρήσει στην καρδιά του. Η ελληνική κυβέρνηση αρνήθηκε οποιοδήποτε πολιτικό κίνητρο για τη δολοφονία, λέγοντας ότι ο Σχινάς ήταν αλκοολικός αλήτης. Ο Σχινάς βασανίστηκε στη φυλακή και έπεσε μέχρι θανάτου από το παράθυρο του αστυνομικού τμήματος έξι εβδομάδες αργότερα.

(16ο και 17ο κολάζ)

Η σορός του Βασιλιά μεταφέρθηκε στην Αθήνα με την Βασιλική Θαλαμηγό Αμφιτρίτη, συνοδεία στολίσκου πλοίων του λιμενικού.

(18ο Κολάζ)

Επί τρεις ημέρες το φέρετρο του Βασιλιά, ντυμένο με τη δανική και την ελληνική σημαία, βρισκόταν στον Μητροπολιτικό Καθεδρικό Ναό της Αθήνας προτού το σώμα του παραδοθεί σε τάφο στο παλάτι του στο Τατόι.

(19ο και 20ο κολάζ)

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thebritishmonarchycouk · 3 years ago

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#OTD in Royal History . 27 August 1968 . Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent died . Princess Marina died from a brain tumour at Kensington Palace at 11.40 am on 27 August 1968, aged 61. . ◼ The Funeral service for the Princess was held at the St. George’s Chapel on 30 August. She was buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. Her funeral was the final royal ceremony attended by her brother-in-law, the former Edward VIII. . 👑 Princess Marina of Greece & Denmark was born in Athens, Greece on 13 December 1906. . ▪️ Her father was Prince Nicholas of Greece & Denmark, the third son of George I of Greece. Her mother was Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, a granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. One of her paternal uncles was Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark, the father of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. . ◼ Her family was generally poor & forced into exile when she was 11, following the overthrow of the Greek monarchy. They later moved to Paris, while the Princess stayed throughout Europe with her extended family. . ◼ In 1932 in London she met Prince George, Duke of Kent, a second cousin through Christian IX of Denmark. Their betrothal was announced in August 1934. On 29 November 1934, they married at Westminster Abbey, London. The wedding was followed by a Greek ceremony in the private chapel at Buckingham Palace. . ◼ Among her bridesmaids were Princess Elizabeth of York (now Elizabeth II). It was the last time a foreign-born princess married into the British Royal Family. . ◼ They had three children: Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, & Prince Michael. . ◼ The Duke of Kent was killed on 25 August 1942, in an aeroplane crash at Eagles Rock, near Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland, while on active service with the Royal Air Force. . ◼ During World War II, Marina was trained as a nurse for three months under the pseudonym "Sister Kay" & joined the civil nurse reserve. . ◼ After her husband’s death, the Duchess of Kent continued to be an active member of the British Royal Family, carrying out a wide range of royal & official engagements. . . . #d27aug (at Kensington Palace) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTF9FZhs3Eo/?utm_medium=tumblr

#otd #d27aug

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historywithlaura · 4 years ago

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MARIYA & ALFRED

The Royal Wedding of a Grand Duchess of Russia and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...

(married 1874)

pictured above is a portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess of Russia, from 1874

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SERIES - Facts & Events mentioned in previous posts: Mariya and Alfred's marriage was mentioned on Grand Duchess Mariya Alyeksandrovna of Russia's post.

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MARIYA was the only surviving daughter of Alyeksandr II, Emperor of all the Russias and his first wife Mariya Alyeksandrovna. She was born into the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov, a branch of the HOUSE OF ROMANOV. Her name was MARIYA ALYEKSANDROVNA, meaning Mariya daughter of Alyeksandr, and as a granddaughter of Nikolay I, Emperor of all the Russias she had from her birth in 1853 the courtesy title of GRAND DUCHESS OF RUSSIA.

ALFRED ERNEST ALBERT was one of the sons of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom, and thus he was a member of the British Branch of the HOUSE OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA. In 1866 his mother had created him DUKE OF EDINBURGH, EARL OF ULSTER and EARL OF KENT.

As one the Duke sister's, Princess Alice, was married to a distant cousin of the Grand Duchess, Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine (future Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse), both traveled frequently to Hesse. They met for the first time in 1868 and fell in love in another of those encounters in Hesse.

Since the 1850s there was a strong anti-British feeling in Russia because of the Crimean War, and an union between a Russian Grand Duchess and a British Prince was not well seen. So their parents refused to agree to the match for a while and tried to find other suitors for both of them.

Finally, by 1873 the Duke was invited by the Emperor and Empress of all of the Russias to meet them in Hesse and while there he asked for the Grand Duchess' hand.

Negotiations for their wedding were turbulent over decisions about the religious ceremony, the Grand Duchess' order of precedence in the United Kingdom and even where she and Queen Victoria should meet for the first time.

Their wedding took place on 23 January 187, at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, with an Orthodox ceremony followed by an Anglican one. A celebration that was not attended by the British Queen, as she did not travel to Russia.

pictured above is a painting of the wedding ceremony of the Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess of Russia, by Nicholas Chevalier from c. 1874-75

They spent their honeymoon in Russia and then moved to England where the Grand Duchess finally met the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Togheter they had six children (check the list and the end of this post), three of them were born in England, one in Malta, one in Coburg and one was a stillborn.

In the United Kingdom she became known by her husband's titles as DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH, COUNTESS OF ULSTER and COUNTESS OF KENT.

While living there the Duchess had many disagreements with her mother-in-law as she wanted to be treated as an Imperial Grand Duchess, not just a Princess or simply a Duchess.

Because of her dislike to Britain she tried to travel and live abroad as much as possible and even had a residence in Coburg called Edinburgh Palais, before her husband's accession.

By 1893 the Duke's uncle Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha died and because of family deaths and resignations he inherited the Duchy. They became the DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA and moved for good to Coburg with their family.

Eventually they grew apart but tried to keep the appearances for the sake of their children.

After the tragic death of their only son Prince Alfred in 1899 their relationship was never the same again. And 17 months later the Duke also died, of throat cancer in 1900.

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As DOWAGER DUCHESS OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA she survived her husband for 20 years and never remarried. She lived in Coburg until World War I, when she moved to Bavaria, and only died after the end of the War in 1920.

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MARIYA and ALFRED had six children...

Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - unmarried;

Princess Marie of Edinburgh - wife of Ferdinand I, King of Romania;

Viktoriya Fyodorovna - wife first of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and second of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia;

Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - wife of Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg;

a stillborn son; and

Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha - wife of Alfonso, 5th Duke of Galliera.

pictured above is a family portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh with their two eldest children, Prince Alfred and Princess Marie, by Karl Rudolf Sohn from 1884

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Check my posts on MARIYA and ALFRED!

She was a Grand Duchess of Russia from her birth in 1853.

He inherited the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1893.

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princessanneftw · 4 years ago

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How Princess Anne became the shining light of the beleaguered monarchy

Once seen as haughty and aloof, today her old-school approach has never been more in demand

By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor of the Telegraph.

Visitors to the Princess Royal’s house, Gatcombe Park, are often surprised to be greeted with antique-display cases groaning with ornaments, bookshelves overflowing with hardbacks and piles of magazines dating back to the 1970s. According to one friend, the 18th-century Grade II-listed Gloucestershire stately has a ‘homely’ feel, thanks to the frugal Princess’s reluctance to throw anything out.

‘It’s quite a nice thing really,’ they said. ‘There’s barely a place you can sit down in her house. Every time the staff go in there they try to take something away.’ A surprising revelation, perhaps, about the Royal family’s resident stickler, whose decadesold ‘updo’ and penchant for wearing white gloves on royal engagements suggest a somewhat starchier outlook. But as the Queen’s only daughter prepares to celebrate her 70th birthday this month, it seems that appearances can be rather deceiving.

Now more valuable than ever to an institution not only trying to reposition itself in the wake of a global pandemic, but still smarting from the fallout of Megxit and the Duke of York’s association with Jeffrey Epstein, Anne’s old-school approach has never been more in demand. Despite describing herself as ‘the boring old fuddy-duddy at the back’, who keeps reminding the younger royals not to forgo ‘the basics’, the Princess Royal, who has always put duty first, is finally getting the recognition she deserves.

Her appearance in June alongside the 94-year-old monarch for Her Majesty’s first ever video call shows how much the Queen is coming to rely on the Princess. And the public response to her appearing to snub Donald Trump during a Nato leaders’ reception at Buckingham Palace last December suggests the nation is finally warming to her modus operandi.

Where once Anne was regarded as haughty and standoffish, she is now hailed as one of the great English eccentrics whose unparalleled royal work ethic, carrying out more than 500 engagements a year, has rightly earned her national treasure status.

And having allowed a film crew to shadow her for the past year, the Princess, who is usually reluctant to blow her own trumpet, has never appeared more at ease with herself. She was persuaded to take part in last week’s ITV documentary Princess Royal: Anne at 70 because its makers, Oxford Films, had successfully produced Our Queen and Our Queen at 90 about her mother. Shadowing Anne on her dusk-to-dawn engagements – and featuring interviews with her children Peter, 42, and Zara, 39 – the documentary revealed just how much the Princess is cut from the Queen’s ‘keep calm and carry on’ cloth.

Having been regarded as a bit of a royal renegade as a teenager – and chosen to forgo titles for her own children, despite her own HRH pedigree as a ‘spare to the heir’ – Anne’s life story is a contradiction of both protocol taskmaster and occasional rule-breaker. As one insider who knows the Princess well put it: ‘She can turn from laughing and joking one minute to being an absolute stickler for the rules the next. She’s extremely dutiful and would hate to be regarded as being on the wrong side of protocol. You’d never dream of asking her a political question and she’s not at all gossipy.’

Erin Doherty’s portrayal of Anne in The Crown, as the deadpan princess with the permanently raised eyebrow, certainly sums up her teenage years when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were apparently so concerned about their daughter’s lack of direction, they asked the late Dame Vera Lynn for advice. Prince Philip, who famously joked of his daughter, ‘If it doesn’t fart or eat hay then she isn’t interested,’ allegedly confided in the Forces’ sweetheart: ‘We are concerned about Anne at the moment, trying to get her to make up her mind about what she wants to do.’

According to her school friend, Sandra de Laszlo, who boarded with Anne at Benenden: ‘She was a very normal teenager – sensible and fun.’ Leaving school with six O levels and two A levels in 1968, Anne had already resolved to follow in her parents’ duteous footsteps. Less than a year later, she made her official debut on 1 March – St David’s Day – when she handed out leeks to the Welsh Guards at Pirbright Camp in Surrey. It was to be the start of one of the most industrious royal careers in modern memory – with more than 20,000 engagements clocked up since.

Soon after she started work, she began dating – and in 1970, Anne’s first boyfriend was Andrew Parker Bowles, the dashing young adjutant of the Blues and Royals, who went on to marry Camilla Shand – later to become her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cornwall. The Princess and the brigadier – described as her ‘horsey husband’ – remain close and accompany each other to Royal Ascot and other race meetings every year.

Anne is also on good terms with her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. A Sandhurst graduate with an equestrian streak, like Parker Bowles, Phillips met the Princess at a party for horse lovers in 1968 and reconnected at the Munich Olympics four years later, when he won team Olympic gold in the three-day eventing. They married in 1973. He was at the then 23-year-old Anne’s side a year later when she was threatened at gunpoint in an attempted kidnapping. The couple were returning to Buckingham Palace following a charity event when their limousine was forced to stop on the Mall by another car. When the driver, Ian Ball, jumped out and began shooting, Anne’s bodyguard, Inspector James Beaton, was injured, along with her chauffeur Alex Callender, and journalist Brian McConnell and Michael Hills, a police constable, who happened upon the scene.

But the attempt to hold Anne to ransom for at least £2 million is even more memorable thanks to the impervious Princess’s refusal to obey Ball’s order to get out of the car, replying with a trademark: ‘Not bloody likely!’ Eventually, she exited the other side of the limousine, as had her lady-in-waiting, Rowena Brassey (who is still with her to this day). A passing pedestrian, a former boxer named Ron Russell, punched Ball in the back of the head and led Anne away from the scene. Anne later told officers: ‘It was all so infuriating; I kept saying I didn’t want to get out of the car, and I was not going to get out of the car,’ according to files later released by the National Archives. ‘I nearly lost my temper with him, but I knew that if I did, I should hit him and he would shoot me.’

She was similarly sanguine about becoming the first member of the Royal family to have a criminal conviction after one of her dogs, a three-year-old English bull terrier called Dotty, attacked two children in Windsor Great Park in 2002. Pleading guilty to being in charge of a dog that was out of control in a public area, she insisted on no special treatment and took the £500 fine and £500 compensation on the chin.

The incident followed a number of brushes with the law for motoring offences, with Anne having twice been caught speeding on the M1 in the 1970s. She was also fined £100 and banned for one month in 1990 for two speeding offences and fined another £400 in 2000. On both occasions she pleaded guilty immediately, insisting she was late for an engagement.

As she said in the documentary, mistakes do happen when there is no ‘training’ for the job of being royal. ‘It’s just learning by experience. But hardly ever does anything go quite according to plan. You have to learn that.’ It wasn’t as if she didn’t feel the pressure of being the sovereign’s second-born, either – once describing the fly-on-the-wall Royal Family film, which followed the Windsors for a year in the late 1960s, as ‘a rotten idea’.

‘The attention that had been brought on one ever since one was a child, you just didn’t want any more. The last thing you needed was greater access.’

Famed for telling reporters to ‘naff orf ’, much of Anne’s mistrust of the media appears to stem from its rather uncomfortable coverage of Phillips fathering a love child, Felicity, with New Zealand art teacher Heather Tonkin in 1985. The Princess didn’t emerge unblemished either, having been revealed by The Sun to have received love letters from Tim Laurence, then the Queen’s equerry, in 1989, when she was separated – although still married to Phillips.

Anne and Mark finally divorced in 1992 and the Princess remarried eight months later, choosing Crathie Kirk in Scotland, as the Church of England did not at that time allow divorced persons whose former spouses were still living to remarry in its churches. The Prince of Wales had nicknamed Phillips ‘Fog’ on the grounds that he was ‘thick and wet’; but with his Royal Navy pedigree and impeccable manners, ‘quiet man’ Laurence fitted into the Royal family perfectly. One friend described the vice admiral as ‘a thoroughly decent man who never forgets a face’, before adding that ‘some may regard him as a little bit boring, but he’s a much safer bet than Mark ever was.’

Ever the pragmatist, Anne allowed Phillips to remain living on the Gatcombe estate, even after he married Sandy Pflueger, an American Olympic dressage rider, with whom he has a daughter, Stephanie, 22. As one equestrian insider put it: ‘The horsey set has always been very incestuous. Yes, Mark was serially unfaithful but there’s a lot of that going on – Anne just turned a blind eye.’

Now divorced from Pflueger, Phillips, 71, has vacated Aston Farm on the 730-acre estate, to make way for Zara, her rugbyplayer husband Mike Tindall, 41, and their daughters Mia, six, and Lena, two.

Peter also lives on the estate with his estranged wife Autumn, 42, and their daughters Savannah, nine, and Isla, eight. The couple are still living together despite announcing their divorce in January – an unexpected development that has left the Princess ‘sad and disappointed’, according to insiders.

One source said: ‘One thing about the Royal family is they are incredibly close. They are the most dysfunctional family there is, but the Princess and her children and grandchildren are as tight as anything.’

As ever, horse riding remains the tie that binds, with Anne – a former European eventing champion, BBC Sports Personality of the Year and competitor at the 1976 Montreal Olympics – passing on her enthusiasm for the sport to Zara. In recent years, Peter has taken over the running of the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe.

By her own admission, breaking with royal tradition by insisting that her children were called Mr and Miss ‘probably’ made life ‘easier for them’. ‘I think most people would argue that there are downsides to having titles,’ Anne said recently. Having initially been brought up, Downton Abbey-style, on the ‘nursery floor’, with her parents often away for months on end on royal tours, it was Anne who insisted she go to a ‘proper’ school – the first daughter of a monarch to do so – rather than be home-taught.

Both Peter and Zara were sent to Port Regis, a co-educational prep school in Dorset, before following in their uncle Charles’s footsteps to board at Gordonstoun in Scotland. Unlike the heir to the throne, who described it as ‘Colditz in kilts’, they thrived in the outdoorsiness of it all, excelled at sport and both ended up at Exeter University – Peter to study sports science and Zara, physiotherapy – despite university having eluded both their parents.

Zara also surpassed her mother’s equestrian achievements by winning the Eventing World Championships in 2006 and a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics – all while Anne was watching proudly from the sidelines.

One friend recalls how the Princess would think nothing of queuing up for the Portaloos at competitions like any other parent, much to the horror of Zara, who would tell her: ‘Mum, you can’t do that!’

Inconspicuous in her trademark Barbour jacket, tweed hat and sunglasses, Anne would regularly be stopped at events on her own estate by police not realising who she was. ‘I remember it happening a couple of times,’ said one source. ‘She was very good about it – she said: “Don’t worry, you weren’t to know.”’

After Zara collected individual and team gold medals at the 2005 European Eventing Championship in Blenheim, Anne invited the entire team, grooms and all, back to Gatcombe to celebrate, serving up ‘sandwiches and scampi in a basket’, in the courtyard. Very much a hands-on mother and grandmother, the Princess has a number of long-serving aides – but no large entourage. Along with Rowena Brassey (now Feilden), Lady Carew Pole has also been the Princess’s lady-in-waiting since 1970.

Unfussy Anne still insists on doing her own make-up and hair – which hasn’t been let down publicly in decades. Although according to one source who once witnessed the rare sight of her unclipping her bun and redoing it during an equestrian event: ‘It really is quite something. It’s still as long as it was when she was in her 20s.’

Part of Anne’s agelessness is down to genes. ‘She always says she doesn’t have very good role models for slowing down,’ Peter told the documentary. As Countryfile presenter John Craven found out when he dared to ask if Anne still rode, only to be rebuked: ‘Her Majesty is still riding, so come on!’ But as well as inheriting her mother’s DNA she shares HM’s strict adherence to style codes – and her aversion to profligacy.

Guests at the 2008 wedding of Lady Rose Windsor, the daughter of the Duke of Gloucester, were astonished when Anne arrived in the outfit she had worn to her brother’s wedding to Lady Diana Spencer, 27 years earlier. The size-10 Maureen Baker floral-print frock still fitted perfectly.

Quite what Anne must have made of Diana and Fergie’s wardrobe expenditure in the 1980s has never been disclosed – although it has long been reported that the Princess never thought too highly of either sister-in-law, regarding Diana particularly as ‘hogging the limelight’.

There were even reports that she viewed the pair as ‘lessening the stature’ of the Royal family, describing them behind the scenes as ‘those girls’. As royal biographer Penny Junor put it: ‘There was Diana on the one hand, who was incredibly touchy-feely, who hugged children, who put children on her lap, who even kissed people in public. And there was Anne, not touching anyone, not playing up to the cameras at all.’

As far removed from the suburban housewife as you can get, when Anne was once spotted mending fences at Gatcombe, she apparently retorted: ‘Somebody’s got to do it!’ ‘She’s never shirked anything in her life,’ said a friend. ‘She’s a real grafter.’

Weekends will invariably be spent with her four grandchildren. Revealing a surprising knowledge of popular culture – despite her dislike of indoor pursuits – the Princess revealed her familiarity with Catherine Tate’s stroppy schoolgirl character Lauren when she commented that Mia’s attitude to equestrianism was, ‘Am I bovvered?’

‘She’s superb with the kids,’ said a friend. ‘She’ll often be in the stables with the grandchildren. She’s got a tremendous sense of humour and is very likeable and kind. She loves Mike [Tindall, Zara’s husband]. He makes them all laugh.

The friend also pointed to Anne’s ‘surprisingly fruity’ sense of humour, adding: ‘And the Princess can swear all right. I’ve heard her use some quite colourful language.’

If the Queen instilled in Anne a love of horses then it was her father who encouraged her other great passion in life: sailing. Anne would regularly accompany the former Royal Navy commander to Cowes Week, and it is a testament to Philip’s infectious love of seafaring that Anne and Tim have kept their yacht Ballochbuie on Loch Craignish in Argyll, since 2012. The couple enjoy nothing more than cruising around the Inner Hebrides, where Anne indulges her passion of visiting lighthouses. She is patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board and is understood to have ‘bagged’ more than half of the UK’s 206.

But it hasn’t always been so easy combining work and pleasure. Anne was put to the diplomatic test when she became the first member of the Royal family to visit the USSR, at the invitation of the then-leader Gorbachev in 1990. In typical style, the Princess didn’t shirk the responsibility – and stayed for two whole weeks. Visits to war zones including Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Bosnia have been similarly taxing – with Anne once insisting after a particularly gruelling tour of Africa: ‘I don’t come here looking for trouble. I come to see if I can help.’

Her association with Save the Children, which dates back to 1970, has seen her slum it on camp beds and visit disease-ravaged Mozambique refugee camps. Once urged by photographers to hug an emaciated child, she refused, saying, ‘I don’t do stunts.’ And in response to a comment on her supposed lack of the maternal instinct, she said: ‘You don’t have to like children particularly to want to give them a decent chance in life.’

Yet her reputation as one of the most diligent royals ever has also been honed by her dedication to little-known domestic causes, like the Wetwheels Foundation, which provides ‘barrier-free boating’ for the disabled. One of more than 300 charities the Princess is involved with, its founder Geoff Holt, a paraplegic who was the first disabled person to sail solo around Britain in 2007, and then across the Atlantic in 2010, has known Anne for over 30 years. ‘I’ve got photos of us going back decades. I’ve got older and older and she’s stayed the same,’ he joked.

‘She’s got to be one of the most hard-working people I know. I’ve never known anything like it – the amount of engagements she packs in. She doesn’t do sycophancy, though.

Michele Jennings, chief executive of Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, of which the Princess has been patron since 1992, also tells staff ‘not to fawn’ when the Princess visits. ‘She hates that,’ she said. ‘We’re a pretty down-to-earth charity and when she comes she’ll have dogs jumping at her shins and crawling all over her, but she doesn’t mind one bit. There’s no awkwardness.’

Another source revealed how during one royal visit, Anne had joked about missing out on all the posh canapés – royals are discouraged from eating in public. ‘I’ll just have to put up with Great Western’s finest,’ she quipped, referring to her train journey home.

Although a ‘daddy’s girl’ growing up, since the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret died in 2002, Anne has become ever more devoted to her mother. Having helped to counsel the Queen through many royal crises over the years, the Princess has been HM’s first port of call when discussing recent tumultuous royal events. Although one can only guess what stalwart Anne makes of Harry and Meghan’s behaviour, she has made no secret of her opposition to royals trying to modernise the institution, seemingly referring to the Sussexes when she remarked recently: ‘I don’t think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and it’s often true, isn’t it? You don’t necessarily look at the previous generation and say, “Oh, you did that?” Or, “You went there?” Nowadays, they’re much more looking for, “Oh, let’s do it a new way.” I’m already at the stage [of ], please do not reinvent that particular wheel. We’ve been there, done that. Some of these things don’t work. You may need to go back to basics.’

When she turned 60, the Queen elevated Anne to the Order of the Thistle and there was a joint birthday party with Andrew, who was 50 that year. But Covid-19 – not to mention Andrew’s fall from grace – mean this year’s celebrations will be more muted. Indeed, she is not thought to have had much contact with her brother, with whom she shares a love of country pursuits, but little else.

With the Queen having been self-isolating at Windsor Castle since March, it is thought Anne will be reunited with her parents at Balmoral this summer, where she and Tim will once again take in Scotland’s sights by sea.

At a time when the monarchy finds itself somewhat cast adrift, it is the indefatigable Princess Royal who is proving to be its trustiest anchor. As she prepares to turn 70, showing no sign of slowing down after half a century of engagements, lighthouse-lover Anne has become the Royal family’s beacon of good, old-fashioned public service.

#couldnt add the last couple of photos #because tumblr doesnt function properly #but here u go anon!#and everyone :)#princess anne #princess royal #newspapers

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causeiwanttoandican · 4 years ago

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Holy crap!

The Telegraph- Camilla Tominey

'She wanted drama': The inside story of the rift between Harry and Meghan and The Firm

As the Sussexes give their tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview, royal insiders reveal the 'other side of the story'

By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor5 March 2021 • 9:00pm

There was something distinctly familiar about the Oprah Winfrey teaser in which Prince Harry declared: "My biggest concern was history repeating itself."

The words, due to be aired during the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' tell-all interview on Sunday night, bore an uncanny resemblance to the statement released by Harry's communications secretary, Jason Knauf, in November 2016 after the Sunday Express had revealed that the Prince was dating the American actress.

Confirming that "his girlfriend Meghan Markle" had been "subject to a wave of abuse and harassment", the statement criticised the "racial undertones" of newspaper coverage, adding: "Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. This is not a game – it is her life and his."

The unprecedented salvo created two important narratives around the former Suits star – it formally confirmed her status as the woman in Harry's life but also positioned her, in the eyes of the palace and the public, as the victim at the heart of a media "storm". As the statement suggested, a line had been "crossed".

But the tirade "by the Communications Secretary to Prince Harry" also put Mr Knauf in a compromising position. How was the former director of corporate affairs for the Royal Bank of Scotland going to be able to handle media relations for a couple when the Prince had so publicly made plain their deep hostility towards the press?

Almost exactly two years later, the 39-year-old spin doctor would submit a a bullying claim accusing Meghan of driving two personal assistants out of the household and undermining the confidence of a third staff member.

The Sussexes have denied that Harry pleaded with Mr Knauf not to pursue it, claiming the couple are the victims of a calculated smear campaign based on harmful misinformation. They said the Duchess was "saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma".

Those highlighting the "outrageous bullying" say they want to "tell the other side of the story" to the picture expected to be painted by the Duchess on the Oprah special of her "almost unsurvivable" time in the Royal family. "Anyone who is a victim can't bear to watch it," said one.

The couple's lawyers insist Buckingham Palace is manipulating the press to peddle a "wholly false narrative" –notwithstanding the fact that the complainants no longer work in the royal household and the lack of palace action has now prompted an internal inquiry.

The Telegraph has spoken to a number of well-placed insiders who witnessed first-hand the turmoil within the royal household from Meghan's arrival as Prince Harry's girlfriend to the couple's decision to stand down as working royals last year.

All spoke on the condition of anonymity amid claims they had been operating in a "climate of fear", where employees were routinely "humiliated" in front of their peers and repeatedly subjected to "unreasonable demands" by both Meghan and Harry.

Unwilling to play a supporting role

It was not until October 2017, a year after Mr Knauf's unprecedented statement that Meghan gave an interview to Vanity Fair in which she declared of her relationship with Harry: "We're in love. I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but what I hope people will understand is that this is our time."

The public did not have to wait long. Just a month later, the couple announced their engagement with a photocall in the sunken garden at Kensington Palace and an interview with the BBC's Mishal Husain in which Harry described his fiancee as "another team player as part of the bigger team".

Yet behind palace gates, it was quickly becoming apparent that Meghan had no intention of she and Harry being seen as the "supporting act" to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, despite their seniority in the royal pecking order.

That Christmas, determined to walk side by side with William and Kate to Sandringham's St Mary Magdalene Church, rather than several steps behind, they were pictured together as the so-called "Fab Four".

The Cambridges invited the Sussexes to spend the festive period at their nearby bolthole, Anmer Hall, an experience Meghan spoke of fondly afterwards. "Meghan was very positive about it," said a former aide.

Two months later, the quartet appeared at their first official event together at the inaugural forum of their Royal Foundation – a highly choreographed event described by one royal insider as "designed to send a message that they would be working as a team. It was all very carefully rehearsed beforehand".

Disagreements with the Cambridges

After Meghan showcased her years of previous work with "larger NGOs and smaller grassroots organisations", both William and Harry acknowledged that working so closely with loved ones had led to "healthy disagreements" over how to best guide the foundation's work.

"Working as a family does have its challenges, of course it does," Harry said. "But we're stuck together for the rest of our lives."

By now, Kensington Palace staff had already become familiar with a mantra that would come to characterise the run-up to the Sussexes' wedding in May 2018.

"Want Meghan wants, Meghan gets" may have been shouted by Prince Harry to Angela Kelly, the Queen's personal assistant, following a row over a tiara – but royal aides were already well acquainted with the importance of meeting the Duchess's exacting standards.

"Everyone wanted her to be happy because they knew that would make him happy," said one. "Do whatever it takes to make it work for Meghan was the mantra. We all cared deeply about Harry. Contrary to this idea that they weren't supported, we were going to great lengths to accommodate their needs."

So much so that there was an extraordinary incident during the couple's first tour of Scotland when members of the palace PR team "body blocked" Meghan's former adviser Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne during a visit to an Edinburgh cafe in what one former aide described as "the most embarrassing moment of my professional career".

The Duchess had apparently expressed "a reluctance to make eye contact" with Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne, who was reduced to having to post an Instagram shot of her former close friend and client visiting the Social Bites cafe from a considerable distance. "Anyone from the past was a problem," observed the former aide.

Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne's name would later reappear in court documents accusing Meghan's close friend and stylist Jessica Mulroney of "putting pressure on her [Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne] to withdraw or change statements" she had made in an April 2018 interview with the Mail on Sunday.

The defence documents claimed the Sunday newspaper's features editor complained about the intervention to Mr Knauf, who allegedly responded by saying he would ensure "this does not happen again". In the piece, Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne described Meghan as: "Picky, not only when it comes to her clothes but also her colleagues, instantly dismissing those who didn’t share her 'vision'."

Describing how the Duchess had "given me a bit of a difficult time" after meeting Harry, she added: "Meghan likes to move on".

When contacted by The Telegraph, Ms Nelthorpe-Cowne declined to comment on the incident.

'Email bombardments'

As the world was gearing up for what the LA Times had billed as "a royal wedding for the 21st century", behind palace gates the atmosphere was becoming fraught.

Staff had grown used to "email bombardments" by Meghan and Harry, with one describing how "the last thing we'd do before going to sleep is reply to their messages and the first thing we'd do in the morning is reply to their messages. Weekends, holidays – there were no boundaries. They live on their phones all the time".

Despite publicly claiming they largely ignored the press coverage, in reality the couple were often consumed by it. "They're both very thin-skinned," said one former employee.

Meghan's supporters say staff members "who preferred a more genteel pace" could not keep up with the Duchess's "American work ethic" – with one close friend now suggesting the criticism was racially motivated. "Find me a woman of colour in a senior position who has not been accused of being too angry, too scary, too whatever in the workplace," the friend said.

Yet it was not just palace employees who found themselves on the receiving end of "inescapable screaming and shouting".

Much has been written about the bridesmaids' dress fitting, first revealed in The Telegraph in November 2018, that left the Duchess of Cambridge in tears.

Contrary to subsequent reports that the row concerned Princess Charlotte's tights, what actually happened was that the dress itself did not fit Kate's then nearly three-year-old daughter. According to a well-placed source, "demands were made about when subsequent fittings would be, and Kate left sobbing".

While Meghan's allies suggest that Kate did not make enough of an effort to welcome her future sister-in-law into the royal fold, allies of the Cambridges suggest she "tried to arrange social things" and invited her to watch tennis together but "there was a sense that Meghan never really wanted to be friends".

Those inside the palace concede, however, that the Cambridges can "appear standoffish" and are "often out of contact for extended periods".

Another former royal aide claimed the Duke, particularly, appreciated the "deflection" from his own occasionally demanding behaviour. "Bullying is endemic across all the households," the former aide added.

"The Meghan thing is a disgrace, but it's not in isolation. They cut you out, undermine you, talk down to you. One minute you're in – the next you're persona non grata. Some staff have special protection. I've never witnessed behaviour like it before. I wish I'd never seen behind the curtain."

A reprimand from the Queen

One member of staff afforded "special protection" is Angela Kelly, who has served as the Queen's closest aide since 2002. Rumours of Meghan being dubbed "Duchess Difficult" began to surface around the time it emerged that the Liverpudlian docker's daughter had been given a tongue-lashing by Harry.

Yet what was never accurately reported around the time of "Tiaragate" was that far from being denied the item from the Crown Jewels she wanted, Meghan was in fact given her first choice.

The argument erupted after the Duchess demanded that Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau Tiara be produced for an unscheduled hairdressing appointment.

"Angela told Harry it was priceless and couldn't suddenly be handed over at short notice. He was furious and shouted: 'What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.' Suffice to say it didn't go down too well." So badly, in fact, that the no-nonsense 53-year-old, who has her own fearsome reputation among colleagues, reported the incident to the Queen, prompting a grandmotherly telling off for Harry.

Little did the Prince know at the time that staff had also given him a nickname: "The hostage".

According to one person with first-hand knowledge of the events: "They insisted that they had the same inflation-adjusted budget for the wedding as William and Kate – she got the choir she wanted, the dress, the carriage procession, the tiara – she got everything she wanted but it still wasn't enough.

"She was constantly looking for reasons to say she had been deprived. Also, she wanted drama from the very beginning."

Although the couple wanted their spokespeople to deny it, a story about Meghan requesting air freshener to be sprayed around the "musty" St George's Chapel was true, according to multiple sources.

Even The Kingdom Choir did not get off lightly after the couple changed their song 12 times before they were happy with the arrangement of "Stand By Me". As choir member Karen Gibson revealed: "Gospel music is all about the cherries on top and it's not about stinting on anything. But we got word back that they wanted something a little less, so we did a second version which had an Etta James arrangement but again we had word back that it wasn't right."

The group was then asked to meet Harry and Meghan face to face, before the couple finally settled on an arrangement after 11 previous attempts.

"The wedding was hugely stressful for everyone involved in it," said one former aide. "Staff were spending most of their time having smooth things over with suppliers."

Tears before the big day

The "Markle Debacle", when Meghan's father Thomas pulled out of the wedding at the last minute, only added to the tension as royal aides scrambled to "rescue" the narrative around the "big day" by having the Prince of Wales step in to walk Meghan down the aisle.

Despite Meghan later claiming to ITV's Tom Bradby that "not many people have asked if I'm ok", royal insiders insist they "rallied around" the couple – who were both in tears at times.

The Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who officiated the ceremony, is also understood to have given "psychological as well as spiritual" support. The principle leader of the Church of England caused hilarity among his staff by failing to recognise Ms Winfrey at the lunchtime reception at Windsor Castle, asking the US chat show host what she did for a living.

By the time the couple had returned from their honeymoon, relations between the Sussexes, the Cambridges and their staff became so bad that Harry and Meghan appeared reluctant to engage with anyone at the June 2018 leaving party for Miguel Head, William's former private secretary.

According to two separate sources, the couple "remained aloof" throughout the bash in the private garden at Kensington Palace. "It was a really convivial atmosphere with William giving a touching speech about Mig, but Harry and Meghan just remained on the outskirts and didn't mingle with anyone. They were the last to arrive and the first to leave."

Eyebrows were similarly raised when, having shared the news of her pregnancy at the Champagne reception following Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018, Meghan declined to attend the evening do. The bride was said to have been "upset" that Harry only "popped along for a drink without Meghan" – although they were due to fly to Australia for their first Commonwealth tour the day after.

During the 16-day tour, which also took in Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, the couple appeared reluctant to engage with the press. Although Harry managed to be persuaded at one point to speak to reporters at the back of the plane, he told them: "Thanks for coming, even though you weren't invited."

Bullying claims emerge

On the same trip, it was claimed that Meghan had cut short a visit to a market in Fiji because she was concerned about the presence of a UN organisation promoting women, with which she had previously worked but now was no longer associated.

At the time, officials suggested that it was because it was humid and the crowd was oppressive in the market. After Meghan had been ushered away, a female member of her entourage was spotted sitting in an official car, looking extremely upset. Meghan's female personal protection officer left her post shortly afterwards.

Lawyers for the Duchess said she met other leaders from UN Women later on the tour and denied she left for the reason alleged.

Although Mr Knauf had not gone on the tour, he is thought to have been "deeply concerned" by reports of the couple's behaviour overseas.

"There was a sense that they were just refusing to take advice, and insisting on doing everything their way," said one royal source. "No one, from the most senior to the most junior employee, wasn't under constant attack," said another.

Matters came to a head in October 2018 following the departure of a second member of the Duchess's private office.

Mr Knauf emailed Simon Case, then William's private secretary and now the Cabinet Secretary, after conversations with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR. Mr Case then forwarded it to Ms Carruthers, who is based at Clarence House.

The email read: "I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X* was totally unacceptable. The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y."

The email, which also expressed concern about the stress being experienced by Samantha Cohen, the couple's private secretary, concluded: "I questioned if the household's policy on harassment and bullying applies to principals."

While Mr Case was "very personally supportive" of the individual members of staff, Mr Knauf expressed his concern in the email that "nothing will be done". The palace is now holding an investigation, having been criticised for failing to act sooner.

It was not until a month later that it was reported that Melissa Toubati, the Duchess's former PA, had "quit suddenly", just six months into the job. The following month, it was announced that Ms Cohen would not stay in post after the Sussexes' baby was born.

The couple were apparently "furious" about reports of their high staff turnover, piling more pressure on their PR team to "try to turn negative headlines into positive ones".

According to one former employee: "What people fail to understand is Harry's hatred of the media is probably one of the most important things in his life. It is defining for him. So the narrative is always – it’s the press's fault, never theirs."

That Christmas, the Sussexes were once again photographed alongside the Cambridges on Dec 25 but opted to stay with the Queen at the "main house" rather than Anmer Hall.

It came after an awkward staff Christmas party in which "all mention of Melissa's name was banned", according to one royal insider. "It was as if she never existed." Some employees found it hard to reconcile the couple's erratic conduct with moments of genuine kindness, such as when Meghan would buy female staff members flowers or even jewellery.

Relations break down

By the New Year, relations within Kensington Palace had "irretrievably broken down," with Prince Harry no longer on speaking terms with Mr Knauf after he had failed to persuade him to drop the complaint against his wife. The Sussexes' lawyers deny any such conversation took place.

Sources close to the couple say Ms Toubati, who was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, was sacked for misconduct, pointing out neither staff member made complaints of their own to HR. Ms Toubati's friends deny she was sacked for misconduct.

With Harry and Meghan already operating in a silo – and increasingly consulting the Duchess's US team of advisers rather than palace officials – a split of the two households at Kensington Palace appeared an inevitability.

It was around the time that the couple moved to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor in March 2019 that Amy Pickerill became the third of the Duchess's staff to leave her role, having served as her assistant private secretary since November 2017.

Mr Knauf also stepped down to work as senior adviser to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. He is now chief executive of the Cambridges' Royal Foundation. Friends say he "bitterly regrets" not warning Sara Latham, who was appointed as the Sussexes' director of communications in April 2019, how difficult working for the couple could be.

The American PR supremo, who used to advise the Clintons, quickly worked this out for herself when the couple insisted on secrecy around son Archie's birth on May 6, while trying to maximise global coverage.

Around the same time it was falsely claimed that the Duchess had been prevented from doing an interview with CBS anchor Gayle King, Ms Winfrey's close friend. In fact, insiders say "the Duchess was calling shots throughout."

It came after Meghan had attended a high-profile baby shower in New York with Serena Williams and Amal Clooney, without being accompanied by any palace press officers. Concerns were raised behind palace gates when freebies started arriving at New York's Mark Hotel, causing consternation for staff back in the UK having to wrestle with the Royal family's strict rules on gifting.

Having courted controversy throughout the summer of 2019 for snubbing the Queen's invitation to Balmoral and taking four private jets in 11 days instead, relations with the media were at rock bottom at the start of the Sussexes' September tour to Africa.

Royal aides were then left dumbfounded when what had been a surprisingly successful 10-day trip with Archie was overshadowed by Meghan's interview with Mr Bradby, in which she revealed the "struggles" she had faced adapting to life in the Royal family.

Duke's fears for wife

It came as Harry released an attack on the tabloid press as the couple announced they would be suing the Mail on Sunday over the publication of a letter Meghan had written to her father.

In a highly personal and scathing statement, Harry said some newspapers had "vilified her almost daily for the past nine months" and claimed they had published "lie after lie" at Meghan's expense simply because she was out of public view on maternity leave.

Referencing his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris while being pursued by the paparazzi, the Duke said: "Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."

The interview set the tone for their January 2020 announcement that they would be "stepping back as senior royals" to become "financially independent".

As the world gathers to watch the most highly anticipated royal television event since Diana's Panorama interview in 1995, it will be left to the viewers to decide which version of history represents the truth.

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tabloidtoc · 3 years ago

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Globe, May 3

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Prince William and Prince Harry: Showdown at Prince Philip's Funeral

Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- Alec Baldwin, Kathy Ireland, Conan O'Brien grabs lunch in West Hollywood

Page 3: Meg Ryan, Heather Graham, Jon Voight steps out in Beverly Hills

Page 4: Kris Jenner says her role as momager of the Kardashian clan is like being a fireman because she has to put out so many heated squabbles -- satisfying daughters Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner takes skill and Kourtney is often so fed up she fires her three or four times a day, but Kris believes she's done a good job, saying she's totally dedicated to her brood and spends oodles of time and energy going the extra mile for them

* Jailed Ghislaine Maxwell is raising a stink over federal lawmen's claims she's a prison piggy, saying the institution's busted sewer pipes, not her toilet habits, are responsible for the overwhelming stench in her cell -- lawyers for sex perv Jeffrey Epstein's accused madam and sex trafficker leveled the charge to flush out prosecutors' claims the socialite's cage stinks like a hog's pen because she doesn't flush her toilet -- her lawyer Bobbi Sternheim insists there was a pervasive stench of sewage in Ms. Maxwell's unit, necessitating guards to flush pipes by pouring water down open drains in an effort to trap and disperse gaseous emissions and at times the stench in Ms. Maxwell's isolation cell has been overwhelming due to overflowing of toilets in the cell block above -- as for Ghislaine flushing, she does it often, at the guards' bidding even, though she doesn't use the commode in her cell due to lack of privacy

Page 5: Kelly Clarkson's tacky tales of pooping in trash cans and other crude antics are grossing out her alarmed pals, who fear divorce stress is pushing the talk queen over the edge and while Kelly has loved to shock people, her cringeworthy behavior has gotten worse since filing for divorce from music manager Brandon Blackstock, father of her daughter River and son Remington -- now Kelly has many fearing she's finally flipped after recently telling talk show guest Clint Black on-air she destroyed a poor trash can by pooping in it during a quick backstage concert break and she's constantly making potty jokes and seems to get a rise out of shocking people and even by Kelly's standards, this was a step too far and people are urging her to scale back on the belching, farting and gross anecdotes because they're a turnoff and make her look trashy and her grueling workload and prickly divorce has manifested in this gross behavior where she can't seem to hold her tongue and blurts out whatever she's thinking without consideration for other people -- other stars like Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are thinking twice before inviting her to social events and for talk show rivals like Ellen DeGeneres and Drew Barrymore, it's a dream seeing her push the boundaries of taste and Kelly doesn't have a filter and as long as she's got an audience she's just going to keep on doing it

Page 6: Macaulay Culkin is the daddy of a brand-new baby girl named Dakota, who is named after Macaulay's sister who died at 29 in a 2008 car crash, and she was delivered by Macaulay's lover actress Brenda Song

Page 7: Angelina Jolie has become a stressed-out single mom trying to care for her brood of six during the pandemic lockdown, and the strain is is showing on the 98-pound actress, but the 45-year-old, who shuns hiring a full-time nanny, still wants sole custody of her underage kids Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne, and is fighting tooth and nail with ex-husband Brad Pitt to get it; their oldest Maddox Jolie-Pitt is now 19 and considered independent although the university student frequently lives with his mother -- caring for the gang puts a big drain on Angelina's bank account and her custody war with Brad is costing a pretty penny -- Jolie and her children spend most of their time bunkered in a massive 7,500-square-foot Los Feliz mansion that boasts a huge library lined with resource books but the kids need to be separated so they can concentrate on their individual Zoom classes and someone is always hungry or needing help and at the end of the school day, when they are bored, they end up looking for Mom to find them something to do while she is trying to work on her own projects, and like most siblings, the kids fight or argue, and that can test any parent's nerves and Angie is with the kids pretty much 24/7 and it's taking a toll -- there is a glimmer of hope as schools are close to reopening and once the five youngest are back in school for several hours a day it will give Angelina the breaks she needs and hopefully she can hang tight until then

Page 8: Cover Story -- Prince William and Prince Harry bury Prince Philip, but not the ax -- despite their public displays of grief, bitter brothers William and Harry erupted in a raging royal screaming match behind the scenes of their grandfather's Prince Philip's funeral and Princess Diana's sons lashed out, accusing each other of ugly betrayals and destroying the royal family and the princes blamed each other's wives for igniting the family feud and their showdown was explosive and they're refusing to forgive or make peace and any hope Philip's death will end this feud is pie in the sky -- Harry and William were forced to reunite to mark the Duke of Edinburgh's passing and comfort their grandmother Queen Elizabeth, but that doesn't mean they're kissing and making up; far from it because Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have caused so much damage with their TV interview, it will take a lifetime to heal this rift -- sparks began flying almost immediately after Harry landed back in his homeland. He went straight to his former marital home Frogmore Cottage in Windsor to quarantine under COVID rules while William and his wife Duchess Kate Middleton and their three children were holed up at their country home Anmer House in Norfolk, about 100 miles away, but that didn't stop the once-inseparable brothers exploding in fury at each other during a video call finalizing funeral arrangements -- William and Harry knew they'd have to walk together behind the cortege to honor their grandfather, but that was where their reunion ended and while their grieving grandmother and royal relatives mourned the loss of the family patriarch, William and Harry's pent-up anger and frustrations exploded as, on the same side of the Atlantic for the first time in over a year, William blasted Harry and Meghan for bad-mouthing his wife Kate and selfishly trying to destroy the monarchy and he reamed Harry for not visiting their grandfather in his final days and using the funeral as a publicity stunt while Harry retaliated by accusing his brother of throwing him and Meghan under the bus and vowed never to talk to him again -- instead of an expected joint public statement praising their beloved grandfather, they issued separate tributes, which underlined their split as in their statement, William and Kate reminisced about Philip taking their children for horse-drawn carriage rides and they vowed to support the queen in the years ahead and that was a dig at Harry and Meghan, who can't help the queen due to their self-imposed exile to California and it was also a shot because Harry's son Archie has spent no time with his royal relatives since his birth almost two years ago -- Philip's death has only intensified this horrific feud and this war is far from over, and may never be

Page 10: Prince Philip went to his grave regretting he couldn't stop Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle from ripping the royal family in a bombshell TV interview -- The Duke of Edinburgh called the explosive tell-all madness and he had some sympathy for Harry and Meghan's desire to do their own thing, but he thought they were wrong and he hated Harry and Meghan's preoccupation with their own problems and their willingness to talk about them in public; one of his rules was give interviews but don't talk about yourself -- Philip loved Harry and thought him a good man, but he did not believe they were doing the right thing for the country or themselves when they quit royal duties and Philip died worrying the explosive interview permanently damaged the monarchy and he deeply regretted he wasn't able to prevent the scandal

* Outraged Prince Philip shunned his son Prince Andrew's ex-wife Duchess Sarah Ferguson for the last 19 years of his life after she was caught cheating in raunchy photos that went public -- Philip considered Fergie beyond the pale and refused to have anything to do with her and when Sarah was staying at Balmoral Castle with her daughters, her ex-father-in-law would run from a room she'd entered and Fergie said it was ridiculous because as soon as she came through one door, he'd be falling over the corgis to get out of the other and she added it was very funny, except, of course, it wasn't -- the only time they appeared together in public was at Prince Harry's 2018 wedding, 26 years after Fergie was photographed lounging topless while her then lover John Bryan sucked on her toes on the French Riviera; she and Andrew were separated at the time

Page 11: Marie Osmond is getting the last laugh on rival Sharon Osbourne after the big-mouthed Brit, who chased off Marie from The Talk, was booted from the chat show in a racism scandal -- while Marie doesn't wish ill on anyone, she certainly isn't feeling any sympathy for Sharon's plight -- in public, Marie has never said a harsh word about Sharon, and never blamed her co-star with pushing her off The Talk, but behind the scenes, Sharon made mild-mannered Marie's life hell, which chased her away and Marie still cringes from the whole experience of working with the brash former reality diva, more than seven months after leaving the show and Marie doesn't want to stoke the fire, but it's kind of satisfying in a way that Sharon's finally being exposed for what she is: a snippy, smug phony

* Chaka Khan was the first celeb booted on Season 21 of Dancing with the Stars in 2015, and it's no wonder because she was a lousy partner, claims pro hoofer Keo Motsepe -- Keo slammed the singer for demanding they only rehearse around midnight, because that's when the night owl was used to going to the record studio and laying down tracks -- Keo accepted the challenge but now calls Chaka his worst partner ever

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- Jane Lynch eats lunch in West Hollywood (picture), Khloe Kardashian is getting called out for her attempt to erase a bathing suit snap that revealed some very real body dimples and famous for posting airbrushed and filtered photos depicting her as flawless she went berserk over the unedited pic summoning legal eagles to get the image scrubbed off the internet but she drew colossal backlash, Sutton Stracke of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills got promoted to series regular and impressed producers by making ousted castmate Teddi Mellencamp cry by branding her boring, fired New York Housewife Dorinda Medley has lost 14 pounds, Lil Nas X's limited-edition designer Satan Shoes which commanded $1,018 when they hit the market are now deader than a doornail after legal pressure from Nike

Page 13: Dean Cain sports a Superman-style logo on his hoodie as he bums around Malibu (picture), Annabella Sciorra shoots an episode of Blue Bloods in NYC (picture), co-anchor T.J. Holmes shows his tongue on the Good Morning America set (picture), Olympic champ Lindsey Vonn admits skiing was a slippery slope when she started mingling with the beautiful people of Hollywood

Page 14: Brooklyn Decker proves she going gray at just 34 and she's kinda digging it, Kathryn Dennis trying to prove she's comfortable in the natural skin she's in shared pics from her first-ever bikini photo shoot and actually points out imperfections

* Fashion Verdict -- Zoe Saldana 6/10, Kelsea Ballerini 3/10, Jessica Madsen 7/10, Joy Bauer 2/10

Page 17: Eddie Cibrian is incredibly proud of wife LeAnn Rimes for baring the truth about her battle with psoriasis in a naked photo -- Eddie applauds how LeAnn let it all hang out for a photo shoot to show solidarity with other people with the scaly skin disease who are ashamed and want to hide it -- LeAnn has described the horrors of hiding her painful, crusty rashes, saying onstage she'd wear two pairs of pantyhose or jeans, even in 95-degree heat and underneath her shirt, her whole stomach would be covered in thick scales that would hurt and bleed, and the pandemic worsened her condition because stress is a common trigger for psoriasis, and with so much uncertainty happening, her flare-ups came right back

Page 19: 10 Things You Don't Know About Catherine O'Hara

* Sylvester Stallone may have gone his final round as boxing great Rocky Balboa as his reps reveal the actor has thrown in the towel and won't reprise his iconic role in the upcoming Creed III -- in the Creed spinoffs, retired fighter Rocky trained Adonis "Donnie" Creed, the son of his onetime rival

* Dr. Dre hit back against the abuse claims of estranged wife Nicole Young, slamming her allegations as appalling in recently filed court documents in their ugly $1 billion divorce -- in the docs, Dre charges Nicole hurled the accusations only after realizing their prenup may prevent her from getting half his money, but Nicole insists the rapper forced her to ink the agreement, a charge he also denies

Page 23: Caitlyn Jenner is refining her image ahead of her run for governor in California by reducing her massive breasts to look more conservative -- she wants to downgrade her E cups to a more respectable C cup because she's been worried for a while they are way too big within the context of her body and draw unflattering stares and running for the California governor's office is serious and she wants people to listen and look at her face, not her boobs and the truth is, the implants have been weighing her down and giving her back pain too, so this makes sense in more ways than one -- Caitlyn will be slowly abandoning other cosmetic procedures and she would like to wean herself off filters and Botox too, but that'll be a gradual process that she'll do as time goes by and the big thing here is that she wants to look more natural and relatable for voters

* Nearly half of America is ready to vote Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson into the White House -- 46 percent of voters are ready to rock and roll with the 49-year-old former WWE wrestler as their prez -- in his new sitcom Young Rock, Dwayne plays himself as a future candidate for the Oval Office, but in real life he has admitted he is seriously considering a run for the top job

Page 24: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, now facing two separate investigations into sexual harassment charges made by at least eight female staffers, is accused of cheating on longtime love Sandra Lee -- there's obviously a reason Sandra moved to California; she literally could not have moved farther away from Andrew; she's on the edge of the Pacific

Page 30: Grace Kelly died nearly flat broke -- the Hollywood starlet gave up millions to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco, and when she died at the age of 52, her only assets were a cottage in Ireland, owned by her grandfather, and $10,000 -- in 1956, she married into Monaco's royal family after coughing up a $2 million dowry, which is about $20 million today, and walking away from a glittering career -- according to a new documentary, her Hollywood earnings have disappeared as during her film career, Grace's total earnings could have reached $1.5 million, earnings that appear to be entirely missing from her will, but thanks to Grace, Monaco's royal family has cashed in big-time as her son Prince Albert II has an estimated net worth of $i billion and his wife Charlene Wittstock is rumored to be worth $150 million -- most people think of Grace Kelly's story as a fairy tale, going from Hollywood and suddenly being whisked off to a lot of wealth, but what is so poignant is that she had to pay to become a princess

* LeVar Burton may soon be helming a new enterprise: Jeopardy! -- nearly 200,000 people have signed an online petition supporting LeVar to replace the game show's late host Alex Trebek and LeVar supports the idea himself

Page 32: Kirstie Alley had two husbands and once claimed she was crazy about John Travolta, but for decades she secretly carried a torch for a married man: Patrick Swayze -- Kirstie described Patrick as the one that got away and truly believes they would have been together until his 2009 death at age 57 if things worked out differently and she says her love for Patrick began on the set of the 1985 miniseries North and South where she thought he was the most handsome, sexy, kind person she'd ever met, and each day on the set, she began to fall more and more in love but at the time they were married to other people: Patrick had his wife Lisa Niemi and Kirstie was married to Hardy Boys actor Parker Stevenson, her second husband -- Kirstie and Patrick shared a deep emotional affair and confessed their love, but never actually cheated on their spouses and Kirstie said they had an affair of the heart -- Patrick and Kirstie played lovers on the series and you can see the chemistry and at least once a year Kirstie watches the series and reminisces about the time she spent with him -- she says she cried for months after his death and she and his wife Lisa eventually became friends and even today, Kirstie wonders what would have happened if she and Patrick had not been married to other people

Page 36: Sally Struthers reveals she quit Save the Children charity after she was nearly murdered by a gang of bloodthirsty rebels during a trip to visit African orphans -- Sally was a roving ambassador for the charity for 35 years until a terrifying incident in Uganda where she was filming ads with a boy, who'd come from a remote village, when suddenly a roving band of guerrilla warfare guys came out of the bushes and asked the boy where he was from and he named his village, which was far away, and they decided they had kidnapped him, and they were going to shoot all of them and Sally was terrified and figured she was a goner, but a priest with her group told her to slowly walk off while never turning her back on the terrorists and as she walked, he convinced the gunmen to let them alone and at that point, Sally, who had a daughter Samantha from her six-year marriage to shrink William C. Radar thought she's been on so many little airplanes that could have crashed and in so many horrible situations and she's got a child, a real-life child of her own, and she can't do it anymore

* Usher is being accused of stiffing Las Vegas strippers by tipping them with fake money with his moniker and mug on the bills -- the flap exploded with a Twitter post slamming the singer for handing out Usherbucks in $100, $20 and $1 bills at the club Sapphire Las Vegas but club honcho George M. Wilson denies the charge, saying Usher, who stars at Caesars Palace stating in July, was a true gentleman and great guest and he and his crew converted thousands of real dollars to tip the girls dancing on the stage and left a generous tip for staff and apparently someone in his team left some Usher dollars on the floor to promote his Vegas residency and that is where it seems the confusion came in

Page 40: Val Kilmer is shooting for more than a career comeback after bouncing back from throat cancer; he is also looking for love -- Val admits he doesn't sound like he used to following a tracheotomy, but he insists he feels a lot better than he sounds but his voice is a raspy, grating sound, and he's forced to eat through a feeding tube, but he feels that shouldn't matter with the right woman -- the actor, who is slated to appear in the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, is pumped up about working again, but it's dawned on him that he's missing one other thing, love, and the single star feels more energy now than ever before and there are things he'd like to do with a partner, like travel more -- Val regrets some of the things he did in the past and he was difficult and selfish, but his whole cancer ordeal has made him a better man and more open and giving but it's been a long, long time since he had a girlfriend, let alone even kissed a woman, but with the support and encouragement of his kids and friends, he's ready to put himself out there

* Fans are saying Christopher Meloni has one of the most remarkable rears on TV after a photo surfaced showcasing his awe-inspiring ass-ets -- a shot of the Law & Order: Organized Crime star in skintight jeans sparked a Twitter-storm where fans of his fanny let loose about his sculpted caboose

Page 44: Straight Talk -- Holly Madison is blabbing about her eight years as Hugh Hefner's No. 1 squeeze in the Playboy Mansion, and, if he were still alive, the king of skin mags would hate that he pretty much comes off as a dirty old lech

Page 45: Paula Abdul was a nervous wreck during her American Idol comeback, but she was not so jittery she couldn't brand her former co-judge Simon Cowell an STD -- special guest Randy Jackson and Simon previously teamed with Paula in the 2000s to make the talent show the biggest hit on TV, and Paula temporarily resumed her role after Luke Bryan tested positive for COVID-19, but when Randy told Paula seeing her on set seems like old times, she blurted "We're just missing the STD," and the remark caught host Ryan Seacrest off-guard as he held a computer device linking Paula and Randy, who was not physically present and Ryan exclaimed, "The what?!" and at that point Paula joked she meant it was an abbreviation for Super Talented, Debonair not sexually transmitted disease -- Paula also referred to Simon, who's only three years her senior, as a grandfather and while Paula seemed in the swing of things, joining the current Idol panel of Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, she was reportedly a bundle of nerves backstage before her comeback show and it was like she'd never done it before, and her pals couldn't believe it; they told her she had more experiencing judging than anyone out there

4 notes · View notes

ingek73 · 5 years ago

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Here Are 20 Headlines Comparing Meghan Markle To Kate Middleton That Might Show Why She And Prince Harry Are Cutting Off Royal Reporters

Over the years, Meghan has been shamed for the same things for which her sister-in-law, Kate, has been praised.

Ellie Hall

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Last updated on January 13, 2020, at 12:00 p.m. ET

Posted on January 13, 2020, at 10:40 a.m. ET

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) didn't just shockingly "step back" as senior members of the royal family this week — they gave the UK media a big "fuck-you" for years of what they said was biased and unfair coverage.

The couple's new website on breaking up with years of royal protocol laid out — among a lot of other things — their media strategy, stating that they will no longer participate in the traditional royal press system that grants exclusive access to a select group of UK outlets.

Britain’s royal correspondents, they said, are seen as reliable sources of information. "This misconception propels coverage that is often carried by other outlets around the world, amplifying frequent misreporting," they wrote. Removing themselves from "royal rota" coverage has sparked an outcry among UK media and drew a protest from the National Union of Journalists.

This isn't a new complaint from the royal couple — they just took an unprecedented step to do something about it. Harry and Meghan have said publicly that they believe they have been treated unfairly by the UK press since the moment news broke of their relationship — that they are bullied, that there are racist undertones to coverage of them, and that they have been held to a different standard than Harry's brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (aka Prince William and Kate Middleton).

The UK media outlets that currently make up the royal rota are the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, the Evening Standard, the Telegraph, the Times, and the Sun.

Here is a look at 20 stories from these outlets that appear to show a double standard between press coverage of Meghan and Kate. BuzzFeed News has reached out to all of the outlets featured below for comment.

Kate: "Bumping along nicely! The Duchess was seen placing a protective hand on her tummy as she exited the event." Daily Mail: March 22, 2018

Meghan: "Personally, I find the cradling a bit like those signs in the back of cars: Baby on Board. Virtue signaling, as though the rest of us barren harridans deserve to burn alive in our cars." Daily Mail: Jan. 26, 2019

Kate and William: "Prince William was given one of the green fruit – wrapped up in a bow – by a little boy who's mother is suffering during her pregnancy too... 'He said he'd take it to [Kate] and see what happens – and said good luck for [the boy's] mummy.'" Express: Sept. 14, 2017

Meghan: "The pregnant Duchess of Sussex and so-called 'avocado on toast whisperer' is wolfing down a fruit linked to water shortages, illegal deforestation and all round general environmental devastation." Express: Jan. 23, 2019

Kate: "Royal sources said yesterday that the Queen understood and endorsed William and Kate’s decision not to spend Christmas Day with her. One said: ‘Her Majesty understands that it is a dilemma that many young couples face and acknowledges how close Catherine’s relationship is with her family." Daily Mail: Dec. 16, 2016

Meghan: "The fact is the Queen expects to have the family around her for the festive season... to the Queen, for whom the tradition of the family gathering is a key date in her calendar, Harry and Meghan’s absence will be a matter of great sadness. It will also be a source of frustration." Daily Mail: Nov. 13, 2019

Kate and William: "Creating their own companies will allow William and Kate to bring out, should they ever chose to, myriad items of officially-endorsed merchandise from tea towels to coffee cups... Kensington Palace officials said they were doing the ‘sensible thing’ in protecting the couple’s rights." Daily Mail: Jan. 17, 2014

Meghan and Harry: "The Sussexes want to stamp their name on dozens of products including T-shirts, hoodies, journals and gloves for their newly-created foundation Sussex Royal... Experts said Harry and Meghan were actively preparing to quit the Royal Family months ago by filing trade mark applications to commercially protect their brand." Daily Mail: Jan. 9, 2020

Kate and William: "Prince William yesterday backed brother Harry’s brave admission of his mental anguish — and blasted the monarchy’s 'stiff upper lip' tradition... William said: 'There may be a time and a place for the ‘stiff upper lip’ but not at the expense of your health... '

"'Catherine and I are clear we want both George and Charlotte to grow up feeling able to talk about their emotions and feelings. Over the past year we have visited a number of schools together where we have been amazed listening to children talk about some quite difficult subjects in a clear and emotionally articulate way, something most adults would struggle with. Seeing this has really given me hope things are changing and there is a generation coming up who find it normal to talk openly about emotions.'” Sun: April 19, 2017

Meghan and Harry: "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have bucked royal tradition once again with their latest TV interview — in which they claimed they were 'existing, not living.' The couple ditched the stiff upper lip of previous Royal Family generations and flew the flag for 'Generation Therapy' as they revealed their emotions to the world - but were they right to do so?

"What you make of 'fragile' Prince Harry and Meghan's comments may depend on your generation. Sun parents and kids reveal what they think of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex airing their emotions in public - and whether they have the right to moan in such positions of privilege..." Sun: Oct. 23, 2019

Kate: "It was reported that new Duchess of Cambridge requested her favorite scented candles and toiletries from luxury fragrance brand Jo Malone be delivered to scent the Abbey. A selection of candles, handwashes and lotions was requested, specifically in citrus spring scents including Orange Blossom, Grapefruit and the ever-popular Lime, Basil & Mandarin." Daily Mail: May 4, 2011

Meghan: "'Meghan wanted staff to go around with these atomizers, like spritzer guns, and spray the chapel with scent before anyone arrived. Royal Household staff stepped in and told her office politely, but firmly, that this was the queen's chapel and it simply wasn't appropriate. I don't believe they said no because they thought it could affect the chapel in any way. It was simply the principle of the thing. This is a place that has held royal weddings, funerals and even contains the royal vault. I don't believe a request of that nature had been made before.'" Daily Mail: Nov. 30, 2018

Kate: "As far as bridal bouquets go there was nothing particularly regal about Kate Middleton’s modest arrangement of simple, seasonal flowers. Like the bride herself the bouquet was effortlessly elegant and understated.

"Yet behind that modest posy lay a secret story. Kate, the commoner-turned-duchess, had painstakingly selected blooms with real meaning. She is evidently well-versed in the language of flowers, a little-known romantic relic from the 19th century.

"Hence the use of lilac in her bouquet, which signifies the first emotions of love, the lily of the valley meaning a return of happiness, hyacinth standing for constancy, myrtle meaning love and the ivy, which represents fidelity. Then of course there was the suitably named Sweet William, which is shorthand for gallantry." Express: Aug. 29, 2011

Meghan: "[Meghan Markle] was holding a wedding bouquet which flowers were replicated in Princess Charlotte and the other bridesmaids’ flower crowns. Express.co.uk can now reveal the children’ crowns were made of flowers that can be deadly, especially for children. Meghan’s bouquet was made of forget-me-nots as well as sweet peas, lily of the valley, astilbe, jasmine, and astrantia...

"Lily of the valley is a highly poisonous woodland flowering plant and ingestion could be deadly... As Meghan’s bridesmaids were so young, having this flower on their heads could be considered a dangerous decision. Other brides have also used this flowers including Kate Middleton, Princess Eugenie and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall." Express: Oct. 13, 2019

Kate and William: "The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh missed the small family affair. The decision is understood not to have been taken on health grounds, and to have been mutually agreed by the Queen and the Cambridges some time ago. The Queen, 92, has a busy week ahead, with high-profile celebrations in central London marking the centenary of the RAF on Tuesday, and a visit by US President Donald Trump in Windsor on Friday." Daily Mail: July 9, 2018

Meghan and Harry: "The situation has surprised some senior staff at Buckingham Palace, who feel that the duke and duchess should have planned the day better. ‘There is huge support for the couple in not wanting to conform to tradition. They are young, they are striking out on a different path from other members of the Royal Family and there is enormous goodwill for them. But they shouldn’t do that without regard for tradition,’ said one. ‘Her Majesty was already scheduled to be in Scotland for her annual Holyrood Week and had a prior engagement at the weekend. There is a feeling amongst some that they should have been more accommodating about the date.’" Daily Mail: July 4, 2019

Kate: "It is a fashion conundrum not many of us will ever face, but what exactly does one wear for tea with the Queen? The Duchess of Cambridge met this challenge head on yesterday by co-ordinating her outfit with the Queen’s powder blue ensemble... The Queen, on her first official event to mark her Diamond Jubilee, was dressed in a pastel hat and two-piece coat dress with military-style rows of gold buttons designed by Angela Kelly. Looking relaxed and elegant, her outfit was perfect for what looked like a fun official engagement with the girls." Mirror: Feb. 14, 2013

Meghan: "The Queen's aides had told [Meghan] she would be wearing a green hat as a mark of respect to those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire. The Queen is said to have been 'baffled' when Meghan turned up without a hat as she didn't realize she was supposed to wear one too. A senior aide said: 'I don't think the Duchess fully understood. This was not a request. Those are for others to make, not the Queen.' The Queen's staff are said to have noted the Duchess's mistake or 'lack of deference'" Mirror: Oct. 29, 2018

Kate: "We see a woman in her prime: stylish, confident and positively radiant, nailing outfit after outfit in the style stakes — and it’s a joy to witness... That old uniform of girlish dresses, tan tights and nude heels has been replaced by dazzling super-chic outfits to satisfy even the most exacting fashionista." Daily Mail: June 16, 2019

Meghan: "Proper royalty is about tradition and duty, self-effacing service and loyalty — year after year after year, season after season... That is not to say that a monarchy cannot or must not move with the times — simply that it has to resist the temptation to be buffeted by passing cultural trends. Fashion is the exact opposite. And as fashion’s most famous bible, Vogue exemplifies the transient nature of the beast." Daily Mail: July 29, 2019

#meghate #meghan markle #kate middleton #duchess of sussex #duchess of cambridge #double standards #brf #royal rota #tabloids #buzzfeed

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