Queen Elizabeth II, one of the most travelled monarchs ever, has been to 116 countries on official state visits as Queen, but not Greece. Queen Elizabeth II has travelled from the tiny island nation of Tuvalu in the Pacific, to Russia, China, Chile, Ghana, Australia and almost everywhere in between. So it may seem surprising that the Queen has never made the relatively short hop over to the birth…
…agani of the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute added: “The genetic evidence is in support of the legend of the Queen of Sheba.” More than 200 individuals from 10 Ethiopian and two neighboring African populations were analyzed in the largest genetic investigation of its kind on Ethiopian populations. About a million genetic letters in each genome were studi…
A. Celebrations What is Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee? The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee marks 60 years since her accession in 1952. Royal Jubilees celebrate significant periods in monarchs’ reigns and national life. In 2012, The Queen will become only the second UK monarch to mark 60 years on the throne. Celebrations were previously held for Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 and Golden Jubilee in…
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has abdicated and handed the throne to her son Prince Willem-Alexander. Queen Beatrix, 75, signed the instrument of abdication in Amsterdam after 33 years on the throne. Crown Prince Willem-Alexander has now become the country’s first king since 1890. Huge crowds of orange-clad partygoers are in Amsterdam to pay tribute to the popular queen, who maintained a…
Queen Elizabeth II gave her Christmas Message to the nation as her Diamond Jubilee year draws to a close. Since her first message in 1952, The Queen has ruled through enormous historic events and periods of change. 1950s Queen Elizabeth II gave her first Christmas message in 1952 which was broadcast in sound only on television in the UK. However, her message five years later was perhaps more sign…
…the end of the show, Queen Elizabeth II will light one of the last of around 4,500 beacons across the globe – in celebration of her 60-year reign. In the afternoon, prior to the Jubilee concert, 10,000 ballot winners and VIPs will have a picnic in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. The concert follows Sunday’s spectacular River Thames pageant which attracted hundreds of thousands of rai…
Early life Her Majesty the Queen was born on 21 April 1926 in London, the first child of Prince Albert, The Duke of York, and his wife, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Third in line to the throne, it seemed unlikely that Princess Elizabeth would be Queen. However, shortly after the death of George V, the new King – her uncle Edward VIII – dramatically abdicated so he could marry…
Queen Elizabeth II and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness shook hands for the first time The last day of Queen Elizabeth’s two-day visit to Northern Ireland was marked by an historic handshake and a huge party. Her Majesty and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness shook hands for the first time. The meeting between the Queen and Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister took pla…
…picnic lunch in small or larger groups. This event is being organised by the Big Lunch. Find out more. The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant: This event will take place on the Thames and consist of up to 1,000 boats assembled from across the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will travel in the Royal Barge which will form the centrepiece of the flotilla. Fi…
…lot of nonsense” and spoke with admiration about her commitment to the Commonwealth and armed services. “No one could curtsey lower than Margaret Thatcher,” said another former aide. Inevitably, after 11 years of almost weekly meetings, the Queen and Margaret Thatcher reached something akin to friendship. Margaret Thatcher was even said to have jokingly sent the monarch a pair of rubber gloves as…
…involved at every stage from storyboard to final script. the wit, fun and sheer audacity left us speechless.” The recorded sequence opened at Buckingham Palace, where a tuxedo-wearing Daniel Craig as 007 was presented to the Queen by her personal footman as she was writing a letter and training her corgis Monty, Willow and Holly to roll over. Greeting him with an “Evening, Mr. Bond”, the Queen, i…
…me as the Queen’s Birthday Honours list was published. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip rode in a glass coach down the Mall to the ceremony. They were due to travel in Queen Victoria’s 1842 ivory-mounted phaeton carriage but this was changed due to the “unpredictable nature of the weather”, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said. The coach, built in 1881, was first used by…
…” and also paid tribute to her late husband, Prince Claus. Queen Beatrix was also attending a sumptuous gala dinner in her honor at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. She has been head of state since 1980, when her mother, Queen Juliana, abdicated. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has made a farewell national address thanking the Dutch people one day before her abdication In her televised addres…
…Queen unveiled a colorful stained glass window to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee at the Chapel of the Savoy in London. Globe magazine, which is published in Florida, is no stranger to controversy. In 1997, it caused outrage when it printed autopsy photos of the murdered child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey. In her hometown of Boulder, Colorado, many stores were so outraged by the publication that t…
In a new book by Spanish author Pilar Eyre is claimed that Princess Diana was just one of the many young ladies King Juan Carlos of Spain pursued in a romantic career in which he is said to have bedded more than 1,500 women. The explosive claims are made in one of the six volumes about the Spanish royal family written by Pilar Eyre. Imperious and suave, Juan Carlos looks every inch the old-style…
…nt illness was an uncharacteristic cold in October that forced him to pull out of an overnight stay in Italy for the launch of the ARC Green Pilgrimage Network. Prince Philip had just completed a busy 11-day official royal tour to Australia with Queen Elizabeth II, 85, that saw them visit Perth, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane. Commentators billed the long haul trip as the couple’s last to…
…er David Cameron has agreed a deal with other Commonwealth countries to change the rules on the royal line of succession which means male heirs will no longer be given priority. This means that in the 15 other countries where Queen Elizabeth II is head of state the rules must be changed. It had been feared there could be a constitutional crisis if Prince William and Kate Middleton had a baby girl…
…“The money he is using to feed these people could go a long way back home,” said Flora Dlamini from the Swaziland Vigil group. King Mswati is rated by Forbes magazine as the world’s 15th richest monarch with a personal fortune of $100 million – while many of his 1.2 million subjects live in poverty. Democracy campaigners also want Africa’s last absolute monarch to al…
…mes and apparently we had been especially added to her rota.’” Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary in November last year. They wed at Westminster Abbey in 1947 with the ceremony broadcast by BBC radio to 200 million people around the world. During her day in Manchester and Salford the Queen visited four hospitals and toured the BBC’s new headquar…
…to. Since he was a boy, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander has had an awkward relationship with the press. “He didn’t tell the media to <<go to hell>> as it was reported when he was 11, but it was something close to that,” says Han Van Bree. During his student days in the quiet city of Leiden, there was an unfortunate photo taken of Willem-Alexander clutching a pint of bee…
…een, who celebrated her 65th or Sapphire wedding anniversary this week, has sat on the thrones of seven countries for 60 years since her ascension following her father, King George VI’s death in 1952. In partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), CPL Aromas, the British-based international fragrance house that created the scent to an RSC brief, took inspiration from the scents an…
…recorded a message of thanks to the nation ahead of a star-studded concert at Buckingham Palace on Monday. The two-minute message, filmed in her private apartments at the palace, will be broadcast at 18:00 BST on radio and television in the UK and across the Commonwealth. Crowds have started building up outside St Paul’s and Buckingham Palace, which the Queen will leave at 10:15 BST in her…
…ain also claims. Spain has also protested over a visit to Gibraltar by Queen Elizabeth’s son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie. Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex are to visit Gibraltar on 11-13 June as part of the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s reign. Queen Sofia of Spain has cancelled her visit to the UK for Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee becau…
The A-list concert for Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is taking place outside Buckingham Palace. The event kicked off with the Massed Bands of the Household Division playing for the 12,000 ticket holders and the thousands more on The Mall in London. Pop star Robbie Williams then took to the specially-constructed stage around the Queen Victoria Memorial. Stevie Wonder and Sir Paul McCartney are among the…
…nt of his infection continues with antibiotics. “He is likely to remain in hospital over the next few days. He is in good spirits.” The Queen arrived at the hospital, in central London, at 17:10 BST and left at 17:55. The Duke of York left the hospital at about 18:40 BST. Prince Andrew told reporters that his father was “mending very well”. Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales, w…
Brussels Summit: EU leaders in drive against tax evasionEU leaders at Brussels summit say they are committed to tackling tax evasion and will push for global action to curb banking secrecy. The president of the European Council,…
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