Confessions of a Castleholic

After "The White Queen" comes "The White Princess": This time the adaptation of Philippa Gregory's novel focuses on Elizabeth of York and King Henry VII, first ruler of the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth, or Lizzie as she is known in the series that aired between April and June of this year, was the daughter, sister, niece, wife, mother and grandmother of successive Kings and Queens of England. Her marriage to King Henry VII was one of the final acts of the Wars of the Roses uniting the York and Lancastrian claims to the throne. Historically, Elizabeth didn’t play a very prominent role in the politics of the day and was more of a pawn in her mother Elizabeth’s (The White Queen's) games. "The White Princess" over the course of the series tweaks Lizzie into being the master of her own fate. While despising Henry in the beginning, she eventually falls in love - or at least grows to fondly appreciate - him. It's kind of a backwards love story th...

A guest post by Sophie.  In the South of England, in the county of Sussex, lies Arundel. In the village you find Arundel Castle. And that castle was the main reason of my road trip (aside from the Diana exhibition). My parents used to travel frequently to the UK before I was born, with family, friends or just the two of them. And Arundel Castle was a thing they always got back to, because they found it so beautiful. As a royal history buff and Castleholic I got only more intrigued. So now in 2017, after 35 years my mother last visited it, it was definitely time to cross the Channel and visit. Would it hold up, after all the stories of my parents? Would I enjoy it? Time to find out! But first a little history (I know, but hang on!). It is one of England's oldest castles, being established by William the Conquerors nephew Robert de Montgomery in 1068. William awarded his nephew for protecting his property in Normandy while he was busy conquering England and Wales. Robert ...

The becoming of Queen Elizabeth I - that's how you can best describe the plot of the movie "Elizabeth" starring Cate Blanchett released in 1998 and widely acclaimed. The story is a rather easy, yet bloody one: A young Elizabeth, after being imprisoned by her half-sister, becomes Queen of England at the age of 25 and she doesn't know what to do and who to trust while being thrust into the middle of a political and religious firestorm she doesn't quite understand. Having your father behead your mother and your sister as one of your biggest enemies also doesn't help with trusting people or having any education for the role you were never supposed to have to begin with. It's an interesting tale I have watched twice in my life - and started to watch it a couple of times inbetween - and while I have to say that I liked the portrayal of Elizabeth by Blanchett, the movie never really clicked with me. Was it due to the male roles in the movie? The arty prod...

While probably best known today as the home of some very prominent members of the British Royal Family, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as Prince Harry, Kensington Palace is also rich with royal history - and some parts are even open to the general public. The history of one of the homes of the Windsor family goes all the way back to King William III and Queen Mary II. Coming to the throne as joint monarchs in 1689, the couple soon looked for a residence away from the River Thames to help with William's fragile health. They found it in Nottingham House, a two-story Jacobean mansion built by Sir George Coppin in 1605 and at the time owned by Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham. They commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to carry out extensions of the house to provide accommodation for the royal household. To save time and money, four three-story pavilions were added at each of the house's corners. The royal court took residence in the palace shortly befo...

Well, one things is for sure: The coming Sunday nights won't be as royal as the past eight or so. The first season of ITV's Victoria just ended but luckily the show will return for a second season next year. I guess you are able to guess by now that I did enjoy season one very much. Admittedly, my expectations - as with any fictionalisation of actual historical persons - weren't very high, but even if they would have been, I don't think I would have been too disappointed. The first season follows the young Queen Victoria from when she takes the crown at 18, dealing with matters of the kingdom with the help of Prime Minister Lord Melbourne - no, I was never Team Vicbourne - and her eventual marriage to Prince Albert. It ends with the birth of the couple's first daughter. While I won't go into too much detail plot-wise, here are a few thoughts... Apart from a few aha moments, most of the downstairs storylines were a bit superfluous, as were the rats t...

Beautiful Blenheim - the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and the only non-royal residence in Great Britain to be called a palace. On my recent trip to London I also made it out to the English countryside to see the 187-rooms-home of the Duke of Marlborough, together with one of my favourite fellow castleholics The Lady & the Rose . The story of Blenheim Palace goes back all the way to the year 1705. A year prior, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough had led the English to a victory in the Battle of Blenheim during the War of the Spanish Succession. To thank him for his achievements, the Duke was given the park, Woodstock Manor and 240,000 pounds to build a palace for himself as a gift from Queen Anne and a grateful nation. The 1st Duke of Marlborough commissioned untrained architect Sir John Vanbrugh to draw up plans and works started in 1705. The Duke's choice of architect wasn't in favour of his wife's wishes and the two soon started disagreeing...