A review of Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors….

I have now watched all of the Channel 5 series Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors, which is so packed with information that I hardly know where to begin with this review. Aha, did I hear you say the beginning might be a good idea? You’re right, so here goes with a selection of descriptions from…

More of the interminable list of celebs descended from royalty….!

Perhaps the author of this Colombian article would have benefited from a good editor, but I think I’ve interpreted the gist of it. Three in the list of celebs leapt out at me, so to speak. Firstly Hilary Duff. Can someone tell me how Alexander Spotswood, Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army could be the…

A further secret marriage …

… has been contracted between Princess Beatrice of York and property developer Count Edoardo Mapozzi. Unlike the cases of her sister and cousins the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, we cannot easily trace a common ancestor for the couple. Of course, despite those who still claim that Edward IV’s 1461 secret marriage didn’t happen, Louis…

A strange way of hinting that Richard murdered his nephews….

    I found this article to be rather awkward to read, due to the layout, so have extracted the part that will concern Ricardians, i.e. the ‘ghosts’ of the boys in the Tower. It’s nothing new, but I thought you might be interested. “….Prince Edward V and Prince Richard, Duke of York, just 12…

Royal genealogy before it happens (3)

(as published in the Setember 2018 Bulletin) Seven years ago, before this blog officially began, a letter was published in the Ricardian Bulletin about the common Edward III descent of the Duke and Duchess, as she soon became, of Cambridge through the Gascoigne-Fairfax line. This, about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s mutual ancestry, followed…

THE LOST FONT OF MARLBOROUGH CASTLE

Marlborough is a quaint little town in Wiltshire. It has a rather famous College (once attended by Kate Middleton) but no buildings dating much before Tudor times other than two heavily restored churches. However, it used to have a castle, and a rather important one too. The first castle was built by William the Conqueror…

Royal genealogy before it happens (2)

Seven years ago, before this blog officially began, a letter was published in the Ricardian Bulletin about the common Edward III descent of the Duke and Duchess, as she soon became, of Cambridge through the Gascoigne-Fairfax line. Now it has been announced that Prince Henry of Wales and the American actress Rachel (Meghan) Markle, or Duke and Duchess of…

The Real Treasures of Harewood

Harewood House is known as one of Britain’s treasure houses, but for some of us, the older history of the estate is more interesting than the 17th c stately pile. There is a ruined castle, encroached upon by the wildwood, and a stunning medieval church, All Saints, containing the effigies of members of several important…

Royal Genealogy – before it happens (first published in the March 2011 Bulletin)

  April 29 will see the marriage of Prince William of Wales to Miss Catherine Middleton. As the engagement was announced, many articles proclaimed their common descent from Edward III and I have investigated some of their assertions: They are descended through the King’s second son, Edmund – quite apart from the uncertainty in some…