Category: Royal History

Queen Victoria is usually remembered as the stern monarch dressed in black, the woman whose name became synonymous with Victorian restraint and mourning. But behind the palace doors, Victoria had another fascination. Séances. Clairvoyants. Ghost stories. Messages from the dead. Her interest in the supernatural began years before Prince Albert’s death and continued throughout her…

When we picture a royal palace, we usually picture the people who lived at the top. Kings and queens at elaborate banquets. Nobles in expensive clothes. Musicians playing in grand rooms. Courtiers waiting for their chance to speak to the monarch. But none of it worked without the people who rarely made it into the…

King Tutankhamun’s funerary mask is one of ancient Egypt’s most recognizable objects. The gold face, striped nemes headdress, and inlaid eyes have become almost synonymous with the young pharaoh himself. But the mask may not have been made specifically for Tutankhamun. When researchers look closely at its construction, they find differences in the gold, altered…

When we think of Emperor Caligula, the popular image is almost impossible to miss. He was the mad emperor who appointed his horse to the Senate, declared war on the ocean, demanded worship as a god, and spent Rome’s treasury on increasingly bizarre schemes. It is an incredible story. It also comes almost entirely from…

King Richard II was crowned in 1377 at just ten years old. From childhood, people around him reinforced the idea that his authority came directly from God. He was not simply a boy wearing a crown. He was the anointed king, chosen by divine will and entitled to obedience. As Richard grew older, that belief…