All About Royal Families

On 21 May 1913, King George V arrived at Vlissingen on board of the Royal Yacht, Victoria & Albert. Together with his wife, Queen Mary, Lord Stamfordham (his secretary) and sir Frederick Ponsonby he walked to a car, which brought them to the imperial train. The company was on their way to Berlin, for attending the royal wedding of  Victoria Louisa of Prussia and Ernstest August, Duke of Brunswick. This important royal wedding took place on 24 May 1913. The marriage ended a rift between the Houses of Hohenzollern and Hanover. However it took a long time that this event took place: anydiscussions of marriage were prolonged for months due to political concerns. Ernest Augustus was also the heir to the Kingdom of Hanover, which the Kingdom of Prussia annexed following the 1866 Austro- Prussian War.  The Prussian crown prince was displeased with the match and wished that Ernest Augustus would abdicate his rights to Hanover; in a compromise, it was decided that, in exchange,

On 28 June 1838, the coronation of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom  took place at Westminster Abbey in London. The planning Queen Victoria succeeded her uncle King William IV on 20 June 1837. Her first prime minister was Lord Melbourne, with whom she developed a close personal friendship.  Until 1867, the Demise of the Crown automatically triggered the dissolution of parliament: voting in the subsequent general election took place between 24 July and 18 August. The result was a victory for Melbourne, whose Whig Party government was returned to power for another four years. Their majority over the opposition Conservative (formerly Tory) Party was reduced from 112 seats to 30. Melbourne was the leading player in the planning, preparation and implementation of Victoria's coronation. The crowd Prior to 1838, only the peerage had taken part in a coronation. The day's ceremonies would have begun in Westminster Hall, (now attached to the Houses of Parliament), and upon their comp

In view of the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, it is interesting to look at the coronations in the past. This blog post is about the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. A change of date The coronation of Edward VII and his wife, Alexandra, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and as Emperor and Empress of India took place at Westminster Abbey,  London, on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 June of that year, the ceremony had been postponed at very short notice, because the King had been taken ill with an abdominal abscess that required immediate surgery.  Coronation of Edward VII The service was conducted by the elderly and infirm Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, who died before the end of the year. He steadfastly refused to delegate any part of his duties and had to be supported throughout by two other bishops. Because of his failing eyesight, the text of the service had to be printed in gigantic type onto r

The coronation of George V and his wife Mary as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and as Emperor and Empress of India, took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Thursday 22 June 1911. The Procession The first of three processions left Buckingham Palace at 9:30 am. It consisted of representatives of foreign royal families and governments, carried in fourteen carriages. The second procession had five state landaus for members of the British royal family; the fifth contained the King and Queen's children, the Prince of Wales, Princess Mary and the young Princes Albert, Henry and George.  The third procession brought the officers of state in a further four carriages and the twenty-fifth and final carriage, the Gold State Coach carrying the King and Queen. They were surrounded by equerries, aides-de-camp and the commanders of the armed forces mounted on horseback, all escorted by Yeomen of the Guard, colonial and Indian cavalry and the Royal Horse Guards

On 6 May 2023, a big Royal Event will take place: The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen (Consort) Camilla.  Leading up to this event, the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog will look back at how the coronation ceremonies went in the past. 👉 For more information, do take a look at the special coronation page on top of this blog or on this link .  The coronation of King George VI and Elizabeth On May 12th. 1937, the coronation of King George VI and Elizabeth took place at Westminster Abbey in London. George VI ascended the throne upon the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, on 11 December 1936, three days before his 41st birthday. Edward's coronation had been planned for 12 May and it was decided to continue with his brother and sister-in-law's coronation on the same date. Ceremony The coronation service itself began once the procession into the abbey was over and the King and Queen were seated. Beginning with the recognition, the King then took an oath and was anointed by th

King Constantine II of Greece died in Athens on 10 January 2023. He was the last King of Greece untill the abolution of the monarchy on 1 June 1973.  The funeral of the former King of Greece takes place on Monday 16 January 2023 at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens Eisenhower, Constantine, Alexis Liatis, Ambassador of Greece  Youth Constantine was the only son of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece. As his family was forced into exile during World War II, he spent the first years of his childhood in Egypt and South Africa.  Civil War He returned to Greece with his family in 1946 during the Greek Civil War. King George II died in 1947, and Constantine's father became the new king, making Constantine the crown prince. A King He acceded as king in 1964 following the death of his father, King Paul. Later that year he married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark. Although the accession of the young monarch was initially regarded auspiciously, his reign saw political instability that cu

The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, 19th September 2022 at 1100hrs BST. A Committal Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, will take place later the same day at 1600hrs.  Elements of the State Funeral Service and the associated ceremonial arrangements will pay tribute to The Queen’s extraordinary reign, and Her Majesty’s remarkable life of service as Head of State, Nation and Commonwealth On the morning of the State Funeral, the Lying-in-State will end at 0630hrs as the final members of the public are admitted. The State Funeral Service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster . During the Service, the Prime Minister and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth will read Lessons. The Archbishop of York, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the Free Churches Moderator will say Prayers. The Sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will also