Queen Victoria and the Munchi – A Comforting Friendship

I am so very fond of him. He is so good and gentle and understanding… and is a real comfort to me.”

These were the words of Queen Victoria speaking to her daughter-in-law, Louise, Duchess of Connaught, on November 3, 1888, at Balmoral. Perhaps surprising, though, is who she was talking about – not her beloved husband, Albert, who had died in 1861. Nor John Brown, her loyal Scottish ghillie, who in many ways filled the void left by Albert, since Brown had died in 1883.

Instead, Queen Victoria was referring to Abdul Karim, her 24-year-old Indian servant.

Her relationship with Karim was one that sent shockwaves through the royal court – and ended up being one of the most scandalous periods of her 64-year reign.

Indeed, such was the ill-feeling that when Victoria died, her son King Edward ordered all records of their relationship, including correspondence and photographs, to be destroyed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8349760/The-lost-diary-of-Queen-Victorias-final-companion.html

No More Modelling for Duke of Kent's Granddaughter

By Tim Walker 6:28AM GMT 04 Mar 2011

 

Lady Marina Windsor looked every inch a future catwalk star when she modelled for Tatler last year, but she tells Mandrake that she has no plans to do any more modelling. A career in the United Nations would, she feels, be eminently more rewarding.

Lady Marina, 18, featured in the shoot with her brother, Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick, 22, and her sister, Lady Amelia Windsor, 15. “We did it for [couturier] Hardy Amies,” she says. “We owed them a lot because they had done so much for our family.”

The grandchild of the Queen’s cousin, the Duke of Kent, is currently at St Mary’s, Ascot, and hopes to go on to Oxford and then the UN. “I’m very interested in diplomacy,” she says. “It’s very hard to get into the UN – there is a lot of competition – so I’ll have to work very hard.”

©Adrian Weinbrecht

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8360087/Lady-Marina-Windsor-No-more-modelling.html 

Lady Anson to Organize Queen's Reception for William's Wedding

When it comes to organising the wedding reception of the year, Prince William and Kate Middleton need a planner with discretion and a unique knowledge of what makes a royal party go with a swing.

Step forward Lady Elizabeth Anson, the Queen's cousin and party planner to both British and Hollywood royalty, who has been called upon to help the couple plan their wedding.

Lady Elizabeth, the founder of Party Planners, a London-based events company, will oversee the couple's wedding reception at Buckingham Palace in April, hosted by the Queen.

The Queen is believed to have called upon Lady Elizabeth's know-how for the royal wedding reception following the success of her own 80th birthday party at The Ritz hotel in London in 2006, which Lady Elizabeth organised.

©Rex Features

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-william/8363350/William-and-Kate-keep-royal-wedding-plans-in-house.html

Royals in Uniform

A nice pictorial report on various members of the English royal family while wearing uniform.

I have particularly enjoyed the photo of the venerable Duke of Edinburgh!

©Rex Features

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/royalty/8316209/Royals-in-uniform.html?image=10

Hidden Fabergé Family Heirlooms

Heirlooms in your family’s possession are items or artifacts that are sometimes never spoken about or even viewed, but either hidden from prying eyes or discreetly placed in the home so as not to be seen as too conspicuous to non-family members. These items can sometimes be found listed in wills or they are simply passed down through the generations with admiration and a huge amount of trust ensuring that they do not end up on an auction or in the hands of the wrong person.

Whilst sifting through the family’s boxes of memorabilia and reading wills and fascinating books – I managed to find some wonderful examples of “Hidden Family Heirlooms”.

 http://ancestry24.com/hidden-family-heirlooms/

Royal wedding: Kate Middleton and Prince William reinvent Cool Britannia

Gone are the days of tea-towels and tat. 2011 will be remembered for the year Royal memorabilia became fashionable again. From Emma Bridgewater pottery to Jan Constantine cushions. We pick the best of the bunch. 

©Press Association

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8360174/Royal-wedding-Kate-Middleton-and-Prince-William-reinvent-Cool-Britannia.html

 

 

Fürstenberg/Borromeo Engagement

A friend ours living in Paris informed us tonight that his very good friend Prince Antonius zu Fürstenberg, second son of the Fürst zu Fürstenberg and his wife, Princess Milana zu Windisch-Graetz, has become engaged to Matilde Borromeo.

The future bride was born in Milan on 8 August 1983 as the daughter of Count Carlo Ferdinando Borromeo by his wife Marion Sibylle Gabriele Zota.

Matilde's siblings have entered into fabulous alliances as well. Matilde's eldest sister, Isabella, is married to Ugo dei Conti Brachetti-Peretti; while her second eldest sister, Lavinia, is married to John Jacob Elkann, the Fiat heir.

It is rumored that her her half-sister "Beatrice," whose mother is Contessa Paola Marzotto, is most likely the Beatrice Borromeo who is currently dating Pierre Casiraghi, son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, herself the eldest sister of Prince Albert II, as well as the estranged wife of Prince Ernst August of Hannover.

©Seeger Press

The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

2nd March 2011

The wedding will take place on 29th April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. This website will bring you the latest news, pictures and video about the Royal Wedding. You can also follow updates on the Clarence House Twitter feed. Click on the link below to visit Twitter.

©Mario Testino

http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/

King of Saudi Arabia Thinking About Buying Facebook

Did you hear about this? King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia reportedly has decided to buy out Facebook and is willing to spend $150 Billion of the oil rich kingdom’s money to do so. The King, as was reported, is taking this drastic step in a effort to stop the middle eastern revolts which were being organized by groups over Facebook.

The report has been published in numerous websites and news papers including some of the major news agencies in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The story was first seen in DawnWires, which published the article about the Saudi King who intends to buy Facebook to end the revolt.

http://current.com/155a14c

The Duke of Kent's Grandson's Thoughts on the Upcoming Royal Wedding

By Tim Walker 6:30AM GMT 27 Feb 2011

 

David and Victoria Beckham may, along with countless others, be looking forward to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Wesminster Abbey in April with almost childlike enthusiasm, but for members of the Queen’s extended family – more accustomed to the form at such grand events – it is the practicalities of the day which would appear to be uppermost in their minds.

“It’s going to be a hell of an experience getting two thousand people into the Abbey and then getting them all out again,” says Edward Windsor, who, as Lord Downpatrick, is the grandson of the Duke of Kent, the Queen’s cousin, and a godchild of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. “The last experience I had of that was the Queen Mother’s funeral. Now that was extraordinary.”

The 22-year-old languages student at Oxford suggests that, if the first-timers see the occasion as an opportunity to network shamelessly, then they are likely to disappointed. “Dare I say it, but I will probably be lumped with the family – not that that’s a bad thing.

©Rex Features

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8348661/Royal-Wedding-Edward-Windsor-says-it-will-be-no-time-for-networking.html