DOCSLIB.ORG

Childhood and Teenage Years

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Childhood and Teenage Years Special Topic Mag. Gross By Astrid Horejs June 2000 0 Childhood and teenage years Diana, Princess of Wales, formerly Lady Diana Frances Spencer, was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House near Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the youngest daughter of the then Viscount and Viscountess Althorp. Diana's childhood had been overshadowed by her parents' broken marriage. She was only six, living with two sisters and a brother on the royal family's Sandringham estate in eastern England when her mother Frances left home in a society scandal involving a messy custody battle. Earl Spencer later married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth in 1976. Together with her two elder sisters Sarah (born 1955), Jane (born 1957) and her younger brother Charles (born 1964), Lady Diana continued to live with her father at Park House, Sandringham, until the death of her grandfather, the 7th Earl Spencer. In 1975, the family moved to the Spencer family house at Althorp, in Northamptonshire, in the English Midlands. Lady Diana was educated first at a preparatory school, Riddlesworth Hall at Diss, Norfolk, and then in 1974 went as a boarder to West Heath, near Sevenoaks, Kent. At school she showed a particular talent for music, dancing and domestic science, and gained the school's award for the girl giving maximum help to the school and her schoolfellows. She left West Heath in 1977 and went to finishing school at the Institute Alpine Videmanette in Rougemont, Switzerland, which she left after the Easter term of 1978. The following year she moved to a flat in Coleherne Court, London. For a while she looked after the child of an American couple, and she worked as a kindergarten teacher at Young England School in Pimlico. The Wedding It was officially announced on February 24, 1981 that Lady Diana would marry The Prince of Wales, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is heir apparent to the throne. The Prince was born at Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948. Their families had known each other for years and The Prince and Lady Diana had met again when he was invited to a weekend at Althorp. They were married in St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981. The 1 ceremony drew a world-wide audience of over 1,000 million people. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the route from Buckingham Palace to the Cathedral. Princess Diana was the first Englishwomen to marry a heir to the throne for 300 years. Princess Diana wore a silk taffeta dress with a 25 foot train designed by the Emanuals. Her veil was held in place by the Spencer Family diamond tiara. Her bouquet was of gardenias, lilies of the valley, white freesia, golden roses, white orchids and stephanotis. There were five bridesmaids. Honeymoon The Prince and Princess of Wales spent their first part of their honeymoon at the Mountbatten family home at Broadlands, Hampshire. Afterwards the pair of newlyweds flew to Gibraltar to join the Royal Yacht HMY BRITANNIA. The yacht embarked on a 12 day cruise through the Mediterranean to Egypt. Their honeymoon ended with a stay at Balmoral. Marriage After the marriage the Prince and Princess of Wales lived primarily at Highgrove house near Tetbury, Gloucestershire. They also shared an apartment at Kensington Palace. In the early years of her own marriage, Diana outshone her husband on every royal occasion, drawing the attention of the crowds and the focus of the cameras. But privately she was in despair over her disintegrating marriage and a husband whose affections still belonged to another woman, Camilla Parker Bowles, and who was envious of her fame. As far as Queen Elizabeth was concerned, Diana's duty was to remain silent, accepting with dignity the traditions of royalty that have long sanctioned male infidelity. The wife's reward was in the privileges and celebrity royalty offered. But Diana was a modern woman with romantic notions about her marriage. She fought back. In November 1995, after being married for 14 years, Diana gave a television interview, without the knowledge of her advisers or even the queen, in which she broke the cherished royal tradition of reserve and set out her demands for her future as an ex-royal. She gave an anguished account of her suffering over her husband's undying passion for Parker Bowles. Diana told how, in her unhappiness, she had developed the eating disorder bulimia nervosa and described the aides of the royal family as her enemies. 2 After her separation from The Prince, the Princess continued to appear with the Royal family on major national occasions, such as the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) and VJ (Victory over Japan) Days in 1995. FEHLT WAS Their Children Prince William Arthur Philip Louis was born on 21 June 1982 at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, in London. Prince William began his education at Mrs Mynor's Nursery School in west London. Prince William is currently at Eton College, Windsor, where he will study geography, biology and history of art at A Level. Prince William is a keen sportsman and prefers football, rugby, tennis, swimming and water polo. He has acted in school plays, and enjoys reading and film- going. Prince William's first public appearance was on a visit to Wales on St David's Day (1 March), at a service at Llandaff Cathedral, aged 8. Prince William does not yet carry out public engagements on his own. Prince Henry Charles Albert David was born on 15 September 1984 at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington. In September, Prince Harry started at Eton College, Windsor. Public role After her marriage, The Princess of Wales quickly became involved in the official duties of the Royal family. Her first tour with The Prince was a three-day visit to Wales in October 1981. Official overseas visits undertaken with The Prince include Australia, Brazil, India, Canada, Nigeria, Cameroon, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal and Japan. Their last joint overseas visit was to South Korea in 1992. The Princess's first official visit overseas on her own was in September 1982, when she represented The Queen at the state funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco. 3 The Princess visited afterwards many countries on her own including Germany, the United States, Pakistan, Switzerland, Hungary, Egypt, Belgium, France, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nepal. The Princess was best known for her charitable work. During her marriage, the Princess was president or patron of over 100 charities. The Princess did much to publicise work on behalf of homeless and also disabled people, children and people with HIV/Aids. Following her divorce, the Princess resigned from most of her work for charity. The Princess remained as patron of Centrepoint (homeless charity), English National Ballet, Leprosy Mission and National Aids Trust, and as President of the Hospital for Sick Children. In June 1997, the Princess attended receptions in London and New York as previews of the sale of a number of dresses and suits worn by her on official engagements, with the proceeds going to charity. Her last official engagement in Britain was on 21 July, when she visited Northwick Park Hospital, London (children's accident and emergency unit). In the year before her death, the Princess was an active campaigner for a ban on the manufacture and use of land mines. In January 1997, she visited Angola as part of her campaign. in June, the Princess spoke at the landmines conference at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The Princess's last public engagements were during her visit to Bosnia from 7 to 10 August, when she visited landmine projects in Travnic, Sarajevo and Zenezica. Dodi and Diana He lived like a prince and died at the side of a princess Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi, the film producer son of Mohammed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods luxury department store and the exclusive Ritz hotel in Paris, were spotted on several occasions amid the yachts and palaces owned by the Egyptian family. Diana, 36, whose father is a personal friend of Mohammed Al Fayed, met Dodi, 41, some ten years ago, at Windsor, during a polo match. The photographs were the first evidence of a relationship between Diana and another man since her divorce from Prince Charles in August 1996 -- and rocketed the 42-year-old Al Fayed to the status of international celebrity. Despite his rich friends and lavish lifestyle, friends said Al Fayed was very quiet, even aloof at times -- a tabloid unknown until the British press published the photographs of him with Princess Diana. 4 The tabloids charted their travels aboard his father's $32 million yacht and speculated about the possibility of the Egyptian becoming the stepfather to the future King of England. London tabloids have described Al Fayed as a handsome playboy with a love of fast cars and beautiful women. Al Fayed was a graduate of the British Army's elite Sandhurst military Academy and once served as a junior officer in London for the United Arab Emirates. Diana took her two sons, Princes William and Harry to spend part of their summer holidays at one of the Al Fayeds' holiday homes in the exclusive resort of Saint-Tropez, in the south of France. the couple were subjected to the constant flash of the media glare and the pages of the international press were filled with photographs of Dodi and Diana. Every move was snapped up by the press: the couple relaxing in bright sunshine, dipping into the blue Mediterranean sea and sharing intimate moments at the Paris Ritz.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Household of Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (From 1820, Queen) 1795-1821
    Household of Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales (from 1820, Queen) 1795-1821 At their marriage in 1795, £12,253 per annum was set aside out of the Prince of Wales’s newly augmented revenue for the household expenses of Caroline, Princess of Wales. In 1820 she accepted the Crown’s offer of £50,000 per annum in return for leaving the country.1 1. E. A. Smith, George IV [New Haven, 1999], p. 78; NDNB. Council Attorney General c. 1821 By 1821 Brougham, H. Solicitor General c. 1821 By 1821 Denman, T. Chamber and Bedchamber Chamberlain c. 1796-c. 1801; c. 1817-1820 By 1796 Cholmondeley, 4th Earl of By 1817 Craven, Hon. K. Secretary to the Lord Chamberlain c. 1796-c. 1801 By 1796 Brent, T. Vice Chamberlain c. 1796-1821 There appear to have been two vice chamberlains by the end of Caroline’s life. By 1796 Thomas, C. N. By 1809 St. Leger, A. By 1821 Craven, Hon. K. By 1821 Gell, Sir W. Pages of the Presence Chamber c. 1796-1820 Two pages of the Presence Chamber were appointed by 1796. One served c. 1801-c. 1808, two again thereafter. By 1796 Clark, J. By 1796 Strikeman, J. By 1808 Roberts, S. [Keeper of the] Privy Purse c. 1795-c. 1799; c. 1801-1820 By 1796 Vanneck, -- By 1801 Hayman, -- Ladies of the Bedchamber c. 1795-1821 Three ladies of the Bedchamber were appointed by 1795. Their number went down to two by 1801, but rose again to three by 1809, four c. 1814-c.
    [Show full text]
  • George Bush Presidential Library Records on the Royal Family of the United Kingdom
    George Bush Presidential Library 1000 George Bush Drive West College Station, TX 77845 phone: (979) 691-4041 fax: (979) 691-4030 http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu [email protected] Inventory for FOIA Request 2017-1750-F Records on the Royal Family of the United Kingdom Extent 106 folders Access Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Bush Presidential Records, Bush Vice Presidential Records, and Quayle Vice Presidential Records is governed by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)(5 USC 552 as amended) and the Presidential Records Act (PRA)(44 USC 22) and therefore records may be restricted in whole or in part in accordance with legal exemptions. Copyright Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States government as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Researchers are advised to consult the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, USC) which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Provenance Official records of George Bush’s presidency and vice presidency are housed at the George Bush Presidential Library and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA). Processed By Staff Archivists, November 2017. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released. System of Arrangement Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in five collection areas—Bush Presidential Records: WHORM Subject Files; Bush Presidential Records: Staff and Office Files; Bush Vice Presidential Records: Staff and Office Files; and Quayle Vice Presidential Records: Staff and Office Files.
    [Show full text]
  • Biography.Pdf
    PAUL BURRELL Over the course of 21 years, Paul Burrell rose from member of the Royal household staff to personal attendant to the Queen of England and then butler to the Prince and Princess of Wales. Ultimately, he became the trusted personal assistant and confidante to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. In 2003, he published his autobiography, A Royal Duty, which included his personal account of his Royal service and his close friendship with the late princess, who was arguably one of the world’s most popular and beloved public figures. This book was a London and New York Times number 1 best seller and sold in excess of 3 million copies worldwide. His next book, The Way We Were – Remembering Diana, was also a best seller throughout the world. In 21 years of service to the British Royal family, Paul Burrell worked closely in and around some of the most beautiful homes and palaces in England. In actuality, his travels included far more than Great Britain and Europe, as his years of service gave him first‐hand experience of the most interesting houses in virtually every corner of the world. His exposure to fine homes, priceless art collections and furnishings has provided Burrell with all manner of expertise and he has become a taste arbiter and expert in food, wines, furnishings, flower arranging, etiquette and entertaining, especially in the English style. “During my 21 years of service to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, I have been fortunate to witness the ultimate in stylish and elegant entertaining, from private and intimate family occasions at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace and the Royal Yacht Britannia to grand and lavish State Banquets for presidents, kings and queens.
    [Show full text]
  • THE PRINCE of WALES and the DUCHESS of CORNWALL Background Information for Media
    THE PRINCE OF WALES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL Background Information for Media May 2019 Contents Biography .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Seventy Facts for Seventy Years ...................................................................................................... 4 Charities and Patronages ................................................................................................................. 7 Military Affiliations .......................................................................................................................... 8 The Duchess of Cornwall ............................................................................................................ 10 Biography ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Charities and Patronages ............................................................................................................... 10 Military Affiliations ........................................................................................................................ 13 A speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the "Our Planet" premiere, Natural History Museum, London ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Address by HRH The Prince of Wales at a service to celebrate the contribution
    [Show full text]
  • Public Image and Political Influence of Princess Charlotte and Queen Adelaide
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2003 Reform, Radicalism, and Royalty: Public Image and Political Influence of Princess Charlotte and Queen Adelaide Eileen Robin Hintz College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the European History Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Hintz, Eileen Robin, "Reform, Radicalism, and Royalty: Public Image and Political Influence of Princess Charlotte and Queen Adelaide" (2003). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626412. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-ehge-1b89 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. REFORM, RADICALISM, AND ROYALTY: Public Image and Political Influence of Princess Charlotte and Queen Adelaide A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Eileen Hintz 2003 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Eileen Hintz Approved by the Committee, December 2003 _ ___ James McCord Chandos Brown ff — Gilbert McArthur TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS v ABSTRACT vi INTRODUCTION 2 CHAPTER I. THE DEATH OF PRINCESS CHARLOTTE [NOVEMBER 1817] 6 CHAPTER II.
    [Show full text]
  • 8.Mod Eng.Geoiv.11.27.18X.Key
    Victorian England Week Eight Monday Nov 28, 2018 Institute for the Study of Western Civilization King George IV George Prince of Wales Aug 12, 1762 (St James Palace) June 26, 1830 (Windsor) Buried, St Georges Chapel Windsor King George IV, 1762-1830 1762 born first son to K Geo III & Queen Charlotte (15 children) 1783 age 21 gets own home: Carleton House (spends a fortune on it) 1783 meets and falls in love with widow Mrs. Maria Fitzherbert (RC) 1795 debts drowning him, K. Geo III offers money if he marries. 1795 Geo marries Princess Caroline of Brunswick dislikes her on sight. (said she smelled bad, Geo VERY fastidious, Caroline sloppy) 1796 Jan 7 birth of Princess Charlotte (d. 1817) 9 months aft wedding 1800 return of Mrs. Fitzherbert in life of the Prince of wales 1800 Napoleon triumphant takeover of French gov. "First Counsel" 1805 Battle of Trafalgar Adm Horatio Nelson killed at battle. 1810 War in Spain (Wellington) 1810-1811 final insanity of Geo III, Regents Bill in Parliament, 1814 defeat and abdication of Napoleon 1816 marriage of Princess Charlotte to Leopold of Saxe-Coburg 1817 death of Princess Charlotte and her baby. 1815-1820 exile abroad of Princess of Wales Caroline. 1820 death of Geo III, Caroline returns to Eng. War betw K & Q of Eng 1821 July coronation of K. Geo IV, Aug death of Queen Caroline. 1820-1830 reign of King George IV, death of K Geo IV 1830. There were many who did not mourn his passing. "The London Times opined, perhaps rather harshly, that "there never was an individual less regretted by his fellow low-creatures than this deceased King." Prince George’s personality and his interaction with siblings.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Killed Diana, and Why?
    Who Killed Diana, and Why? Citizens Electoral Council of Australia Letter of Transmittal Spurred by grief and anger at the suffering she wit- the many, not the few”, con- nessed during her crusade against landmines, shortly be- fronting the harm done to the fore her death Diana, Princess of Wales had compiled a population by the country’s large file on the British arms trade. She claimed the dos- most powerful institutions. sier “would prove that the British government and many In recent times the most fa- high-ranking public figures were profiting” from this busi- mous other person to as- ness, a confidante recorded.1 “The names and compa- sume the role of a Tribune of nies were well-known. It was explosive. And top of her the People was Diana, who list of culprits … was the Secret Intelligence Service, the had frightened the Establish- SIS [MI6]…. ‘I’m going to go public with this and I’m go- ment not only by speaking out ing to name names’, she declared. She intended to call about the cruelty of her hus- her report ‘Profiting Out of Misery’.” Diana was well po- band and in-laws, but also by Craig Isherwood sitioned to know: Her ex-husband Prince Charles had radiating kindness and com- CEC National Secretary concluded all the later stages of the infamous al-Yama- passion for ordinary people. mah arms deal—the largest in history—which PM Mar- Though she and Corbyn are of different backgrounds, garet Thatcher struck with the Saudis in 1985. Funds there are clear similarities between the ideals and cour- from al-Yamamah were used to finance the rise of both age of each, not least in their campaigns against the mur- al-Qaeda and ISIS.2 derous arms trade and its terrorist progeny.
    [Show full text]
  • The World's Top Conspiracy Theories
    The world’s top conspiracy theories The death of Diana The first Diana Conspiracy Site appeared on the Internet in Australia only hours after her death on August 31st, 1997. Since then an estimated 36,000 Diana conspiracy websites have been set up – breathtaking by anyone’s standards. Hypotheses range from pure James Bond (‘it was all an MI6 plot to protect the monarchy’) to farce (‘it was a fiendish murder plot thought up by the world’s florists to sell lots of flowers’). And most popular of all, Diana, Princess of Wales, isn’t dead after all – that terrible car crash in Paris was an elaborate hoax to enable the Princess and Dodi Fayed to fake their own deaths so that they could live in blissful isolation for the rest of their lives. Subscribers to this theory say that Diana was fed up with the intrusions into her private life and used the wealth and resources of the Fayed family to fake her death, and now she and Dodi are living on a small tropical island, communicating with her sons by satellite video conferencing. Think about it, they say, we never actually saw her body, did we? Headway Fourth edition Upper-Intermediate Student’s Book Unit 4 pp.34–35 © Oxford University Press 2014 1 You don’t buy into any of these theories? Don’t worry. There are plenty more to choose from. For example, Paul Burrell, Diana’s former butler, claims that the Princess predicted her own death in a car crash. Apparently, she was so frightened that ten months before her death she wrote to Burrell saying that a plot was being hatched by a member of the Royal family and her car’s brakes would be tampered with and she would suffer serious head injuries.
    [Show full text]
  • The Real Place of a Princess: Public Response
    The Real Place of a Princess: Public Response Lobna M. Shaddad, PhD1 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Available Online April 2014 The late Princess Diana of Wales (1961-1997) is one of the leading figures Key words: in the twentieth century. She used her fame as a British royal member to Humanitarianism; shed light on important humanitarian issues such as helping the homeless Princess Diana; people, fighting against AIDS, donating money to cancer patients, public response; supporting diseased children, and banning landmines. Her life has proven Princess Diana’s real place. that she is one of the few celebrities who care for people; especially those in dire need. This is why she earned titles like ‘queen of people’s hearts’, ‘people’s princess’ and ‘England’s rose’. Diana’s death in a car accident has shocked the world and put it in great grief. The accident is considered by her public to be a terrible tragedy. This paper attempts to shed light on the emotional response that followed the princess’s death by studying twenty poems that were produced after her sudden death. Such poems reflect the huge influence that Princess Diana had and still has till this moment on the British way of life and thinking. The poems also assure that the real place of Diana is in her people’s hearts and memories. They also make it obvious that the sky is a better place for her; to be away from oppression and suffering. This paper will also apply the five stages of grief introduced by the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross to the poems in order to uncover the reasons behind giving Princess Diana such saint-like position by the public.
    [Show full text]
  • Kydd Free Encyclopedia
    FREE KYDD PDF Julian Stockwin | 448 pages | 11 Oct 2004 | Hodder & Stoughton General Division | 9780340837818 | English | London, United Kingdom Kydd Series | Julian Stockwin Julian Stockwin born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England is an author of historical action-adventure fiction. Born inStockwin soon developed a love for the sea, having an uncle, Tom Clay, who was a seaman in square-rigged ships and had sailed around Cape Horn in the Cutty Sark. After grammar school, his father sent him to sea-training school at Indefatigable at age Kydd joined the Royal Navy at 15 and transferred to the Royal Australian Kydd when his family emigrated. Stockwin attended Kydd University of Tasmania to read Far Eastern studies and psychology. He did post-graduate work in cross-cultural psychology. He got involved in the manufacture and design of computers and Kydd development. Kydd returned to the United Kingdom in and started to write in He currently resides in IvybridgeDevon. From Wikipedia, Kydd free encyclopedia. Julian Stockwin. Archived from Kydd original on December 31, Retrieved Archived from the original on Historic Naval Fiction. Retrieved 27 Mar Categories : births Living people 21st-century British novelists British historical novelists Nautical historical novelists People from Basingstoke People from Ivybridge British male novelists 21st-century British male writers. Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit Kydd history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload Kydd. Download as Kydd Printable version. Historical action-adventure. Kydd A wig maker from Guildford, Thomas Kydd finds himself pressed into the service of the Crown as a landsman. Now berthed in ArtemisKydd journeys Kydd the Pacific and China.
    [Show full text]
  • Not So Sweet Caroline
    “judge what it was to have a drunken husband on one’s wedding day, and one who passed the greatest part of his bridal night under the grate, where he fell, and where i left him.” leslie carroll examines the malodorous mésalliance of caroline of brunswick and king george iv Not so sweet Caroline arris, i am not well, get me a princesses were deemed eligible, and most of glass of brandy,” the Prince of them were to be found amid the tiny German Wales said curtly. James Harris, duchies. “One damned German frau is as the Earl of Malmesbury, good as another,” George insisted, informing embarrassed for both Caroline and the his father “very abruptly” in August 1794 HPrince, diplomatically endeavoured to that he had “broken all connections with smooth things over. “Sir, had you not better Mrs Fitzherbert” and was ready to begin “a have a glass of water?” more creditable line of life” by marrying the “No,” the Prince replied, adding an oath Princess of Brunswick. presumably too crude for Malmesbury to That autumn the Earl of Malmesbury record in his diary. “I will go directly to the was dispatched to Brunswick, charged Queen.” George then turned on his heels and with escorting Caroline to England. His strode out of the room without another word. diary entry describes her “pretty face – not The astonished 26-year-old Caroline expressive of softness – her figure not graceful of Brunswick, first cousin to the Prince of – fine eyes – tolerable teeth, but going – Wales, inquired of Malmesbury (in French): fair hair and light eyebrows, good bust “My God! Is the Prince always like that? I – short, with what the French call épaules find him very fat and nothing as handsome impertinentes [broad shoulders]… Vastly as his picture.” happy with her future expectations…” The royal match, made first in haste and However, Malmesbury quickly realised then in Hanover, might just as well have that Caroline was thoroughly unsuited to begun in Hell.
    [Show full text]
  • Rediscovering Queen Alexandra's Wardrobe
    Rediscovering Queen Alexandra’s Wardrobe: The Challenges and Rewards of Object-Based Research. BY KATE STRASDIN Alexandra, born a princess of Denmark, married Queen Victoria’s eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1863. She became an iconic Princess of Wales whose position was central to the reinvigoration of the British monarchy in the second half of the nineteenth century. She was not permitted a public voice and so used dress instead as a means of controlling perceptions of her royal self. Aware of the growing influence of the media, Alexandra was able to maintain immense popularity, arguably through the positive image generated through her physical appearance. This article, part of a wider study into the clothing practices of Alexandra of Denmark, takes three prominent surviving garments from her wardrobe and applies an object-based methodology to life writing, offering a biography of both the person and the clothes she inhabited. This multi-disciplinarity between object and text creates a discourse that highlights both the value of material culture but also the challenges faced for the researcher in this context. For over half a century, Alexandra of Denmark, Princess of Wales, and from 1902 Queen-Consort, reigned as one of the most stylish women in Britain. From her twenties to her matriarchal sixties, Alexandra’s legacy has been defined through dress (Figure 6.1). This article examines how surviving garments associated with a single royal figure can be ‘read’ in a methodological sense and how object-based analysis can both enhance and debunk long accepted mythologies that might be associated with existing life writings concerning that figure.
    [Show full text]