Question: Court Mourning and Coronation planning

What is the mourning length the british government do have to wait when a monarch dies to crown the next king or queen? What are the steps to the next coronation please?

Thanks for your question.

There are four categories of mourning - general, court, service or family.

General Mourning: A period of mourning to be observed by the general public but nowadays usually restricted to the death of the Sovereign, lasting only a few days until the funeral. Formally adopted for other members of the royal family and sometimes lasting several weeks

Court Mourning. Observed by members of the Royal Family, Households of the Royal Family, The Queen's representatives both at home and abroad and their staffs. With instructions on dress codes and official and social engagements prescribed. But length of court mourning varies. In King George VI's case it lasted from his death, February 6th, 1952 until May 31, 1952.

Service mourning: Observed by the Armed Services on the death of the Sovereign

Family mourning Observed by the Royal Family and by Households of the royal family when in personal attendance only.

The length of mourning varies greatly. Queen Victoria practically made mourning into an art form, mourning her husband Prince Albert for 40 years. Mourning could go on for months, sometimes up to a year in the case of the death of a Sovereign, during which time the court would move through degrees of mourning (full to half-mourning) with strict provisions for appropriate attire and social engagements for both the royal court and for the public. At the time of Queen Victoria's death court mourning was prescribed to last until January 24, 1902. The public was directed to wear deep mourning until March 6th, 1901 and half-mourning until April 17, 1901.Nowadays the period is significantly reduced and the length of time for public mourning and appropriate attire is left up to the individual.

Funerals are arranged through the Lord Chamberlands office. Funerals of sovereigns are organized by the Earl Marshall who is also responsible for the Coronation arrangements. The coronation of the new Sovereign follows some months after his or her accession. The length of time vs the date of Coronation probably has more to do with the complex planning involved than with any particular period of mourning. Some examples of the length of time between accession and coronation are:

Queen Victoria: Acceded to the throne on June 20, 1837. Coronation held on June 28, 1838

King Edward VII : He became King upon the death of his mother, Queen Victoria on January 22, 1901. His Coronation was planned for June 26, 1902 but postponed to August 9, 1902 following an attack of appendicitis which required an emergency operation.

King George V: Date of accession May 6, 1910. Coronation June 22, 1911

King Edward VIII succeed to the throne on January 20, 1936. He abdicated while his coronation was being planned. The date for this was May 12, 1937. Upon his abdication on December 11, 1936, his younger brother became King George VI. Instead of postponing the coronation, the date was kept the same.

Queen Elizabeth II - Date of accession February 6, 1952. Date of Coronation June 2, 1953.

Examples of current length of royal mourning. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother died on March 30th, 2002. Her funeral on was on April 9th and members of the royal family observed mourning until April 19th. Her daughter, Princess Margaret, died on February 9th 2002 and mourning was observed from that date to the day of her funeral February 15, 2002.

As for the preparation surrounding coronations, the official site is your best resource.

For more information on Coronations, you might find the following book useful: Coronation: From the 8th to the 21st Century by Roy Strong

Thanks again for your question

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Report: Diana - Have we finally moved on?

On this episode I discussed the 11th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and whether people have finally moved on.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Books mentioned:

The People's Princess by Larry King
Diana by Sarah Bradford
The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown

Websites mentioned:

The World of Royalty Message Board

There will be no Royal Report on Sunday September 7th. The show will return on Sunday September 14th, 2008. Topic TBD.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Report: Review of the worst Official Royal Websites

On this episode I reviewed what I consider to be the worst official royal websites for Monaco, Belgium and Japan.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Good sites mentioned:

The Royal Representative
Forbes: The World's Richest Royals

Links for the worst sites:

Prince's Palace of Monaco
Official site for the Belgian Monarchy
The Imperial Household Agency Homepage

The next episode of The Royal Report will be on Sunday August 31st, 2008 9:00PM EST (North America)

The topic will be: This year will mark the 11th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Have we finally moved on?

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Report for Sunday August 17th, 2008: Review of the Official Scandinavian Royal Websites

On this episode I review the Official Sites for the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish monarchies. Included is a review of the official site for the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark.

You can listen to the show here.

Books mentioned in this podcast:

Queen Victoria A Biography in Word and Picture by Helmut and Alison Gernsheim

Anne & Mark: Photographs by Srdja Djukanovic Text by Judith Campbell

Splendour at Court: Dressing for Royal Occasions since 1700 by Nigel Arch and Joanna Marschner

Tune in to The Royal Report on Sunday August 24th, 2008 9:00PM EST.

The topic will be a review of the Official Royal Websites that I loathe.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Royal Profile: Raine Spencer

Headline-maker, society beauty, recording artist, television personality, politician, force of nature. Raine Spencer is all of these things. And it all started in the womb.

Raine McCorquodale was born on September 9, 1926 weighing 7lbs 10 3/4 oz. in London. She was the daughter of the famous romance novelist Barbara Cartland and her first husband, Alexander George McCorquodale an Army officer and heir to a printing fortune. Raine was destined for success from the moment she was born. 'When I was carrying my daughter, I was determined she should be beautiful and I not only looked at Beauty but thought it'. Barbara Cartland revealed. Her mother chose the Gaelic name Raine because she thought it sounded romantic. She was christened at St Margaret's Westminster. Schooled from birth on the importance of being socially acceptable, she was a society baby breathlessly written about in Vogue magazine, Glasgow Evening News, and The Daily News. At six months old she was diagnosed with a enlarged thymus gland. Her treatment was £15,000-worth of radium strapped to her chest while she slept.

Her parents divorced in 1936 and in the same year her mother remarried her former husband's cousin, Hugh McCorquodale, and they had two sons, Ian and Glen. Educated by a governess at home. During World War 2 she was briefly sent to Canada. When she returned, she became a weekly boarder at the fashionable Owlstone Croft School. Intelligent and at the top of her class she was known for paying a lot of attention to her appearance.

She came out as a debutante in 1947 at the Queen Charlotte Ball and she was voted 1947 Debutante of the year. She met Gerald Humphrey Legge, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Dartmouth (9th Earl of Dartmouth) when she was sixteen. They were married on July 21, 1948 at St Margaret's Westminster and honeymooned in France. Fifteen months after her marriage, Raine gave birth to her first child, a son William. She would have three more children, Rupert born in 1951, Charlotte in 1963 and Henry in 1968.

In 1954 she made headlines in a situation that would become known as 'the storm in a filthy teapcup' when in the lounge of London airport she noticed tables covered with dirty coffee cups and cigarette ash. After politely asking for the tables to be cleaned but having been given the run-around, she lost her temper. Her outburst made the headlines the following day. Her fifteen minutes of fame continued and she received innumerable invitations to judge appear at and open events. In March 1955 she made her television debut as a story-teller in a programme called Snapshot. She also made a record on the HMV label called 'I'm in Love' written by her mother Barbara Cartland with the proceeds going to charity.

Her television career continued in 1957 when she appeared with her mother and grandmother on an ITV programme called Success Story. In 1958 her husband became Viscount Lewisham and Raine became Lady Lewisham. In October 1962 Gerald and Raine became the Earl and Countess of Dartmouth. She continued to appear regularly on television shows and radio and in the press she was referred to as 'Lady D'.

Active in numerous organizations and Councils as well as holding positions in local politics, it was through her work on the Greater London Council book called What is our Heritage? that she would meet Johnnie Spencer. Edward "Johnnie" the 8th Earl Spencer, first husband of Frances Shand-Kydd and the father of Diana, Princess of Wales found he had much in common with Raine. Coincidently, during their schooldays at Eton, Johnnie Spencer and the Earl of Dartmouth had been good friends. In 1976 she divorced from Gerald, and two months after her divorce, on July 14th of the same year, Raine and Johnnie married in London's Caxton Hall. The marriage was not a popular one with his children, who knew nothing about it until after it happened. The would go on to famously nickname her 'Acid Raine'. She would eventually run further afoul of them when she sold treasures and art work that had belonged to the Spencer family for generations.
In 1978 Johnnie Spencer collapsed with a near fatal brain haemorrahage. He had a stroke and the prognosis was not good. But Raine refused to give up and she contacted everyone she knew with medical connections to find the best place for him to be treated. He remained in a coma for two months and remained in the hospital for two months longer. He eventually recovered well enough to walk his daughter down the aisle at her 1981 wedding.
After her husband's death in 1992, she married French aristocrat, Count Jean-Franois Pineton de Chambrun in 1993 after a 33 day courtship. They were divorced in January 1995.
Along with the aforementioned What is Our Heritage? She has written Do You Care About Historic Buildings? Are Historic Buildings Really Necessary? Japan and the East, Althorp - A Short History of Althorp and the Spencer Family in 1982 and The Spencers on Spas in 1983
She is a member of the board of directors of Harrods - the department store owned by Mohammed Al Fayed, the father of Dodi Al Fayed, who was killed in a car crash with Diana, Princess of Wales.
© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Report turns one!!

© Marilyn Braun 2008

I'm off to the Slushie Capital of Canada!

Yes, I'm off to Winnipeg, Manitoba - the Slushie and murder capital of Canada.

As such I won't be able to update this blog next week. But feel free to browse my archive (the friendly little drop down menu on the sidebar at left). There are lots of gems in there. Like some of the best things, sometimes you have to dig for them. But it's worth it, I promise!

Take care,

Marilyn

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Daily Splice Interview

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Daily Splice about The Royal Report.

Here's what they said on their site about this interview:

Marilyn Braun is one of Canada’s authorities on the Royal Family and has a blog that is a central resources for everything Royal. We had the pleasure of talking to her about her podcast, the Royal Report. It’s definitely a great podcast to add to your list on DailySplice if you love Royalty, or even if you are just interested in learning more. We hope you enjoy the interview!

Daily Splice is a program that allows users to create their own tailor-made “radio-program” using their favorite podcasts.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Princess Anne gets her due

She is an expert horsewoman and competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

She one of the hardest working members of the royal family.

But yet these accomplishments pale in comparison to one dress worn twice in 27 years. Princess Anne might have now wished that she'd kept it in the closet. Fashion has now threatened to overtake all of her hard work. All the years spent trying to work hard for crown and country. Becoming known as a clotheshorse, albeit an economical one, as opposed to being recognized for her hard work. She must be shaking her head.

Despite earning plaudits for wearing the same outfit, and fitting in to it, people still criticized her lack of imagination with accessorizing. Anne has never been known for her fashion sense. She never had the glamour of her mother circa 1950's, wasn't in the same league as Diana. And probably couldn't care less; which shows.

"Poor Princess Anne..she's eighteen and nobody thinks she's a pretty girl.." as one woman's fashion magazine commented at the time. Princess Anne would never fit the fairy-tale princess mould, regardless of the lack of options the royal family had at the time. It took Diana to fill that void. Princess Anne must have breathed a sigh of relief. There is then a sense of irony that fashion plate Diana would eventually want the focus taken off her own clothes in favor of serious causes. But that would be a decade later. In that time Anne had been working, behind the scenes, on her own causes for over 20 years, namely Save the Children. Had she looked like Diana we might have even heard about it.

It's nothing new for royal women to recycle outfits. Camilla was recently seen in the same outfit she wore on 60th and 61st birthdays. Look at the Queen's fashions over the last 30 years and you'd find some old favorites trotted out time and again. She may not have been the most fashionable person, but her clothes have never detracted from who she is or the work she does. Her regal personage transcends fashion. She has even inspired designers the Autumn/Winter Dolce & Gabbana Collection. And in 2007 she named one of the world's most glamorous women by British Vogue Magazine. All while never catering to the fickle fashionistas. Something Princess Anne can only dream about.

The Princess now treads a fine line between being a fashion icon and being a hard working royal. She can be one or the other, but it seems not both. Will she risk it again?

Royal watchers and fickle fashionistas await her choice.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Related Articles

In Royal Fashion
Royal Profile: The Princess Royal

The Royal Report: Is Kate destined to remain a royal wedding guest?

Kate has recently attended her second royal wedding this year, sparking fresh speculation on an engagement. Will Kate become a royal bride or is she destined to remain a royal wedding guest?

You can listen to the podcast here.

There will be no shows on Sunday August 3rd and August 10th, 2008.

Tune in to the next Royal Report on Sunday August 17th, 2008 9:00PM EST (North America).

Topic to be determined!

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Royal Recipe: Spaghetti Bolognese

6 - 8 oz spaghetti
Parmesan Cheese

For the Bolognese sauce:

1 can tomatoes
1 small can tomato puree
approx 6 oz minced beef
2 oz mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 pint good brown stock
2 oz butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, shreaded
1/2 - 1 clove of garlic (optional)
seasoning

Heat the butter in the pan, crush the garlic and gently fry it for 4-5 minutes along with the onion, mushrooms and carrot. Add the tomato puree and cook for a minute. Now stir in the minced beef and continue cooking until done. Add the stock and tomatoes, season to taste, and simmer until the sauce thickens.

The spaghetti should be cooked in briskly boiling salted water. Strain it and pour the sauce over it. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Source: Dinner at Buckingham Palace Page 66.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Report for Sunday July 20th, 2008: Should Chelsy Davy check herself before she wrecks herself?

The topic will be: Some recent photos of Chelsy Davy have appeared in the media showing her looking less than sober with her friends. Should she 'check herself before she wrecks herself?' or should we just mind our own business?

You can listen to the podcast here.

Tune in live to the next Royal Report on Sunday July 27th, 2008 9:00PM EST (North America).

The topic will be: Kate Middleton recently attended her second royal wedding this year, increasing speculation on an engagement. But will Kate Middleton ever be a royal bride or is she destined to remain a royal wedding guest?

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Royal Recipe: Bread and Butter Pudding

3 slices thin bread and butter
2 oz currants or sultanas
1 egg
1/2 pint milk
1/2 oz sugar
nutmeg

Grease a pie dish with butter and place it in a layer of bread and butter (butter side up), which has been cut into neat strips. Sprinkle with fruit and sugar. On top of this place another layer of bread and butter strips, and sprinkle them similarly. Continue until all has been used, remembering not to put fruit on the top layer.

Beat the egg and then add the milk, which should have been heated almost to boiling point. Strain this mixture over the bread, then grate the nutmeg over it. Allow to stand for 1/2 hour to allow the bread to swell. Now bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, until the pudding has set firm and is evenly browned on top.

Source: Dinner at Buckingham Palace page 170

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Report for Sunday July 13th, 2008: A review of official British royal websites

On this episode I reviewed the official websites for the British monarchy, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and Prince Michael of Kent.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Tune in live to the next Royal Report on Sunday July 20th, 2008 9:00PM EST (North America).

The topic will be: Some recent photos of Chelsy Davy have appeared in the media showing her looking less than sober with her friends. Should she 'check herself before she wrecks herself?' or should we just mind our own business?

© Marilyn Braun 2008

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at Chelsy Davy

I'm not normally one to pay too much attention to Chelsy Davy. Nor am I one to defend her. The way I figure it, in a few years she will be a footnote in royal girlfriend history. People who think she will be a royal bride are deluding themselves. No amount of rebranding will change that. But that's just my opinion. She could stand the test of time for all we know. I highly doubt it.

A recent post on the World of Royalty blog links to a story called Is this how a princess should behave? The article features photos of Chelsy being, well, the Chelsy the media presents to us: party-hearty, university student, whooping it up, cigarette and drink in hand. With nary Prince Harry in sight, looking less than sober, she is photographed on a man's shoulders, sitting in a tree, laughing and kissing one of her friends. A good time was obviously had by all. Until these photos were published.

It's nothing new to see photos of Chelsy looking bleary-eyed. For everything positive said about Kate Middleton, Chelsy is criticized. Maybe my opinion on Chelsy comes from these stories. Chelsy could be the most wonderful person in the world but you wouldn't know it by the press coverage she gets. The 'fag-smoking South African boozer' torn down by the media then raised up when she looks sober. A dizzying and humiliating roller-coaster. Chelsy must love Prince Harry in order to put up with it.

Is this how a princess should behave? Let's not forget that she's not a princess. Yet. Neither is Kate Middleton. Would we have seen photos of Princess Elizabeth, Princess Alexandra, Princess Anne or even Diana partying it up? Nope. In Princess Margaret's day, her long cigarette holders, 'racy' attitude, and heady romances was seen as scandalous. But this is a different generation. One filled with unscrupulous friends and camera phones. Now we're all flies on the wall.

Enjoy the show, from your glass house, while it lasts.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Royal Recipe: Soupe à l'Oignon

3 large onions
2 oz butter
2 oz cheese, grated
1 heaped teaspoon plain flour
1 teaspoon castor sugar
2 - 2 1/2 pints of water
French bread slices
seasoning

Slice the onions into thin rings. In a thick pan, heat the butter then add the onion rings and season well. Keep stirring carefully over a medium heat, taking care not to burn the onions, until their color changes to golden brown. This should take at least 20 minutes. Next, steadily add the flour, stirring all the time. Pour in the water and sugar, and allow the pan to simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Spread the slices of French bread with a thin layer of butter and then evenly cover them with grated cheese. Now arrange them in a hot soup tureen and carefully pour in the soup. Cover the tureen and keep it warm for 5 minutes before serving.

Variations:

Sieve the onions before pouring the soup into the tureen.

Evenly brown the bread and cheese beneath a hot grill before placing in the tureen.

Use vegetable stock instead of water and good dripping instead of butter.

From the book: Dinner at Buckingham Palace Page 41

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Royal Review - Diana Princess of Wales by Mario Testino

If you follow the life of Diana you've no doubt seen at least one photo from this, her last, photo session. Maybe you first saw them in the Vanity Fair issue, or you were lucky enough to see the exhibit at Kensington Palace. If, like me, you didn't then Diana: Princess of Wales by Mario Testino will make up for it.

I love royal books with pictures in them. To me, a photo can tell more fascinating stories than any rehashed royal anecdote. And I can spend hours looking at them and still discover something new, whether it'd be a rarely seen brooch, to a redesigned outfit, to Victorian royal photos that show relationships before they were destroyed by World War One. Sometimes words get in the way.

This book is not new. And I'd held out buying it, possibly because I didn't want to see the new Diana, whose face had taken on a hard and rather high maintenance look. But for some inexplicable reason I was compelled to buy it now. Although it isn't new, the photographs are still as fresh and revealing as they were 10 years ago. Their naturalness transending the normal dating effects of fashion and hairstyle trends.

In her life she was photographed by many of the worlds reknowed photographers: Snowdon Patrick Lichfield, Patrick Demarchier, Terrence Donovan, Jayne Fincher, Tim Graham, and she looked different in each one. But I'm at a loss to find, amongst any of their photos, ones as iconic as Mario Testino's session. And had this session been photographed by anyone else, I highly doubt they would have produced such compelling images. The photos were taken to support the sale of her dresses, two sessions, one with Snowdon for the catalogue, the other with Testino for Vanity Fair, and there is a marked difference. Diana looks stiff and uncomfortable in the Snowdon session. Indeed, when my husband saw some of the Snowdon photos he asked: "Is that really her?"

To Prince William and Prince Harry the Testino photos definately are. They personally chose photos from this session for the Concert for Diana programme and have said that the photos represent most accurately the mother they really knew. There can be no better endorsement than that.

© Marilyn Braun 2008

The Royal Report for Sunday July 6th, 2008: What gives better value? The British Monarchy or Starbucks Coffee?

A recent report revealed that the British monarchy costs taxpayers 66 pence per year (or about $1.79 CDN). Less than the cost of an iPOD download or a cup of Starbucks coffee. Are they worth it? Would you sacrifice a cup of coffee to pay for them? What gives better value, a Starbucks coffee or the British Monarchy?

You can listen to the podcast here.

Tune in live to the next Royal Report on Sunday July 13th, 2008 9:00PM EST (North America). The topic will be a review of the Official royal websites. The best ones, the worst ones, which ones to avoid. Which ones do you think are the best?

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Question: Princess Diana's wedding bouquet

Do you happen to know how much Princess Diana's wedding bouquet weighed? My sister had an exact replica of her bouquet for her wedding. I was only 13 at the time but i recall it being extremely heavy.

Thank you for your question.

The wedding bouquet that Diana, Princess of Wales carried for her wedding in 1981 was made by Longmans Florists, who also designed and made the bouquet for the Queen when she married in 1947. The bouquet was a gift from the Worshipful Company of Gardeners.

The bouquet, 42" long and 15" wide, was of a cascading shower design similar to those from Edwardian times. It set a trend for wedding bouquets which up to that point at been comparably small. The designers of her wedding dress, David and Elizabeth Emanuel wanted Diana to have a large bouquet, as a small one would have obviously been dwarfed by the size of her dress. The flowers that comprised the bouquet were:

Gardenias
Stephanotis
Freesia
Odontoglossum Orchid (Royal Wedding)
Lily of the Valley
Earl Mountbatten Roses
Hedera (Ivy)
Tradescantia
Myrtle
Veronica (Hebe)

It's worth noting that it is a royal wedding tradition for a sprig of myrtle, from the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet, to be included. The Earl of Mountbatten roses were a tribute to Prince Charles' "Uncle Dickie" Lord Louis Mountbatten, who had died in 1979. The yellow color of the rose incidentally inspired the bridesmaid dresses.

Three bouquets were made, one for the practice the night before the wedding, the second was delivered to St. James' Palace. The third was taken to Buckingham Palace on the day of the wedding and used for the formal photographs. As per royal wedding tradition, at least one of them would have been placed after the wedding on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

Unfortunately, the Longman family sold their business a few years ago so there's no way to ask them about the specific weight. But according to the press release for the wedding bouquet: 'It is well balanced,and although heavier than most carried nowadays the distribution should not be too tiresome for the Bride.'

Whatever the weight, lets hope there was no bouquet toss; she could have seriously injured someone in the process!

Update: I was able to find out the information on the weight of the bouquet. It weighed approximately between 2-3 kilo's. Thank you to Yoko Hansen for providing this info!

© Marilyn Braun 2008

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.

Bouquet Information Source:

A Dress for Diana by David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel

Related article:

Royal Weddings

Royal Review - Royal Collection Publications

On of my dreams in life is to sneak into the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, specifically to see all of the old photographs and mementos from significant events in the last 150 years. While that's never likely to happen, the following books are probably the closest I'll ever get to seeing the inside. The Royal Collection has released many interesting books but I think these stand out as more personal and accessible.

Charles, Prince of Wales: A Birthday Souvenir Album. Released in May 2008 this book is a companion to the exhibit at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the upcoming 60th birthday of The Prince of Wales. This book is a portrait of the prince from his earliest years to the present day, it features mementos, never before seen items and rare photographs. It is divided into sections: Early Years, Prince of Wales, Family Life, and Interests and Charities. It also includes nice personal touches with comments from Prince Charles on his favorite works of art, all personally selected for inclusion in this book.

Five Gold Rings - A Royal Wedding Souvenir Album. Published to mark the Diamond wedding anniversary of the Queen and Prince Philip. A first for any British Sovereign. Of all of the books, this one is my favorite. I love royal weddings and to have an insight from the royal family is indeed a treat. Covering weddings from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II it features photos of the wedding dresses, music, illustrations, invitations, presents, jewels and charming mementos evoking memories of these special days.


Noble Hounds and Dear Companions from the Royal Photograph Collection. I admit that I'm not a dog person, I bought this book strictly for the old photographs. It features the pets of each monarch from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II. It is interesting to see the royal family in unguarded moments with their pets. The warmth of the relationship clearly evident through the generations. The cover photo is a good example of this. But there's also a certain sad poignancy to this particular photograph; can you imagine the future King George V looking at one of his children this way? Unlike the other books, which rely on mementos to tell the story, this one covers the topic in great detail, with descriptions of each monarch's favorite pets and breed preference at the end.

Queen Elizabeth II - A Birthday Souvenir Album. Released to celebrate the 80th birthday of Her Majesty. Unlike the book to celebrate Prince Charles' birthday, this is less personal but no less interesting. The book starts with a news clipping from the April 21st, 1926 Court Circular, which announces her birth, matter-of-factly, in one sentence. An unremarkable start to a royal life that would be anything but. Instead of page numbers, each year has pages to itself, starting with 1926 and ending with 2006. The book is filled with charming items: christening gifts, dolls, letters, her account of the 1937 Coronation ceremony, ration card, ATS uniform, to name a few. In the later years the items become less personal. Which I think strikes a balance between the person and her role. Something which very few (if any) other publications have achieved.

© Marilyn Braun 2008