Royal
Commemoratives and Memorabilia
Presumably, if you're reading this
section, you already know something about royal memorabilia, but if you
don't, and you would like a crash course on collecting it, a few
helpful articles have appeared. An ebay trader named Frank Lomax wrote
three articles aimed at ebay sellers, but they could as easily be read
by buyers. The first, "Royal
Memorabilia: an ebay Prince or Pauper?" discusses what personages
and countries are more desirable among royalty. The second, "Royal
Memorabilia: Smart Trading and Fake Dodging" suggests where you
should look for merchandise and what to watch out for if you are going
to sell it. His last article, "Royal
Memorabilia: Right Category Equals Maximum Profits" gives good tips
on creating your listing, and some web sites on looking for information
about the royals, though, as a librarian, I would take issue with
relying on web sites alone. Most of what I know about Princess Diana
and the royal family has been gleaned from traditional print materials
such as books and magazines--there is simply no substitute on the
internet for the depth of information they can provide. (Though the
Lexus-Nexus database is pretty good for providing full-text access to
newspapers from the 1990s, and Proquest Historic Newspapers for the New
York Times for the period before that. But they aren't free--you have
to visit a university library which has paid thousands of dollars in
annual subscription fees in order to have access to them!) There are
also a couple of articles on collecting Queen Elizabeth II Memorabilia:
"Queen
Elizabeth Royalty Commemoratives: Fifty Glorious Years on the Throne"
and "Happy
Birthday, Ma'am: The Queen's 80th Birthday".
New copies of out of print books on royalty, NTSC formats of British royalty videos, commemorative china, and limited edition engravings can be obtained via mail-order from the UK magazines which focus on royalty. Royalty Magazine has a web site which archives some significant older stories and allows you to view and order merchandise online. You can also sign up for a weekly e-mail newsletter and mail letters to the editor to their Last Words section. Majesty Magazine launched its web site at the beginning of August 2002. Unlike the site at Royalty, they do not offer a weekly newsletter, but the site is very good for US readers who buy from newsstands since the current issue's table of contents listed there is newer than the latest physical copy we can find, which is about a month behind.
The
Royal Pavilion claims to
have "the very best of British royal commemoratives" in the US.
Their ten pages of wares include the sovereigns from George IV through
Elizabeth II, with especially large sections for Edward VII and Queen
Victoria. (Charles and Diana items start on page six.)
Although a few items can be found under $100, most items are in the
$100-$300
range and some are as high as $800, but the items you see are hard to
find and chances are you are unlikely to see them anywhere else.
Although Royal and Regal Memorabilia still maintains a UK site, it is basically just a portal to steer you into its ebay auctions and shops. Don't let the fact that some hacker has replaced the picture of one of Diana's diamond rings (which they once had for sale on the site) with some gibberish, keep you from entering the site, because they have some jaw-dropping items for sale. They have high-quality signed royal Christmas cards obtained from members of the royal household and other close aristocratic associates, signed cards and gifts given by both Charles and Diana, and other members of the royal family. He does stock china and other memorabilia that is more affordable. I have purchased from him and found him quite reliable.
Commemorabilia is a British site that has over 2,000 items in stock, and features military commemoratives as well as royalty commemoratives. Though they have an e-mail newsletter you can sign up for, almost all of their stock is listed in bi-monthly catalogs that cost 15 pounnds to subscribe to annually. They give priority to buyers who subscribe to their catalogs, so if you are serious about collecting royal commemoratives, this may be worth the money since they make a point of stocking items that may be hard to find most other places.
Royal Memories (formerly British Royal Family Commemoratives) is another site that has become just a portal to steer customers into their ebay auctions and shops, just click on the underlined ebay in the center of the page. It's a married couple from Britain whom I have purchased on various occasions over the years, and can recommend them highly.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana at Time Was Antiques has four pages of merchandise. Although I have seen a number of the items before, I have to confess I've never seen those salt and pepper shakers!
British Royalty Commemoratives--20th Century has some fascinating older ephemeral items from the reigns Queen Victoria through Queen Elizabeth II, as well as some nice china commemoratives. Among the rare and unusual items are a silk scarf with Edward VIII's Abdication speech printed on it ($100), a silk scarf commemorating the coronation of George VI and Queen Elizabeth ($50), two souvenir scarves of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation ($35 each), a plastic and metal cigarette case commemorating her coronation ($30), a textile souvenir of George V's coronation ($100), a small card with the portraits of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth that was given to each person who saw them at the New York World's Fair on the day of the Royal Visit ($40), a vinyl tablecloth commemorating the wedding of Elizabeth and Philip, with their portraits in the corners (this is one of the few commemoratives I have ever seen for their wedding, since very few were issued due to postwar austerity conditions, and it is priced at $125), and a coronation tie-in advertisement for "Coronation Cheerio--a Kingly Drink" adorned with the portraits of George VI and Elizabeth, for $75.
Go Antiques has over 300 items available for royal families from all over the world, but you can narrow your search by typing the name of the person you seek, or the type of item in the search box in the upper right hand corner. Princess Diana items even include some old, but never worn Royal Wedding t-shirts!
Miss Martha's Collectibles has only a small assortment of royal collectibles among her wares, but what she has is choice: mostly limited edition goblets by good manufactures such as Coalport and Wedgwood, as well as some more hard to find items such as the Hornsea Primary School mug and a soapdish and soap in its original packaging.
These last two sites are for people with money to burn. The Armory at St. James sells items that previous monarchs and other members of the royal family presented to their subjects for services rendered. So, if you fancy that type of royal collectible, or if you're trying to give your ancestry some class, check out their wares. You can get a gold and enamel presentation brooch containing Queen Alexandra's portrait that she gave to Nurse Annie Fletcher in 1902, for assisting the surgeon who operated on Edward VII for appendicitis just before his coronation, for only 2,250 pounds. Or if you want something a little more delicate, how about the 15K Gold, Enamel and Seed Pearl brooch in the form of George V's royal cipher for 650 pounds? And to appease your husband if he sees the credit card bill, make sure you buy him some toy soldiers or military models or regimental brooches elsewhere on the site:) The other site, if you like Prince Charles' watercolors, and can afford to spend 2,250-15,000 pounds for a signed, limited edition lithograph, is the Belgravia gallery, which sells them to benfit The Prince of Wales Trust. Prices include framing if you live in the UK.
The August 1998 issue of Autograph Collector carried the story, "A Literary Tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales", which noted the scarcity of her autograph and suggested other sources for royalty related autographs, such as The Duchess of York and books by noted Royal authors such as Andrew Morton. Some additional material about the value of Diana's autograph can be found in the article, "Diana's Lasting Legacy", which was originally published in Autograph Collector in November 1997. Since the magazine has removed both articles from their site, I shall recommend that, rather than buy back issues of these magazines, that you go to your local public library and ask them to get copies of the articles for you via Interlibrary Loan. This is a service which is offered by all but the smallest public libraries, by which they get photocopies of the articles for you from other libraries who subscribe to the magazine. (They can also borrow books that your library doesn't own as well, but unlike the photocopies, you don't get to keep them.) In many instances, the service is free, or a nominal sum.
For those of you who want to go into a bricks and mortar store on your next trip to London, I finally found a listing for a shop in London that sells Royal commemoratives. It is:
Hope and Glory
131A Kensington Church Street
London W8 7LP
Tel: + 44 020 7727 8424
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 AM-5 PM
Since I don't expect to be going back to London for at least a couple of years, if anyone visits or lives there and could tell me what it's like, I would appreciate it. I do know from the internet directory listing that I saw that it has no internet site, no e-mail, and no catalog, though the directory listing said they would do mail-order. If you find out differently, let me know!
Also, if anyone runs across any good shops or flea markets in the UK, Canada, or the US that are worth stopping at for royal commemoratives/memorabilia/antiques, let me know so I can post them here. I don't know about the rest of you, but it would be nice to be able to do some live shopping for my favorite collectables for a change, and not always sit at a computer in order to look for them.
Finally, here are a couple of web sites about collectors of royal memorabilia. "Fan Fare: Monarchist Memorabilia Worldwide" is an article profiling eight collectors (four from the US, three from Canada, and one from Australia), that was part of the BBC's site about the 1999 royal wedding. In reading it, I think you'll find one or another of these persons you'll find something in common with. "Imperial Material" is meant to be sarcastic, but one can't help being impressed at a collector who has 2,500 items in her collection! Or maybe warned...after all, one does have to find space in one's house to put all these things!
Watercolours and Drawings from the Collection of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is on display at the Queen's Gallery adjacent to Buckingham Palace until October 29, 2006. Dress for the Occasion, the largest exhibit ever of the Queen's formal gowns, will be on display in the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace until September 24, 2006. Eighty of her dresses, formal portraits of Her Majesty wearing the dresses, and royal jewelry, including Queen Mary's emeralds, are on display.
Clarence House, formerly home of the Queen Mother and now the London residence of Prince Charles. the Duchess of Cornwall, and his sons, is open to the public for guided tours till October 8, though it will be closed during the week of September 10-17. Tickets must be booked in advance, and you can do that online. (This link allows you to book tickets for
several other of the royal palaces amd both of the Queen's Galleries as well, including combination tickets for more than one.)
Still hankering for more royal places to see in London? The official web site of the city of London offers a nice guide to Royal London that includes information on where to find a list of shops that have been awarded the royal warrant, what restaurants the royals have been spotted dining in, information about the palaces and lesser sites with royal connections, and last but not least, the changing of the guard.
Windsor Castle is presently showing An Exhibtion of Photographs to Celebrate the 80th Birthday of HM the Queen, which runs till
March 11, 2007. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see it when we visited Windsor in March, since we were in the UK the week before it opened! Fortunately, there is a companion book that has been published by the Royal Collection: Queen Elizabeth: a Birthday Souvenir Album, by Jane Roberts. It's 6.59 pounds at Amazon UK, but if you can wait till September 30, it will be available in the US for $12.97.
The Queen's Gallery at The Palace of Holyroodhouse is showing Canaletto in Venice until January 6, 2007.
The Diana Garden and Nature Center is Paris' official memorial to the Princess of Wales. It consists of a classical French garden without any statues, photographs or monuments of her. It will undoubtedly be lovely when the plants become better established, since it was just dedicated on February 14, 2001. Created by Paris-Nature as a nature study center for inner-city children, the garden is planted with flowers, herbs and shrubs traditionally used for medicinal, textile, cooking and decorative purposes. It is in the Marais district at Clos des Blancs-Manteaux, 21 Rue des Blancs-Manteaux, 4th. It is free of charge and open on weekends and holidays from 1-5:30pm.
In terms of the number and sheer
variety of items offered, Ebay is the best auction site, since a
search at any time on Princess Diana routinely retrieves over 2000
items for sale, with more than two hundred additional items found only
under Royal Wedding. Most items, even the dolls, can be bought for a
small fraction of their original retail price, but there are still some
items that can fetch high prices or spark bidding wars because the item
is quite rare. (Examples of these would be some of the high-end royal
wedding souvenirs that originally retailed for several hundred pounds
produced by firms such as Asprey and Garrard and featured in some of
the royal wedding souvenir booklets with their original prices, signed
items with an impeccable provenance, Halcyon Days boxes produced for
the royal visits, hardcover copies of the Christie's auction catalog
(only 5,000 of those were printed, and only 200 of the signed,
leather-bound edition), videos produced prior to 1987, and a few titles
among the mass-market books, such as Charles and Diana: The First Five
Years by Ashley Walton and
Jayne Fincher.) If an item goes too high, be willing to wait if
necessary, for with the exception of truly rare items, it's quite
likely that whatever you are looking for will appear again at a later
date.
If you have really deep pockets and
you are looking for the one-of-a-kind collectible that makes headlines
when it sells, then you will have to consider bidding in British
auction houses. But how to know about where such auctions are being
held beforehand, without hitting the web site of every auction house in
the UK? Well, Auction
Net has access to auction
catalogues from leading auction houses in the UK, and if you click on
the Search button, you can type whatever you are looking for into the
box, and it will pull up listings for any auction featuring such items,
and give links to specific pages in the catalog with the item and its
assessed value, so you have some idea how much you should set as your
limit.
Although Royal and Regal Memorabilia still maintains a UK site, it is basically just a portal to steer you into its ebay auctions and shops. Don't let the fact that some hacker has replaced the picture of one of Diana's diamond rings (which they once had for sale on the site) with some gibberish, keep you from entering the site, because they have some jaw-dropping items for sale. They have high-quality signed royal Christmas cards obtained from members of the royal household and other close aristocratic associates, signed cards and gifts given by both Charles and Diana, and other members of the royal family. He does stock china and other memorabilia that is more affordable. I have purchased from him and found him quite reliable.
Commemorabilia is a British site that has over 2,000 items in stock, and features military commemoratives as well as royalty commemoratives. Though they have an e-mail newsletter you can sign up for, almost all of their stock is listed in bi-monthly catalogs that cost 15 pounnds to subscribe to annually. They give priority to buyers who subscribe to their catalogs, so if you are serious about collecting royal commemoratives, this may be worth the money since they make a point of stocking items that may be hard to find most other places.
Royal Memories (formerly British Royal Family Commemoratives) is another site that has become just a portal to steer customers into their ebay auctions and shops, just click on the underlined ebay in the center of the page. It's a married couple from Britain whom I have purchased on various occasions over the years, and can recommend them highly.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana at Time Was Antiques has four pages of merchandise. Although I have seen a number of the items before, I have to confess I've never seen those salt and pepper shakers!
British Royalty Commemoratives--20th Century has some fascinating older ephemeral items from the reigns Queen Victoria through Queen Elizabeth II, as well as some nice china commemoratives. Among the rare and unusual items are a silk scarf with Edward VIII's Abdication speech printed on it ($100), a silk scarf commemorating the coronation of George VI and Queen Elizabeth ($50), two souvenir scarves of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation ($35 each), a plastic and metal cigarette case commemorating her coronation ($30), a textile souvenir of George V's coronation ($100), a small card with the portraits of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth that was given to each person who saw them at the New York World's Fair on the day of the Royal Visit ($40), a vinyl tablecloth commemorating the wedding of Elizabeth and Philip, with their portraits in the corners (this is one of the few commemoratives I have ever seen for their wedding, since very few were issued due to postwar austerity conditions, and it is priced at $125), and a coronation tie-in advertisement for "Coronation Cheerio--a Kingly Drink" adorned with the portraits of George VI and Elizabeth, for $75.
Go Antiques has over 300 items available for royal families from all over the world, but you can narrow your search by typing the name of the person you seek, or the type of item in the search box in the upper right hand corner. Princess Diana items even include some old, but never worn Royal Wedding t-shirts!
Miss Martha's Collectibles has only a small assortment of royal collectibles among her wares, but what she has is choice: mostly limited edition goblets by good manufactures such as Coalport and Wedgwood, as well as some more hard to find items such as the Hornsea Primary School mug and a soapdish and soap in its original packaging.
These last two sites are for people with money to burn. The Armory at St. James sells items that previous monarchs and other members of the royal family presented to their subjects for services rendered. So, if you fancy that type of royal collectible, or if you're trying to give your ancestry some class, check out their wares. You can get a gold and enamel presentation brooch containing Queen Alexandra's portrait that she gave to Nurse Annie Fletcher in 1902, for assisting the surgeon who operated on Edward VII for appendicitis just before his coronation, for only 2,250 pounds. Or if you want something a little more delicate, how about the 15K Gold, Enamel and Seed Pearl brooch in the form of George V's royal cipher for 650 pounds? And to appease your husband if he sees the credit card bill, make sure you buy him some toy soldiers or military models or regimental brooches elsewhere on the site:) The other site, if you like Prince Charles' watercolors, and can afford to spend 2,250-15,000 pounds for a signed, limited edition lithograph, is the Belgravia gallery, which sells them to benfit The Prince of Wales Trust. Prices include framing if you live in the UK.
The August 1998 issue of Autograph Collector carried the story, "A Literary Tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales", which noted the scarcity of her autograph and suggested other sources for royalty related autographs, such as The Duchess of York and books by noted Royal authors such as Andrew Morton. Some additional material about the value of Diana's autograph can be found in the article, "Diana's Lasting Legacy", which was originally published in Autograph Collector in November 1997. Since the magazine has removed both articles from their site, I shall recommend that, rather than buy back issues of these magazines, that you go to your local public library and ask them to get copies of the articles for you via Interlibrary Loan. This is a service which is offered by all but the smallest public libraries, by which they get photocopies of the articles for you from other libraries who subscribe to the magazine. (They can also borrow books that your library doesn't own as well, but unlike the photocopies, you don't get to keep them.) In many instances, the service is free, or a nominal sum.
For those of you who want to go into a bricks and mortar store on your next trip to London, I finally found a listing for a shop in London that sells Royal commemoratives. It is:
Hope and Glory
131A Kensington Church Street
London W8 7LP
Tel: + 44 020 7727 8424
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 AM-5 PM
Since I don't expect to be going back to London for at least a couple of years, if anyone visits or lives there and could tell me what it's like, I would appreciate it. I do know from the internet directory listing that I saw that it has no internet site, no e-mail, and no catalog, though the directory listing said they would do mail-order. If you find out differently, let me know!
Also, if anyone runs across any good shops or flea markets in the UK, Canada, or the US that are worth stopping at for royal commemoratives/memorabilia/antiques, let me know so I can post them here. I don't know about the rest of you, but it would be nice to be able to do some live shopping for my favorite collectables for a change, and not always sit at a computer in order to look for them.
Finally, here are a couple of web sites about collectors of royal memorabilia. "Fan Fare: Monarchist Memorabilia Worldwide" is an article profiling eight collectors (four from the US, three from Canada, and one from Australia), that was part of the BBC's site about the 1999 royal wedding. In reading it, I think you'll find one or another of these persons you'll find something in common with. "Imperial Material" is meant to be sarcastic, but one can't help being impressed at a collector who has 2,500 items in her collection! Or maybe warned...after all, one does have to find space in one's house to put all these things!
Royal News Sites
Yahoo's Royal News Watch site is good for the latest royal headlines, but its best feature lies in its collection of links to the Hello! magazine profiles on various members of the royal family, to its links to major news sites like the BBC, the Times, and The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages site.
For daily newspaper coverage of the Windsors and other royal families, the news section of The Unofficial Royal Pages is the place to go, since it represents all opinions from Republican to Monarchist and all types of papers from heavy hitters like the Times and the Mail to salacious tabloids like the News of the World and the Sun, though you must check it daily if you fancy
the stories from the Mirror or the Sun, since they only stay on the site for a couple of days, while other papers' stories can be read for up to a week. The site also features several different columnists, including the archived columns of The Muse of the Monarchy.
The Guardian offers "The Monarchy" series, which has been running for the past couple of years and features some very incisive commentary. It also has links to both republican and monarchist groups. It has sections of archived stories on the Queen's 80th birthday, the Golden Jubilee, the Queen Mother's death, Princess Margaret's life and times, a Charles and Camilla archive, and an interactive section on the death of Diana. And while you're there, don't forget to take the quiz, "How Well Do You Know Your Monarchy?", or the quizzes on Queen Victoria, Prince Philip's insults, or the Queen's birthday.
And if Monarchy as an issue is what interests you more than specific royal personages, perhaps you might be interested in some of the Monarchy Leagues that flourish overseas, such as the Monarchist League of Canada, or the International Monarchy League or the Australian Monarchist League. They have materials for use in schools and excellent collections of links to materials about royal history in their countries.
Hello Magazine has a section of current stories devoted to Royalty and Statesmen.
The Royal Family's own information source is the British Monarchy Website, with monthly stories published in Royal Insight. Some of the issues have been archived and you can click search to look for individual persons or topics. There are also links to all the royal websites, including those of the Prince of Wales, Prince Michael of Kent, and the Royal Collection where you can buy books and china exclusive to the Palace gift shops, and the royal residences.
Sightseeing
Yahoo's Royal News Watch site is good for the latest royal headlines, but its best feature lies in its collection of links to the Hello! magazine profiles on various members of the royal family, to its links to major news sites like the BBC, the Times, and The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages site.
For daily newspaper coverage of the Windsors and other royal families, the news section of The Unofficial Royal Pages is the place to go, since it represents all opinions from Republican to Monarchist and all types of papers from heavy hitters like the Times and the Mail to salacious tabloids like the News of the World and the Sun, though you must check it daily if you fancy
the stories from the Mirror or the Sun, since they only stay on the site for a couple of days, while other papers' stories can be read for up to a week. The site also features several different columnists, including the archived columns of The Muse of the Monarchy.
The Guardian offers "The Monarchy" series, which has been running for the past couple of years and features some very incisive commentary. It also has links to both republican and monarchist groups. It has sections of archived stories on the Queen's 80th birthday, the Golden Jubilee, the Queen Mother's death, Princess Margaret's life and times, a Charles and Camilla archive, and an interactive section on the death of Diana. And while you're there, don't forget to take the quiz, "How Well Do You Know Your Monarchy?", or the quizzes on Queen Victoria, Prince Philip's insults, or the Queen's birthday.
And if Monarchy as an issue is what interests you more than specific royal personages, perhaps you might be interested in some of the Monarchy Leagues that flourish overseas, such as the Monarchist League of Canada, or the International Monarchy League or the Australian Monarchist League. They have materials for use in schools and excellent collections of links to materials about royal history in their countries.
Hello Magazine has a section of current stories devoted to Royalty and Statesmen.
The Royal Family's own information source is the British Monarchy Website, with monthly stories published in Royal Insight. Some of the issues have been archived and you can click search to look for individual persons or topics. There are also links to all the royal websites, including those of the Prince of Wales, Prince Michael of Kent, and the Royal Collection where you can buy books and china exclusive to the Palace gift shops, and the royal residences.
Another great site that is no longer with us is the Royal Report. Happily some of their profiles on various members of the British royal family have been picked up by Britain Express, which also features the Royal Report's listings of some of the holders of the coveted royal warrants. So if you, too, wish to dine, drink, or dress like royalty, you'll know where to go to obtain these goods.
Another site featuring links
to news stories is Royal
News and Views, edited by
Croneprincess. In addition to having links to current stories, the news
section has an archives of past stories, and sections on interviews and
obituaries. But wait, there's more (as the Ginzu knife commercials used
to say): Family Affair gives tables showing at what degree
of cousinhood Queen Elizabeth II is to the Grand Duke of Luxembourg or
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, The Royal Soap Opera gives pithy identifications of each
character in the cast, Days
of Our Lives is the most
comprehensive chronology I have yet found on the internet of Charles'
and Diana's marriage, and probably the best section is Author! Author! in which she profiles five of the
authors (Morton, Junor, Hewitt, Rees-Jones, and Jephson) whose books
about Diana "made cash registers ring like cathedral bells". Good Sports lists every member of a royal family
who has competed in the Olympics, their sport, the year, and how they
placed in the competition. Field
Trips are accounts of her
own visits to Althorp, Kensington Palace, Sandringham, and Britannia.
And finally, there's a Message
Board to discuss what it
all the late-breaking developments mean...
If you're willing to pay for content,
a newcomer within the past couple of years is The Royalist, which justifies
their $7.99 (or 4.59 pound or whatever your country's charge is)
monthly fee by giving its members access to photos and videos that they
have paid fees to obtain. They also have discussion boards as well.
Some content on their site can be viewed without joining, but you
cannot post messages to the discussion groups without paying the
membership fees.
You can find out about the activities
of the Duchess of York through two sources: one is an official web site maintained
by a long-time US admirer. The other is Sarah's
site at Weight Watchers.
Sightseeing
At Althorp, you can get information about
visiting in July and August, as well as being able to rent residential
or commercial property that is part of the estate, or information about
how to rent the house for whatever function you want to put on. You can
read about the history of the estate, or learn more about the Spencer
family. The events calendar has information on upcoming events such as
Christmas Fair in November 2006. The online gift shop has a few new
products, as well as the direction to US residents to place their
orders at the gift shop of the Diana: A Celebration website.
A unique way to view the Althorp estate can be seen on Althorp in 360, where in a series of nine pictures that you can each rotate 360 degrees, you can go through the grounds of Althorp from the entrance, around the house, by the stables, along the gardens, and around the oval, viewing Diana's temple. It's almost as good as good as being there.
Making Althorp Fit for a Queen is a 1998 interview with MSNBC in which Earl Spencer talked about the preparations for the initial opening of Althorp.
About one mile from Althorp is the Great Brington Post Office, where you can not only mail your cards but buy souvenirs, too. Their stock consists of china with Diana's picture on it, framed prints of Althorp and Kensington (the same ones you see advertised in Majesty Magazine), limited edition first day covers, and postcards. They also have a picture gallery and in the summer, they serve refreshments in the back garden. Their online site has shut down, but I still have some fliers for them if you would like to have one as a collectible.
The Althorp Coaching Inn is located down the street from the post office, but they are in the midst of changing servers for their web site. You can get some information about the pub, which previously was known as The Fox and Hounds, at Adopt A Pub.
Before you leave the village, be sure to drop in St. Mary the Virgin Church, where twenty generations of the Spencer family have been buried. This brief BBC history of the church includes a half dozen pictures of the exterior and interior of the church, including photos of the effigies. There is no admission charge, though contribution boxes are scattered round the church for gifts and payment for candles. You can also ask questions and purchase a booklet about the church's history from the volunteers on duty.
Spencer House is another house belonging to the Spencer family which has the distinction of being the only 18th century private palace to have survived intact in London. The family hasn't lived there since 1926, and the grandfather of the present Earl stripped some of the finest architectural features from the house just before the war and installed them at Althorp for safekeeping, but in 1985 the house was leased by the Rothschilds and an extensive restoration was undertaken to return the house to its original grandeur. Duplicates were made of the items that had been removed to Althorp by the best craftspeople in the UK, period furnishings were obtained similar to those which had been in the house (of which there were numerous photograhs to work from), and some of the paintings are on loan from the Queen. Eight rooms in the house are open for guided tours from 10:30 to 5:00 on Sundays only; tours take about an hour. You can buy an illustrated booklet about the house and postcards at a desk in the entrance hall, but make sure you biy these first if you take the last tour of the day, since no one will be at that desk when you leave. The views from the windows offer a magnificent view of Green Park, and the house is on the quiet side street of St. James Place, just off St. James Street where the palace of St. James is only a very short distance away. The neighborhood has some marvelous stores in the area for window shopping.
To see the neighborhood around Princess Diana's home at Kensington Palace, you have a couple of options: Original London Walks offers a Royal London tour, but it is going to be focused more on the rest of the royal family than on her. (It's possible that I may have gone on one of the very last Princess Diana tours offered by this company back in February 2002. When I spoke to the guide afterward, she told me they had been planning to discontinue it within the coming month.) If you prefer to wander through the Kensington area on your own, Princess Diana Walk has a map and listings of where to go. A more detailed source for acquainting yourself with her London is the booklet, A Walk Through Princess Diana's London, which is obtainable from the author's web site. It has precise directions for two walking tours past royal sites in London and fits comfortably into a purse or pocket. You can also order his other themed walks on the London of Jack the Ripper, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, The Beatles, Sherlock Holmes, and a Historical Riverside London Pub walk.
Though not intended for the public, the Press Room of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain at the Royal Parks web site is probably the most comprehensive source of information about the fountain on the web, with press releases, background information, and, under the download section, photos and video footage dealing with the construction and dedication of the
fountain.
If you happen to be in that part of Australia, you might want to consider stopping in Noarlunga, South Australia to visit the first Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain which was erected in her honor on the first anniversary of her death in 1998. It is a very traditional design, and you can see photos, get a map showing where to find it, and learn all details about its construction.
A Memorial to a Princess and a Magnet for London’s Children has a marvelous account of the family-friendly fun to be had at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, and the attractions for kids in the rest of Kensington Park. I have not yet found a site which shows the route of the Princess Diana Memorial Walk, but I did find this site which gives some information about the walk. Suite 101 has an excellent article on The Princess Diana Memorial Walkway, with links to points of interest along the way. The author is Stuart MacWatt, who used to do the Royalty section at About.com, so he knows what he's talking about. Probably the most detailed source is Tom Corby' s book, A Walk for Diana, which is a guide to the Memorial Walk, and which I describe in greater detail on the books page. On one of my trips to London, I also came across one of the markers on the trail as I was entering St. James Park.
A unique way to view the Althorp estate can be seen on Althorp in 360, where in a series of nine pictures that you can each rotate 360 degrees, you can go through the grounds of Althorp from the entrance, around the house, by the stables, along the gardens, and around the oval, viewing Diana's temple. It's almost as good as good as being there.
Making Althorp Fit for a Queen is a 1998 interview with MSNBC in which Earl Spencer talked about the preparations for the initial opening of Althorp.
About one mile from Althorp is the Great Brington Post Office, where you can not only mail your cards but buy souvenirs, too. Their stock consists of china with Diana's picture on it, framed prints of Althorp and Kensington (the same ones you see advertised in Majesty Magazine), limited edition first day covers, and postcards. They also have a picture gallery and in the summer, they serve refreshments in the back garden. Their online site has shut down, but I still have some fliers for them if you would like to have one as a collectible.
The Althorp Coaching Inn is located down the street from the post office, but they are in the midst of changing servers for their web site. You can get some information about the pub, which previously was known as The Fox and Hounds, at Adopt A Pub.
Before you leave the village, be sure to drop in St. Mary the Virgin Church, where twenty generations of the Spencer family have been buried. This brief BBC history of the church includes a half dozen pictures of the exterior and interior of the church, including photos of the effigies. There is no admission charge, though contribution boxes are scattered round the church for gifts and payment for candles. You can also ask questions and purchase a booklet about the church's history from the volunteers on duty.
Spencer House is another house belonging to the Spencer family which has the distinction of being the only 18th century private palace to have survived intact in London. The family hasn't lived there since 1926, and the grandfather of the present Earl stripped some of the finest architectural features from the house just before the war and installed them at Althorp for safekeeping, but in 1985 the house was leased by the Rothschilds and an extensive restoration was undertaken to return the house to its original grandeur. Duplicates were made of the items that had been removed to Althorp by the best craftspeople in the UK, period furnishings were obtained similar to those which had been in the house (of which there were numerous photograhs to work from), and some of the paintings are on loan from the Queen. Eight rooms in the house are open for guided tours from 10:30 to 5:00 on Sundays only; tours take about an hour. You can buy an illustrated booklet about the house and postcards at a desk in the entrance hall, but make sure you biy these first if you take the last tour of the day, since no one will be at that desk when you leave. The views from the windows offer a magnificent view of Green Park, and the house is on the quiet side street of St. James Place, just off St. James Street where the palace of St. James is only a very short distance away. The neighborhood has some marvelous stores in the area for window shopping.
To see the neighborhood around Princess Diana's home at Kensington Palace, you have a couple of options: Original London Walks offers a Royal London tour, but it is going to be focused more on the rest of the royal family than on her. (It's possible that I may have gone on one of the very last Princess Diana tours offered by this company back in February 2002. When I spoke to the guide afterward, she told me they had been planning to discontinue it within the coming month.) If you prefer to wander through the Kensington area on your own, Princess Diana Walk has a map and listings of where to go. A more detailed source for acquainting yourself with her London is the booklet, A Walk Through Princess Diana's London, which is obtainable from the author's web site. It has precise directions for two walking tours past royal sites in London and fits comfortably into a purse or pocket. You can also order his other themed walks on the London of Jack the Ripper, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, The Beatles, Sherlock Holmes, and a Historical Riverside London Pub walk.
Though not intended for the public, the Press Room of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain at the Royal Parks web site is probably the most comprehensive source of information about the fountain on the web, with press releases, background information, and, under the download section, photos and video footage dealing with the construction and dedication of the
fountain.
If you happen to be in that part of Australia, you might want to consider stopping in Noarlunga, South Australia to visit the first Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain which was erected in her honor on the first anniversary of her death in 1998. It is a very traditional design, and you can see photos, get a map showing where to find it, and learn all details about its construction.
A Memorial to a Princess and a Magnet for London’s Children has a marvelous account of the family-friendly fun to be had at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, and the attractions for kids in the rest of Kensington Park. I have not yet found a site which shows the route of the Princess Diana Memorial Walk, but I did find this site which gives some information about the walk. Suite 101 has an excellent article on The Princess Diana Memorial Walkway, with links to points of interest along the way. The author is Stuart MacWatt, who used to do the Royalty section at About.com, so he knows what he's talking about. Probably the most detailed source is Tom Corby' s book, A Walk for Diana, which is a guide to the Memorial Walk, and which I describe in greater detail on the books page. On one of my trips to London, I also came across one of the markers on the trail as I was entering St. James Park.
Two spots associated with Charles'
and Diana's honeymoon are open to the public. They spent the first
three days at Broadlands, home of Charles' beloved uncle Lord
Mountbatten; the house is open to the public from June to September
andyou can take a guided tour of the house which lasts about
40 minutes, visit the exhibtion on Lord Mountbatten's life, roam the
grounds, and drop by the gift shop. Many events are held on
the estate throughout the year, such as craft shows, flower shows,
concerts, firework displays, and the Christmas Bazaar. You can also
inquire about cottages to let on the property.
The next two weeks were spent aboard the royal yacht Britannia, which has been decommissioned and
is now permanently anchored at the port of Leith (Edinburgh) Scotland.
It has very good information on the history of the ship, great
directions on how to get there by car or bus, and a terrific online
gift shop. All items are exclusive to the site, and include books
and video about the ship, clotted cream fudge, shortbread, Dundee cake,
whiskey cake, pieces in a beautiful china pattern based on a silk
embrodery panal in the Queen's bedroom,
Britannia themed china, whiskey, a teddy bear, a wombat, and an
extensive collection of Britannia pattern
tartan goods for men, women, and children. Finally, it even has
information about how you can hire the ship for "corporate
hospitality". No prices are listed, but I imagine it's too expensive
for your next office Christmas party.
Watercolours and Drawings from the Collection of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother is on display at the Queen's Gallery adjacent to Buckingham Palace until October 29, 2006. Dress for the Occasion, the largest exhibit ever of the Queen's formal gowns, will be on display in the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace until September 24, 2006. Eighty of her dresses, formal portraits of Her Majesty wearing the dresses, and royal jewelry, including Queen Mary's emeralds, are on display.
Clarence House, formerly home of the Queen Mother and now the London residence of Prince Charles. the Duchess of Cornwall, and his sons, is open to the public for guided tours till October 8, though it will be closed during the week of September 10-17. Tickets must be booked in advance, and you can do that online. (This link allows you to book tickets for
several other of the royal palaces amd both of the Queen's Galleries as well, including combination tickets for more than one.)
Still hankering for more royal places to see in London? The official web site of the city of London offers a nice guide to Royal London that includes information on where to find a list of shops that have been awarded the royal warrant, what restaurants the royals have been spotted dining in, information about the palaces and lesser sites with royal connections, and last but not least, the changing of the guard.
Windsor Castle is presently showing An Exhibtion of Photographs to Celebrate the 80th Birthday of HM the Queen, which runs till
March 11, 2007. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see it when we visited Windsor in March, since we were in the UK the week before it opened! Fortunately, there is a companion book that has been published by the Royal Collection: Queen Elizabeth: a Birthday Souvenir Album, by Jane Roberts. It's 6.59 pounds at Amazon UK, but if you can wait till September 30, it will be available in the US for $12.97.
The Queen's Gallery at The Palace of Holyroodhouse is showing Canaletto in Venice until January 6, 2007.
The Diana Garden and Nature Center is Paris' official memorial to the Princess of Wales. It consists of a classical French garden without any statues, photographs or monuments of her. It will undoubtedly be lovely when the plants become better established, since it was just dedicated on February 14, 2001. Created by Paris-Nature as a nature study center for inner-city children, the garden is planted with flowers, herbs and shrubs traditionally used for medicinal, textile, cooking and decorative purposes. It is in the Marais district at Clos des Blancs-Manteaux, 21 Rue des Blancs-Manteaux, 4th. It is free of charge and open on weekends and holidays from 1-5:30pm.
A collection
of memorabilia owned by a private collector is presently on loan to The Little
Feather
Interpretive
Center of Pipestone, Minnesota. The site is divided into viewing areas
for plates, dolls, books, photos, and
unusual items. If you decide to visit, admission is free and you can
also visit a Native American
Museum within the building.
denisem4@mail2princess.com
Copyright 1999-2006<
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Officially launched July 1, 1999 Updated August 20, 2006
Officially launched July 1, 1999 Updated August 20, 2006