By Dr Michelle Clement, Researcher in Residence at No.10 Downing Street Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this week. Festivities will be held across the country to mark the Queen’s incredible …
When governments communicate, the medium can be as valuable as the message - and this post shows how official letters demonstrate this - dating from as early as 1258.
Edward the Confessor, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, died on 5 January 1066 – 950 years ago. The Confessor’s modern-day reputation (shaped by medieval monks writing after his death) is that of a gentle and peaceable man. Yet his …
“Everything is but discourse until his Majesty gives his consent”: this statement made by Sir Thomas Roe, an English diplomat in 1636 [1], may seem a little tongue in cheek but it provides some truth as to how the Privy …
...of you who are willing to share it. Her Majesty the Queen at the naming ceremony of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the UK's latest aircraft carrier The Queen’s relationship with her...
This year marks the 800th anniversary of the granting of Magna Carta by King John. Today, the Great Charter is viewed as the foundation of many of our rights and liberties and throughout the year there are commemorations, exhibitions and …
The British Civil Wars has always interested me and International Women's Day prompted me to focus my blog post on a crucial, controversial, yet often overlooked, figure in British history, Henrietta Maria. I came across little, other than biographical histories, …
Benjamin Disraeli As Benjamin Disraeli’s coffin was lowered into the ground on 26 April, 1881, the attention of the crowded mourners and reporters fixed on a simple primrose wreath amidst...
...and his greater willingness later in his reign to adapt to the realities of parliamentary monarchy – the constitutional system we still have today. In the 1760s, both King and...
...They had received many letters from citizens around the Empire, including from Canada and Asia, expressing their pleasure at hearing the King at Christmas. When he learnt this, the King’s...