BeatrixFan

69p Queen

  June 29, 2009 at 12:45 pm by

First it was Charles, now it’s the entire clan. The annual Civil List report has been published with the usual arguments surfacing about the role of the monarchy as an accompaniment. But let’s look at the facts first. The Royal Family cost the UK taxpayer 69p each in the 2008/9 financial year, a 3p rise on the 2007/8 financial year with the total cost rising by £1.5m to £41.5m. The … Continue reading →

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I Scream, You Scream, The Queen gets some Ice Cream

  June 26, 2009 at 2:58 pm by

Agricultural shows are all part and parcel of the Windsors’ working lives but today Her Majesty got a special treat that will surely go down well in the heat-wave the UK is currently enjoying: a year’s supply of ice cream. The gift was given by Maitland Mackie at the Royal Highland Show near Edinburgh. Mackie’s is a well-established brand and can be found in almost all British supermarkets alongside Walls … Continue reading →

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New Speaker of the House of Commons Elected

  June 23, 2009 at 2:43 am by

The House of Commons has just elected Tory MP John Bercow as the new Speaker of the House in an ancient balloting process to replace the outgoing Speaker Michael Martin, forced to resign over the MPs expenses scandal. He is the first Speaker in 300 years to be forced from office and his successor will have a tough job to reform the British parliament. The role of the Speaker will … Continue reading →

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Memories of Marina and Wimbledon

  June 20, 2009 at 6:14 pm by

With the 2009 Wimbledon Championship starting on Monday, all eyes are firmly focussed on Andy Murray but Royal watchers will be surveying the scene for the odd Prince and Princess (and let’s face it there’s quite a few odd ones about these days). Years ago, there was no question of a Royal-less Wimbledon as the long-time President of Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club did her duty by … Continue reading →

Posted in Greece, Historical Royals, The United Kingdom | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Happy Birthday Ma’am (again)

  June 13, 2009 at 11:25 am by

It’s been a day of celebration for the Windsor clan as Her Majesty The Queen marked her official birthday today, several weeks after her actual birthday in April. The 83 year old monarch was treated to the stunning pageantry of the Trooping the Colour, an annual ceremony first performed in the reign of King Charles II. This year was the turn of the Irish guards who proudly displayed their new … Continue reading →

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Camilla Bowls Them Over

  May 11, 2009 at 5:09 pm by

I’m fairly used to the sight of white-clad golden oldies showing their ball skills on a perfectly mowed lawn (I live near a Bowls club you see), but never did it cross my mind that bowls would become the sport of Kings. Or rather future Queens. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall showed her flair for the game today on a visit to the village of Box in Wiltshire … Continue reading →

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Mrs Obama or Mrs Octopus?

  April 2, 2009 at 11:16 pm by

“Who touched who first?” No, it’s not a transcript from Gary Glitter’s latest trial; it’s the question on everyone’s lips after Her Majesty The Queen and The First Lady of the United States of America enjoyed a little cuddle at Buck House last night. Though being briefed on Royal protocol, the Obamas seemed to prefer their own blend of modern friendliness and traditional etiquette and it obviously got the Royal … Continue reading →

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Charles’s Detox Saga continues…

  March 21, 2009 at 11:45 am by

… as the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have upheld complaints from the public on the herbal medicine additions to the Prince of Wales’s Duchy brand. The Duchy Herbals line includes ‘Echina-Relief Tincture’, ‘Hyperi-Lift Tincture’ and the ‘Detox Tincture’ which was branded ‘outright quackery’ by the UK’s leading complementary medicine professor Edzard Ernst. Though the MHRA gave Duchy Originals a license to sell the tinctures, the regulatory body … Continue reading →

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Charles and Camilla To Meet Pope

  March 14, 2009 at 1:34 pm by

It’s been announced that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are to meet with Pope Benedict on a visit to the Vatican this April. Before their audience, they’ll pay an official visit to Italy. It’s believed that Their Royal Highnesses will carry with them an invitation to the Pope to visit Great Britain though such an invitation was apparantly offered by Gordon Brown when he visited the … Continue reading →

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Charles’s Dicky Tummy Detox

  March 11, 2009 at 9:25 am by

It seems that England is producing some miracle cures from the unlikeliest of sources. Firstly there’s the £15 bottle of water from the English Channel currently sweeping parts of the USA and France which claims to rejuvenate and replenish (what doesn’t these days?) and has, according to London’s Metro paper, been proved to turn back the hands of time. And secondly and even more unlikely is the new addition the … Continue reading →

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Charles in Tory Charity Bungle

  March 8, 2009 at 1:03 pm by

In an interview for the 2002 documentary series “Queen and Country”, Susan Crosland (wife of the late former Foreign Secretary) said of the Royal Family and politics, “One naturally assumes they would be Conservative”. Has Mrs Crosland hit on something we wonder? It’s no secret that the Queen Mother wasn’t keen on Tony Blair and the spats between the Queen and Lady Thatcher are fairly well documented but this recent … Continue reading →

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The Queen Mother’s Memorial

  February 24, 2009 at 12:35 pm by

And so at last London gets a memorial of the Queen Mother that’s more than a few wirey gates, dented from an argument with a lorry. As well as the new statue of a young Queen Elizabeth, there’ll be bronze reliefs showing scenes from the Queen Mother’s life placed alongside it, depicting both the war role the Queen Mother played and her later years as Grandmother of the nation. The … Continue reading →

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Airmiles Andy Strikes Again

  February 23, 2009 at 12:44 am by

What’s the difference between the Duke of York and a mango? A mango is flown thousands of miles and people actually want to see it when it gets there. Yes, Airmiles Andy is at it again with a little helicopter trip to open a bridge. Members of the Royal Family use helicopters a lot of course, but when their destination is only 70 miles away surely a car is the … Continue reading →

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Diana’s Letters To Remain Unpublished

  February 20, 2009 at 7:08 pm by

In 1993, the entertainment world battened down the hatches and prepared for the bitchiest onslaught in recent times as the Kenneth Williams Diaries were published, followed by the publication of his private correspondance to friends and fans. Even those who thought they’d be praised were suprised; Michael Parkinson was taken aback to find he’d been branded a “North country nit.” A similar wave of dread must have passed over the … Continue reading →

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