queen mary's fringe tiara
Royal Jewels

Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara

Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara is “formed from 47 graduated brilliant- and rose-set tapering bars, divided by 46 narrow spikes, set lozenge-fashion with nine graduated brilliants at the centre, diminishing to five at either side; de-mountable for use as a necklace.” The Fringe Tiara was made in 1919 for Queen Mary in the then-fashionable Russian kokoshnik [read more]

joanna la beltraneja
Joanna of Castile (1462 – 1530)

The Year of Isabella I of Castile – The rivalry with Joanna la Beltraneja (Part one)

The future Queen Isabella’s half-brother, King Henry IV of Castile,  married Joan of Portugal in May 1455, with the papal dispensation having arrived at the end of 1453, as the pair were first cousins. A copy of this dispensation was not found in the archives of the Vatican, although this does not necessarily prove it [read more]

royal inbreeding and other maladies juliana cummings
Book News

Book News Week 9 2024

*contains affiliate links* Book News week 9 – 26 February – 3 March 2024 Imperial Women of Rome: Power, Gender, Context Hardcover – 29 February 2024 (US) Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan  Hardcover –  27 February 2024 (US & UK) The Throne: 1,000 Years of British Coronations  Hardcover – 27 February 2024 (US) [read more]