On this day in 1930, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the Duchess of York gave birth to Princess Margaret Rose Windsor, the 4th in line to the throne of Britain.
Margaret spent much of her childhood years in the company of her older sister Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and parents. Her life changed dramatically in 1936, when her paternal uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated to marry the twice divorced American Wallis Simpson. Margaret's father became King, and her older sister became heiress presumptive with Margaret second in line to the throne. During World War II, the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle, despite suggestions to evacuate them to Canada. During the war years, Margaret was considered too young to perform any official duties, and instead continued her education. After the war, Margaret fell in love with Group Captain Peter Townsend. In 1952, Margaret's father died, her sister became sovereign, and Townsend divorced his first wife. Early the following year, he proposed to Margaret. Many in the government felt that he would be an unsuitable husband for the Queen's 22-year-old sister and the Church of England refused to countenance a marriage to a divorced man. Margaret eventually abandoned her plans and, in 1960, accepted the proposal of the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was created Earl of Snowdon by the Queen. The couple divorced in 1978 and Margaret never remarried. Margaret was often viewed as a controversial member of the royal family. Her divorce earned her negative publicity and she was romantically linked with several men. Her health gradually deteriorated in the final two decades of her life; a heavy smoker all her adult life, she had a lung operation in 1985, a bout of pneumonia in 1993, and at least three strokes between 1998 and 2001. She died at King Edward VII Hospital on 9 February 2002. Today would have been her 84th birthday. Info provided by Wikipedia.org.
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It is hard to believe that 30 days from today, Scotland's Future will be decided. Thats right, in 30 days on September 18th, Scotland will vote in its Referendum on whether or not they will break away from the United Kingdom and become an independent country. 2014 is known as the Scottish Homecoming year. First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond is a clever man. He chose to have the Scottish Referendum in the 700th Year Anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. It was in 1314 that King Robert the Bruce led Scotland to a bloody win against the English for Independence. By that act he gave the Scots the hope that by this vote Scotland may gain victory again over England and become independent. I for one hope that the vote is "no" for independence. I think it would be catastrophic for the economy as well as the continuity of the lives of millions who live peacefully. I am sympathetic for those who do want independence, but I think it is just un-logical. For info on the Referendum, click on the picture below for more info, and keep an eye on the countdown clock on my home page. Cheers!
Today we celebrate the 64th Birthday of Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.Anne was born at Clarence House on 15 August 1950 at 11:50 am, as the second child and only daughter of then Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and second grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
On Wednesday, 14 November 1973 (the twenty-fifth birthday of her brother, Prince Charles), Princess Anne married Mark Phillips, a lieutenant in the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony that was televised around the world, with an estimated audience of 100 million. Following the wedding, Anne and her husband lived at Gatcombe Park. He was made acting captain by the start of 1974 when he was appointed a personal aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II. By 1989, however, the Princess Royal and Mark Phillips announced their intention to separate, as the marriage had been under strain for a number of years. The couple divorced on 23 April 1992. The couple had two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips, and so, unusually for the grandchildren of a monarch, they have no title. (However, they are not the only children of a British Princess to carry no title: the children of Princess Alexandra, the Queen's cousin, are also untitled.) On 29 December 2010, the Princess Royal became a grandmother when a daughter, Savannah, was born to her son and his wife Autumn. On 29 March 2012, another daughter, Isla, was born to the couple. On 17 January 2014, the Princess Royal's third granddaughter, Mia Grace, was born to Zara and her husband Mike Tindall. Anne has always shown a keen interest in horses and equine pursuits. At the age of 21, the Princess won the individual title at the European Eventing Championship, and was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971. For more than five years she also competed with the British eventing team, winning a silver medal in both individual and team disciplines in the 1975 European Eventing Championship, riding the home-bred Doublet. The following year Anne participated in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as a member of the British team, riding the Queen's horse, Goodwill. Princess Anne assumed the Presidency of the Fédération Équestre Internationale from 1986 until 1994. On 5 February 1987, she became the first Royal to appear as a contestant on a television quiz-show when she competed on the BBC panel game A Question of Sport. Her daughter, Zara Phillips is also a keen equestrian competitor. Together with her horse, Toytown, she won individual and team gold medals at the 2005 European Eventing Championship as well as individual gold and team silver medals at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games. The Princess Royal carries out a full schedule of royal engagements and is involved with over 200 charities and organisations in an official capacity. As Princess Royal, Anne undertakes a number of official duties on behalf of her mother, in support of the Queen's role as sovereign of the Commonwealth realms. Anne began to undertake official royal duties overseas upon leaving secondary school,and accompanied her parents on a state visit to Austria in the same year. She will sometimes stand in for the Queen at the funerals of foreign dignitaries (which the Queen customarily does not attend), and resides at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh each summer, hosting engagements there. So today, we should recognize this wonderful person and hope she has many many more years to come! Information retrieved from wikipedia.org! Robin Williams, one of the greatest comedians/actors of our time was taken from us today. He was in such great movies as Jumanji, Hook, and Mrs. Doubtfire. His television career included "Mork from Ork" and most recently "The Crazy Ones". He was probably more well know for his ability to make anyone laugh as hard as they ever could. He will be greatly missed by anyone who ever saw any of his work. The reason I posted this in the Great Britain section, he is of Scottish descent and he said in an interview, his favorite accent to imitate is Scottish, and one of his favorite places to go was Scotland. So I believe that he was a fellow Britophile or at least Scotophile! Below are some samples of his work. Note: the Golf one has some rude language, but that is probably why it is so funny. Rest in Peace, Robin!
When I saw this list of places, it changed my view on Scotland...well... not by much. I have always had a deep love for Scotland, but this just increased it. Once you see the pictures of this place, you will be awestruck. Click on the image below to go to the article!
As the 20th Commomnwealth Games come to an end in Glasgow, the festivities are just as wonderful as they began. For the medal standings click on the Button below. If you wish to watch the closing ceremony click on the youtube link below. Also, for more info on the games, click on the Official website below. I hope you all enjoyed the Commonwealth Games! Cheers!
Today we honor the birthday and memory of Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. On August 4, 1900 she was born to Scottish Aristocrats Claude Bowes-Lyon the Lord Glamis and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. 100 years ago today, on her fourteenth birthday, Britain declared War on Germany. Her brothers fought in the army for Britain, one of her brothers was killed in action. She met Prince Albert, the Duke of York, the second son of King George V. He proposed to her a total of three times before she accepted. They married in 1923 at Westminster Abbey. In 1926, she gave birth to Princess Elizabeth, our future Queen Elizabeth II. In 1930, she gave birth to Princess Margaret. In 1936, following the death of George V and the painful abdication of Edward VIII, her husband was now King George VI and that made her Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Consort. Many considered her along with her husband and the Prime Minister the thread that held the country together through WWII. Adolf Hitler is said to have called her "the most dangerous woman in Europe" because he viewed her popularity as a threat to German interests. King George VI died in his sleep on 6 February 1952. Elizabeth began to be styled as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother because the normal style for the widow of a king, "Queen Elizabeth", would have been too similar to the style of her elder daughter, now Queen Elizabeth II. Popularly, she became the "Queen Mother" or the "Queen Mum".
She was devastated by the King's death and retired to Scotland. However, after a meeting with the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, she broke her retirement and resumed her public duties. Eventually she became just as busy as queen mother as she had been as queen. In her later years, the Queen Mother became known for her longevity. Her 90th birthday—4 August 1990—was celebrated by a parade on 27 June that involved many of the 300 organisations of which she was patron. In December 2001, aged 101, she fractured her pelvis in a fall. Even so, she insisted on standing for the National Anthem during the memorial service for her husband on 6 February the following year. Just three days later, her second daughter Princess Margaret died. On 13 February 2002, the Queen Mother fell and cut her arm in her sitting room at Sandringham House; an ambulance and doctor were called, and the wound was dressed.She was still determined to attend Margaret's funeral at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, two days later on the Friday of that week,even though the Queen and the rest of the royal family were concerned about the journey the Queen Mother would face to get from Norfolk to Windsor. Nevertheless, she flew to Windsor by helicopter, and so that no photographs of her in a wheelchair could be taken—she insisted that she be shielded from the press—she travelled to the service in a people Carrier with blacked–out windows, which had been previously used by Margaret. On 30 March 2002, at 3:15 pm, the Queen Mother died in her sleep at the Royal Lodge, Windsor Great Park, with her surviving daughter,Queen Elizabeth II, at her bedside. She had been suffering from a cold for the last four months of her life. She was 101 years old, and at the time of her death was the longest-lived member of the royal family in British history. On the day of her funeral, 9 April,in London, more than a million people filled the area outside Westminster Abbey and along the 23-mile (37 km) route from central London to her final resting place beside her husband and younger daughter in St. George's Chapel, Windosr Castle. At her request, after her funeral the wreath that had lain atop her coffin was placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, in a gesture that echoed her wedding-day tribute 79 years before. So today 114 years after her births, we must honor her memory in any way we can. God Bless the Queen Mother! Picture and Information retrieved from Wikipedia. Today we celebrate the 49th Birthday of (in my opinion) the greatest living author of our time...Joann Kathleen Rowling. It was from her mind on a train ride from Manchester to London, that the idea of the boy wizard Harry Potter was born. From that moment was created the greatest selling book series of all time! Today is also Harry Potter's fictional birthday!Today, we also see the final installment chapters of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire are released on J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter website POTTERMORE! I urge you to go to that site and explore. You can do everything from brew potions and duel Hogwarts students to explore the Harry Potter stories and read the Daily Prophet.To go to Pottermore, click on the link below. Also, I would urge you the readers to learn more about Joann. She had troubled life. She has had a story just as turbulent as that of Harry Potter himself.From basically living on the streets with a young daughter to being the first author billionaire, she has probably seen it all. For more info on Joann Rowling check out her official site below. So once again, a very Happy Birthday to J.K. Rowling and also a huge Thank You!
Although it was almost a week ago, the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow was a sight to see. It showcased Scottish culture and achievements as well as performances by Rod Stewart and many Scottish groups and volunteers. The Queen's Baton relay ended there that night. Last fall from Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty the Queen handed her baton to the first of thousands of bearers before it set off on its historic journey. It traveled over 100,000 miles around the world through all the nations of the commonwealth before ending up in Glasgow, Scotland that night.It was also a landmark night, UNICEF teamed with the Commonwealth Games Federation to help gain supportive donations for children all across the Commonwealth and the world. The motto of the night was "put children first". It all led up to the Parade of Commonwealth Nations and Her Majesty's Baton arriving in the stadium. Her Majesty the Queen was the finale of the night, she read her message which was held within the baton and declared the Glasgow 2014 Games open. Click on the link below to watch the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games!
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