The Worst Couple in Royal History: George IV & Caroline of Brunswick

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One theory abounds that the Royal Family is at its most effective when it’s considered dull. If that’s the case then George IV was pretty much a disaster from start to finish, a fact that was solidified by his marriage to his cousin, Princess Caroline of Brunswick at the end of the 18th century. Their union was so scandalous, petty and embarrassing that, honestly, they make the domestic wars of the 1990s seems downright quaint.

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Royal Roundup April 2-8: Sounds Like an Engagement is Coming

You guys, a lot has been happening. Let’s get into it:

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  • Perhaps of most importance, Prince Harry’s girlfriend of about a year, Meghan Markle, has shut down her website, The Tig. In a farewell note, Meghan only said that it was “time to say goodbye,” as rumors swirl that she is ready to leave acting behind her and focus on…well, probably marrying Harry. Honestly, all signs point to an engagement coming within months, if not weeks. There’s already speculation and hints being dropped in the press that Harry is eagerly looking to move house from his “bachelor pad” at Kensington Palace to a full apartment that can serve as a family home. Meghan, too, has been spending considerable time in London, limiting her Instagram posts and toeing the rather bizarre line she’ll have to if she becomes a full-blown member of the Royal Family. The shutdown of Meghan’s website, which seemed to be her passion project, is the most definitive sign that an announcement is forthcoming. At the beginning of the year I would have said 1) It was too soon to tell and 2) If an announcement was made it wouldn’t be until the summer. I would revise that now to say it’s entirely possible it’ll be confirmed in mid to late spring with a wedding in the autumn. That said, what do I know? But unlike the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who were in their 20s when engagement rumors began swirling, Meghan is 35 and may be looking to begin a family sooner rather than later, while Harry is 32 and seems more than ready to settle down. It might happen, it might not, but if it does, I don’t think anyone will be shocked.

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Charles & Camilla Do Austria: Part Two

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And so it is over: the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have safety returned to the UK after wrapping up a nine-day tour of Romania, Italy and Austria deemed a “charm” offensive by the press following the latest in the Brexit saga. Yesterday marked the couple’s second day in Vienna after spending Wednesday at Cafe Demel and a state banquet at Hofburg Palace.

They began the day at the city’s Jewish Museum where they met with British and Austrian Holocaust survivors and learned of their experiences firsthand before and after World War II. One woman in attendance told reporters:

“It is wonderful that The Prince and Duchess came here. The Prince told us how proud he was of his grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, who hid a Jewish family from the Nazis.”

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Charles & Camilla Do Austria: Part One

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Today the Prince of Wales  and the Duchess of Cornwall left Italy for Austria, arriving in Vienna this morning for a half day of engagements. I have to admit, while I was envious of their trip to Florence and Rome and Charles’s to Bucharest I am beyond jealous they’re in Vienna, which is one of my very favorite cities to visit. Taking a look at their stops I’m getting pangs of nostalgia for the last time I was there.

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William, Kate & Harry Attend Service of Hope

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry attended a “Service of Hope” at Westminster Abbey earlier today in honor of the victims and first responders affected by the recent terrorist attack in London. The three laid a wreath in remembrance and met with members of the Abbey’s clergy and London Mayor Sadiq Khan before joining the congregation of 1,800 people by way of a formal procession down the aisle.

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Charles, Camilla, the Vatican & Relaxing Formality

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Yesterday, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall departed Florence for Rome and the Holy See where they met with Pope Francis. Before their visit they were given a private tour of the Vatican’s archives, which house manuscripts not accessible to the public. The secrecy makes sense given the thousands of extremely personal documents Rome was made privy to over the centuries, particularly when it was a more political entity going head-to-head with monarchs across Europe.

One such example referenced earlier this week by way of the papal dispensation sought by Henry VII and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain for approval to marry their children, the future Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon – the document essentially haggled over the terms of Katherine’s virginity following her marriage to Arthur Tudor. But this was indicative of the personal nature of so many of the issues the Vatican weighed in on, from dispensations to divorces to legal issues, any number of which were related to the Royal Families ruling Europe.

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Kate, Marchesa Notte & the Theatre

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A new designer! Big earrings! Much excitement! Tonight the Duchess of Cambridge appeared at the opening night of “42nd Street” at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on behalf of her patronage, EACH. Following the production, Kate joined the actors on the stage to celebrate a job well done, at which point she was given her very own pair of tap shoes.

The show is helping to raise money for The Nook, a new hospice facility in Norfolk, for which Kate carried out an engagement earlier this year. You can read more about it here.

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When the King’s Sixth Wife Took Her Fourth Husband

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In addition to being the only wife to survive Henry VIII, Katherine Parr was also the only one to come anywhere near the King in number of spouses. All told, she would marry four times, her marriage to Henry being her third. Yesterday, we took a look at the relationship between Thomas Seymour, her fourth husband, and Elizabeth Tudor, her stepdaughter, but how – and when – she came to marry Thomas is well-worth examining.

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The Second Man in Elizabeth I’s Life

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For some figures in extended royal history, it’s easy to capture them in a single post. With others that’s less true simply because of the wealth of information out there. I’m never going to write a post that’s a straight up and down summary of the life of Henry VIII, for example, or really any monarch. Instead, aspects of their life will be written about over time…unless I suddenly find myself able to knock out 20,000 words in a sitting.

This is certainly true of Elizabeth I as well, which is why she hasn’t been written about too much here so far. But she will be, little by little, and today we’re going to take a beat to consider her relationship with Thomas Seymour.

I refer to him as the second man in Elizabeth’s life since the first would obviously be her father, Henry VIII. But perhaps a more accurate summation would be that Thomas was the second man in Elizabeth’s life that makes it seem less unusual that she never married, because let’s be honest, these really weren’t top notch examples of men were they?

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Charles & Camilla in Italy: Day Two

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A month ago I wrote a post about Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark where I pointed out similarities between the two of them and the current Prince of Wales and his late ex-wife, Diana. There was one bizarre coincidence, however, which I forgot to highlight: one of Edward VII’s best-known mistresses was Alice Keppel, who happens to be the great-grandmother of none other than Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Given the similarities between Diana and Queen Alexandra, and Camilla’s direct descent from Mrs. Keppel, the whole thing does feel a bit like a historical wink.

This is surprisingly apropos of the ongoing royal visit to Italy because today Camilla brought up her regret that her mother sold a villa in Florence once owned by Alice and Camilla has girlhood memories of playing there. She revealed to reporters covering the tour that she hoped to buy it back someday and leave it to her grandchildren.

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