Articles tagged as Royal Family | Smithsonian Magazine

Her Majesty the Queen with archive footage

Sixty-Five Years Later, the Queen Recalls Her Coronation

New Smithsonian Channel special has rare Queen Elizabeth II interview and offers a closeup of the Crown Jewels

January 12, 2018

A Thomas Gainsborough painting of Queen Charlotte

Five Things to Know About Queen Charlotte

Before Meghan Markle, the late 18th-century Queen Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz may have been the country’s first biracial royal

November 30, 2017

Cool Finds

Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots Found Hidden Beneath Another Painting

The politically dangerous work was painted over by Adrian Vanson two year after the queen’s execution

October 31, 2017

History of Now

Eight Historical Archives That Will Spill New Secrets

Declassified records and journals to be released in coming decades will shed new light on pivotal 20th-century figures and events

Updated: October 27, 2017
Originally Published: August 2010

Victoria and Abdul: The Friendship that Scandalized England

Near the end of her reign, Queen Victoria developed a friendship with an Indian servant, elevating him to trusted advisor and infuriating her court

September 20, 2017

The Koh-i-Noor diamond set at the front of the crown made for the Queen Mother Elizabeth, set on her coffin in April 2002.

The True Story of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond—and Why the British Won’t Give It Back

A star of London’s Crown Jewels, the Indian gem has a bloody history of colonial conquest

August 30, 2017

Princess Diana's desk and some of her belongings, including her music and ballet shoes.

Buckingham Palace Remembers Princess Diana With New Exhibit

Many of the objects on display were selected by Diana’s sons

July 24, 2017

Among the sketches found was a study by Gainsborough for his 1748 painting "Cornard Wood," which depicts a forest scene near his hometown of Sudbury.

Early Sketches From Famed English Painter Found Hidden in Royal Library

Discovered mislabeled in a Windsor Castle book, the drawings are the work of a young Thomas Gainsborough

July 10, 2017

Americans went nuts for Queen Victoria less than 60 years after the American Revolution drew to a close.

Americans Caught ‘Victoria Fever’ For The British Queen’s 1838 Coronation

Such delicacies as ‘Victoria soap’ could be bought in America as a souvenir of the occasion

June 28, 2017

Mounted Normans attack the Anglo-Saxon infantry during the Battle of Hastings, as portrayed on the Bayeux Tapestry.

England’s Most Brutal King Was Its Best Peacemaker

William the Conqueror was ruthless, but he achieved something his predecessors couldn’t: peace

June 5, 2017

Japanese Princess Will Lose Her Royal Status When She Marries a Commoner

Some say that the country should amend its imperial succession laws, which currently prohibit women from ascending to the throne

May 19, 2017

Henri IV depicted as Hercules vanquishing a hydra. All in a day's work.

The Second Life of Henri IV’s Severed Head

Whether it’s lying in the grave or sitting in a Paris bank vault, the monarch’s cranium has been the subject of much debate since his untimely demise

May 12, 2017

North American gray squirrels are decimating native red squirrels in the British Isles, leading to a new plan to reduce the population of invasive mammals

February 27, 2017

The Swedish count Philip Königsmarck, left, and his lover Sophia Dorothea, right. A skeleton possibly belonging to Königsmarck was recently uncovered in the German castle where he disappeared.

Cool Finds

A Skeleton Found in a Castle Could Be the Key to Cracking a 17th-Century Cold Case

A murder mystery complete with royal intrigue

October 18, 2016

The government has placed the artifact under an export ban in hopes a collector will keep it in-country

August 30, 2016

While the role is ceremonial, abdication could mean a political battle

August 8, 2016

Runnymede meadow in Surrey, England, is the site of historic Magna Carta negotiations.

The Mad King and Magna Carta

How did a peace treaty signed — and broken — more than 800 years ago become one of the world’s most influential documents?

July 2015

DNA from Richard III’s bones revealed two instances of royal infidelity since the 14th century.

They Found Richard III. So Now What?

What the remains of the “hunchback” king can teach us about other English royals

March 2015

Cool Finds

King Richard III Will Be the First Famous Historical Person Whose Genome Is Sequenced

And it’ll be public, so anyone can check it out

February 13, 2014

The Heartbreaking History of Divorce

Historian Amanda Foreman explores the other side of love and marriage

February 2014