1.
Duke of Edinburgh
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Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, is a title that has been created four times for members of the British royal family since 1726. The current holder is the Prince Philip, consort to Queen Elizabeth II, the title was first created in the Peerage of Great Britain on 26 July 1726 by George I, who bestowed it on his grandson Prince Frederick, who also became Prince of Wales the following year. These titles were also in the Peerage of Great Britain, the marquessate was apparently erroneously gazetted as Marquess of the Isle of Wight although Marquess of the Isle of Ely was the intended title. In later editions of the London Gazette the Duke is referred to as the Marquess of the Isle of Ely, upon Fredericks death, the titles were inherited by his son Prince George. When Prince George became King George III in 1760, the merged into the Crown. On 19 November 1764, George III created a variation of the title for his brother, Prince William. This title was in the Peerage of Great Britain and the subsidiary title of the dukedom was Earl of Connaught, in the Kingdom of Ireland. In 1805, the titles were inherited by Williams only son, another William, Queen Victoria re-created the title on 24 May 1866 for her second son Prince Alfred, this time in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Kent and Earl of Ulster, when Alfred became the sovereign of the two German duchies Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in 1893, he retained his British titles. His only son Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha committed suicide in 1899, the title was created for a fourth time on 19 November 1947 by King George VI, who bestowed it on his son-in-law Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, when he married Princess Elizabeth. Subsequently, Elizabeth was styled HRH Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh until she became Queen in 1952, the subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, of Greenwich in the County of London. Like the dukedom, these titles were also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, earlier that year, Philip had renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles along with his rights to the Greek throne. In 1957, Philip became a Prince of the United Kingdom and this is unlikely to happen by direct inheritance, as Prince Edward is the youngest of Prince Philips three sons
2.
Mon Repos, Corfu
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Mon Repos is a villa on the island of Corfu, Greece. It lies south of Corfu City in the forest of Palaiopolis, the villa was rarely used as a residence for the later British governors. In 1833, it housed a school of arts, while in 1834. Empress Elisabeth of Austria stayed there in 1863, here she fell in love with the island, where she later built the Achilleion Palace. After the union with Greece in 1864, the villa was granted to King George I of the Hellenes as a summer residence, the royal family used it as a summer residence up until King Constantine II fled the country in 1967. The villa subsequently became derelict, but was restored in the 1990s, several royal births have taken place at the villa, including those of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 10 June 1921, and Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark on 10 July 1965. The villa was confiscated under controversial circumstances some years after the declaration of the Hellenic Republic in 1974. Its confiscation, and the confiscation of property of the deposed and exiled King Constantine II, without any compensation. The Kings argument centred on the claim that the property in question was acquired by his predecessors legally and was subject to regular personal inheritance. The villa and its gardens are the property of the Corfu municipality, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism – Archaeological Museum of Palaeopolis Kardamitsi-Adami, Maro
3.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
4.
Charles, Prince of Wales
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Charles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Known alternatively in South West England as Duke of Cornwall and in Scotland as Duke of Rothesay, he is the heir apparent in British history. He is also the oldest person to be next in line to the throne since Sophia of Hanover, Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. After earning a bachelor of degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer and they had two sons, Prince William later to become Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, in 1996, the couple divorced, following well-publicised extramarital affairs. Diana died in a car crash in Paris the following year, in 2005, Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles has sought to raise awareness of the dangers facing the natural environment. As an environmentalist, he has received awards and recognition from environmental groups around the world. His support for alternative medicine, including homeopathy, has been criticised by some in the medical community and he has been outspoken on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings. Subsequently, Charles created Poundbury, a new town based on his theories. He has authored a number of books, including A Vision of Britain, A Personal View of Architecture in 1989 and he was baptised in the palaces Music Room by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, on 15 December 1948. When Prince Charles was aged three his mothers accession as Queen Elizabeth II made him her heir apparent. As the monarchs eldest son, he took the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince. Charles attended his mothers coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, seated alongside his grandmother, as was customary for upper-class children at the time, a governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed and undertook his education between the ages of five and eight. Buckingham Palace announced in 1955 that Charles would attend school rather than have a private tutor, Charles then attended two of his fathers former schools, Cheam Preparatory School in Berkshire, England, followed by Gordonstoun in the north-east of Scotland. He reportedly despised the school, which he described as Colditz in kilts. Upon his return to Gordonstoun, Charles emulated his father in becoming Head Boy and he left in 1967, with six GCE O-levels and two A-levels in history and French, at grades B and C, respectively. Tradition was broken again when Charles proceeded straight from school into university
5.
Anne, Princess Royal
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Anne, Princess Royal, KG KT GCVO GCStJ QSO GCL CD is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession, behind her mother – then Princess Elizabeth – and elder brother and she rose to second after her mothers accession, but is currently 12th in line. Anne is known for her work, and is patron of over 200 organisations. Princess Anne has held the title of Princess Royal since 1987 and is its seventh holder, Anne was married to Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, they divorced in 1992. They have two children and three grandchildren, in 1992, within months of her divorce, Anne married Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mothers equerry between 1986 and 1989. Anne was born at Clarence House on 15 August 1950 at 11,50 am, as the child and only daughter of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh. She was the grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Anne was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950, by Archbishop of York, after the death of George VI, Annes mother ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. Given her young age at the time, she did not attend the coronation, the Company was active until 1963, when Anne went to boarding school. Anne enrolled at Benenden School in 1963, in 1968 she left school with six GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels. In the next couple of years, Anne started dating, in 1970 her first boyfriend was Andrew Parker Bowles, who later became the first husband of Camilla Shand. Following the wedding, Anne and her husband lived at Gatcombe Park and 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, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips announced their intention to separate, the couple divorced on 23 April 1992. The Queen had offered Phillips an earldom on his wedding day, the couple had two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips. As female-line descendants of royalty, the children have no title despite being the grandchildren of a monarch, Anne became a grandmother on 29 December 2010 when Peter and his wife Autumn had a daughter, Savannah. On 29 March 2012, the couple had daughter, Isla. Annes third granddaughter, Mia Grace, was born on 17 January 2014 to Zara and her husband Mike Tindall. As Princess Anne and Mark Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace on 20 March 1974, from a charity event on Pall Mall, the driver of the Escort, Ian Ball, jumped out and began firing a pistol
6.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
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Prince Andrew, Duke of York, KG, GCVO, CD, ADC, is the second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of his birth, he was second in the line of succession to succeed his mother, as of 2017 he is sixth in line. He holds the rank of commander and the rank of vice admiral in the Royal Navy, in which he served as an active duty helicopter pilot and instructor. He saw active service during the Falklands War, flying on multiple missions including anti-surface warfare, Exocet missile decoy, in 1986, Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson, the couples marriage, subsequent separation and eventual divorce in 1996 attracted a high level of media coverage. As well as carrying out official engagements, he served as Britains Special Representative for International Trade. Prince Andrew was born in the Belgian Suite of Buckingham Palace on 19 February 1960 and he was baptised in the Palaces Music Room on 8 April 1960 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher. He is the namesake of his grandfather, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. Prince Andrew was the first child born to a monarch since the birth in 1857 of Queen Victorias youngest child. As with his siblings, Andrew was looked after by a governess. He was sent to Heatherdown School near Ascot in Berkshire, in September 1973, he entered Gordonstoun, in northern Scotland, which his father and elder brother had attended before him. While there, he spent six months—from January to June 1977—participating in a programme to Lakefield College School in Canada. He left Gordonstoun in July two years later with A-Levels in English, history, economics, and political science and he did not go to university but instead entered the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. The Royal Household announced in November 1978 that Prince Andrew would join the Royal Navy the following year, on 1 September of the same year, Prince Andrew was appointed as a midshipman, and entered Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. During 1980 he also took the Royal Marines All Arms Commando Course, after being awarded his wings, he moved onto more advanced training on the Sea King helicopter, and conducted operational flying training until 1982. He joined carrier-based squadron,820 Naval Air Squadron, serving aboard the aircraft carrier, the Falkland Islands, which are a British overseas territory claimed by Argentina, were invaded by Argentina on 2 April 1982, an event that instigated the Falklands War. Invincible was one of the two aircraft carriers available at the time, and, as such, was to play a major role in the Royal Navy task force assembled to sail south to retake the islands. The Queen, though, insisted that her son be allowed to remain with his ship and he witnessed the Argentinian attack on the SS Atlantic Conveyor. At the cessation of the war, Invincible returned to Portsmouth, the Argentine military government reportedly planned, but did not attempt, to assassinate the prince on Mustique in July 1982
7.
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
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Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, KG, GCVO, CD, ADC is the youngest of four children and the third son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of his birth, he was third in line to succeed his mother, as of 2017, he is ninth in line. Prince Edward was born on 10 March 1964, at Buckingham Palace, as the son and fourth and youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. He was baptised on 2 May 1964 in the chapel at Windsor Castle by the then-Dean of Windsor. As with his siblings, a governess was appointed to look after Edward and was responsible for his early education at Buckingham Palace. At the age of seven, Edward was then sent to Gibbs School before attending, in September 1972, Heatherdown School, near Ascot in Berkshire. He then, as his father and elder brothers had done him, moved to Gordonstoun, in northern Scotland. Upon his return to Britain, Edward matriculated at Jesus College, Cambridge and his admission to Cambridge caused some controversy at the time, since his A-level grades were far below the standard normally required, straight As, for Oxbridge entrance. Edward graduated in 1986 as BA and proceeded Master of Arts in 1991, Prince Edward made two very public attempts to pursue a career. However, in January 1987 he dropped out of the commando course after completing just one third of the 12-month training. Media reported, at the time, that the move prompted a berating from Prince Philip who reduced his son to prolonged tears, after leaving the Marines, Edward opted for a career in entertainment. His duties reportedly involved making tea for the artistic staff, while there he met actress Ruthie Henshall, whom he dated for three years. The media attacked the programme, it was reported that the Queen was not in favour of the event. In 1993, Edward formed the production company Ardent Productions. Commercial breaks are filled with army recruiting advertisements, ardents productions were somewhat better received in the United States and a documentary Edward made about his great-uncle, Edward VIII in 1996, sold well worldwide. Nonetheless, the reported losses every year it operated save one when Edward did not draw a salary. The Prince of Wales was reportedly angered by the incident, Ardent Productions was voluntarily dissolved in June 2009, with assets reduced to just £40. Edwards original backers in the venture are said to have lost every penny, Edward met Sophie Rhys-Jones, then a public relations executive with her own firm, in 1994
8.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
9.
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
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Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. He was a grandson of Christian IX of Denmark and father of Prince Philip and he began military training at an early age, and was commissioned as an officer in the Greek army. His command positions were substantive appointments rather than honorary, and he saw service in the Balkan Wars, in 1913, his father was assassinated and Andrews elder brother, Constantine, became king. Dissatisfaction with his brothers neutrality policy during World War I led to his brothers abdication and most of the royal family, including Andrew, was exiled. On their return a few later, Andrew saw service in the Greco-Turkish War, but the war went badly for Greece. He was exiled for a time in 1922, and spent most of the rest of his life in France. By 1930, he was estranged from his wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg and his only son, Prince Philip, served in the British navy during World War II, while all four of his daughters were married to Germans, three of whom had Nazi connections. Separated from his wife and son by the effects of the war and he had seen neither of them since 1939. Prince Andrew was born at the Old Royal Palace in Athens on February 2,1882 and he was taught English by his caretakers as he grew up, but in conversations with his parents he refused to speak anything but Greek. He also spoke German, Danish, Russian, and French and he attended cadet school and staff college at Athens, and was given additional private tuition in military subjects by Panagiotis Danglis. Despite his short-sightedness, Andrew joined the army as a officer in May 1901. In 1902, Prince Andrew met Princess Alice of Battenberg at the coronation of her grand-uncle and his aunts husband, King Edward VII, Princess Alice was a daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. They fell in love, and the year, on 6 October 1903. The following day two religious wedding services were performed, one Lutheran in the Evangelical Castle Church, and another Greek Orthodox in the Russian Chapel on the Mathildenhöhe, Prince and Princess Andrew had five children, all of whom later had children of their own. In 1909, the situation in Greece led to a coup détat, as the Athens government refused to support the Cretan parliament. A group of dissatisfied officers formed a Greek nationalist Military League that eventually led to Prince Andrews resignation from the army and the rise to power of Eleftherios Venizelos. A few years later, at the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in 1912, Andrew was reinstated in the army as a lieutenant colonel in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, and placed in command of a field hospital. During the war, his father was assassinated and Andrew inherited a villa on the island of Corfu, in 1914, Andrew held honorary military posts in both the German and Russian empires, as well as Prussian, Russian, Danish and Italian knighthoods
10.
Princess Alice of Battenberg
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Princess Alice of Battenberg, later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II. A great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, she grew up in Germany, England, after marrying Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark in 1903, she lived in Greece until the exile of most of the Greek royal family in 1917. In 1930, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to a sanatorium in Switzerland, thereafter, after her recovery, she devoted most of her remaining years to charity work in Greece. She stayed in Athens during the Second World War, sheltering Jewish refugees, for which she is recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Israels Holocaust memorial institution, Yad Vashem. After the war, she stayed in Greece and founded an Orthodox nursing order of nuns known as the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and her remains were transferred to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem in 1988. Alice was born in the Tapestry Room at Windsor Castle in Berkshire in the presence of her great-grandmother and she was the eldest child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and his wife Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Her mother was the eldest daughter of Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and her father was the eldest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine through his morganatic marriage to Julia von Hauke, Princess of Battenberg. Her three younger siblings, Louise, George, and Louis, later became Queen of Sweden, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven and she was christened Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie in Darmstadt on 25 April 1885. Alice spent her childhood between Darmstadt, London, Jugenheim, and Malta and her mother noticed that she was slow in learning to talk, and became concerned by her indistinct pronunciation. Eventually, she was diagnosed with congenital deafness after her grandmother identified the problem, with encouragement from her mother, Alice learned to both lip-read and speak in English and German. Educated privately, she studied French, and later, after her engagement and her early years were spent in the company of her royal relatives, and she was a bridesmaid at the marriage of George, Duke of York and Mary of Teck in 1893. A few weeks before her birthday she attended the funeral of Queen Victoria in St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle. Princess Alice met and fell in love with Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and they married in a civil ceremony on 6 October 1903 at Darmstadt. The following day, there were two religious marriage ceremonies, one Lutheran in the Evangelical Castle Church, and one Greek Orthodox in the Russian Chapel on the Mathildenhöhe and she adopted the style of her husband, becoming Princess Andrew. All of Prince and Princess Andrews children later had children of their own, after their marriage, Prince Andrew continued his career in the military and Princess Andrew became involved in charity work. In 1908, she visited Russia for the wedding of Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, while there, she talked with her aunt, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna, who was formulating plans for the foundation of a religious order of nurses. Princess Andrew attended the laying of the stone for her aunts new church. Later in the year, the Grand Duchess began giving away all her possessions in preparation for a spiritual life
11.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
12.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
13.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
14.
Royal Air Force
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The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdoms aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. The RAF describe its mission statement as, an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission. The mission statement is supported by the RAFs definition of air power, Air power is defined as the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events. Today the Royal Air Force maintains a fleet of various types of aircraft. The majority of the RAFs rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command in support of ground forces, most of the RAFs aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on operations or at long-established overseas bases. It was founded on 1 April 1918, with headquarters located in the former Hotel Cecil, during the First World War, by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps, at that time it was the largest air force in the world. The RAFs naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm, was founded in 1924, the RAF developed the doctrine of strategic bombing which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War. The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed Article XV squadrons for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from countries, and exiles from occupied Europe. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine percent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. In the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe, the largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, during the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the Royal Air Force was in 1948 and the Berlin Airlift, codenamed Operation Plainfire. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E and these were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs, later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile. Following the development of the Royal Navys Polaris submarines, the nuclear deterrent passed to the navys submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAFs strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one and this tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by Tornado GR1s. For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, with many squadrons based in West Germany. With the decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period
15.
Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)
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Admiral of the Fleet is a five-star naval officer rank and the highest rank of the British Royal Navy. The five-star NATO rank code is OF-10, although routine appointments ceased in 1995, the rank of Admiral of the Fleet is equivalent to a field marshal in the British Army or a marshal of the Royal Air Force. The rank evolved from sailing days and the admiral distinctions then used by the Royal Navy when the fleet was divided into three divisions – red, white, or blue, each division was assigned an admiral, who in turn commanded a vice-admiral and a rear admiral. In the 18th century, the nine ranks began to be filled by more than one person at any one time. The admiral of the red was pre-eminent and became known as the admiral of the fleet, the organisation of the British fleet into coloured squadrons was abandoned in 1864, although the Royal Navy kept the White Ensign. Since 1811 five members of the British Royal family, other than the monarch, of the British royalty granted the rank, only one, the Prince of Wales had not seen service in the Royal Navy. During the two World Wars a number of serving officers held active commissions as admirals of the fleet, following the creation of the Chief of the Defence Staff in 1959, the five naval officers appointed to that position became admirals of the fleet. In 2014, Lord Boyce, a former First Sea Lord, Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom First Sea Lord Heathcote, Tony. The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734–1995, media related to Royal Navy admirals of the fleet at Wikimedia Commons
16.
Field marshal (United Kingdom)
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Field marshal has been the highest rank in the British Army since 1736. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10, it is equivalent to an admiral of the fleet in the Royal Navy or a marshal of the Royal Air Force in the Royal Air Force. A field marshals insignia consists of two crossed batons surrounded by yellow leaves below St Edwards Crown. As with marshals of the RAF and admirals of the fleet in their services, field marshals remain officers of the British Army for life. The rank has been used throughout its history and was vacant through parts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After the Second World War, it became practice to appoint the Chief of the Imperial General Staff to the rank on his last day in the post. Army officers occupying the post of Chief of the Defence Staff, in total,141 men have held the rank of field marshal. The majority led careers in the British Army or the British Indian Army, some members of the British Royal Family—most recently Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Charles, Prince of Wales—were promoted to the rank after shorter periods of service. Other ceremonial appointments were made as diplomatic gestures, twelve foreign monarchs held the honour, though three were stripped of it when their countries became enemies of Britain and her allies in the two world wars. Also awarded the rank were two distinguished foreign military officers, honoured for their contributions to World War I and World War II respectively, and one foreign statesman. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Defence in 1995 made a number of recommendations for financial savings in the forces budget. The recommendation was not taken up in full, but the convention of promoting service chiefs to five-star ranks was stopped, Sir Peter Inge was, in 1994, the last active officer to be promoted to the rank. Inge relinquished the post of Chief of the Defence Staff in 1997 and his successor, at the same time, Guthrie, who relinquished the post of CDS and retired from active service in 2001, was promoted to honorary field marshal. In June 2014 former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Walker of Aldringham was also promoted to field marshal. The rank insignia of a marshal in the British Army comprises two crossed batons in a wreath of oak leaves, with a crown above. On appointment, British field marshals are awarded a gold-tipped baton which they may carry on formal occasions, the vast majority of officers to hold the rank of field marshal were professional soldiers in the British Army, though eleven served as officers in the British Indian Army. At least fifty-seven field marshals were wounded in battle earlier in their careers, of whom 24 were wounded more than once, and eight had been prisoners of war. Fifteen future field marshals were present at the Battle of Vitoria, where the Duke of Wellington earned the rank, and ten others served under Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo
17.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
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Marshal of the Royal Air Force is the highest rank in the British Royal Air Force. In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff, and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff, who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. In 2012, Charles, Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank while in 2014 Lord Stirrup, marshal of the Royal Air Force is a five-star rank and unlike the air marshal ranks, can properly be considered a marshal rank. MRAF has a NATO ranking code of OF-10, equivalent to an admiral of the fleet in the Royal Navy or a marshal in the British Army. The rank was instituted in 1919 and the first officer to be promoted to MRAF was Sir Hugh Trenchard in 1927, since that time, including Trenchard, there have been 27 men who have held the rank. Of those,22 have been professional RAF officers and five have been members of the British Royal Family. King George V did not formally hold the rank of marshal of the RAF, in this capacity from time to time he wore RAF uniform with the rank insignia of a marshal of the RAF. He first publicly wore such uniform in 1935, the year before his death, both held high command during World War II. Harris was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Bomber Command and Douglas was Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Fighter Command, Middle East Command, prior to the creation of the RAFs officer rank titles in 1919, it was proposed that by analogy with field marshal, the highest rank title should be air marshal. It was later decided to use the rank of air marshal as an equivalent rank to lieutenant general and marshal of the air was put forward as the highest RAF rank. This new rank title was opposed by the then Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir Henry Wilson, however, the Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Hugh Trenchard was unmoved and the title was adopted. Though never held by a Royal Air Force officer, the title of marshal of the air lasted until April 1925. It has also reported that King George V was not happy with the title of marshal of the air. The rank insignia consists of four light blue bands above a light blue band on a broad black band. Marshals of the Royal Air Force wear shoulder boards with their service dress at ceremonial events, prior to 1953, the Tudor Crown was used. The command flag of a marshal of the Royal Air Force has a red horizontal band in the centre with a thinner red band on each side of it. The vehicle star plate for a marshal of the Royal Air Force depicts five white stars on an air force blue background, the rank insignia and flag exists in some other air forces for equivalent ranks
18.
HMS Magpie (U82)
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HMS Magpie, pennant number U82, was a Royal Navy Modified Black Swan-class sloop launched in 1943 and broken up in 1959. She was the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear the name, the ship was the only vessel commanded by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who took command on 2 September 1950. Commissioned on 30 August 1943, during October–November 1943 Magpie was part of the 2nd Support Group in the North Atlantic, the following month saw Magpie involved in destroying U-238 and U-734. After serving as an escort during the D-Day amphibious Allied landings in Normandy, Magpie served in British coastal waters, along with others in the Black Swan class she was officially reclassified as a frigate in 1947, also receiving a new pennant number F82. Magpie did duty in Trieste following riots there over the city’s future, at this time she was based in Malta, as part of the 3rd Frigate Flotilla. This Flotilla took part in preventing illegal immigrants following the formation of Israel. She returned to Portsmouth in 1954 where was placed in reserve and she was commanded by Lieutenant-Commander HRH The Duke of Edinburgh from 2 September 1950 until 1952, in the Mediterranean. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, on 3 March 1955 Magpie left Portsmouth to steam to the 7th Frigate Squadron at Simonstown, South Africa. Due to be relieved at the Cape Station by her sister ship Sparrow, magpie’s crew returned to the UK in Sparrow. In 1958 Magpie had her tour of duty at the Cape Station finally completed, she sailed back for the UK for paying off, HMS Magpie stood in for the moving shots of HMS Amethyst in the film Yangtse Incident in 1957. Ships of the Royal Navy, The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy, Sloops, A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946
19.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
20.
Battle of Crete
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The Battle of Crete was fought during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany began an invasion of Crete. Greek forces and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, after one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast, over half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy, the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance. In contrast, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to form airborne-assault, British forces had initially garrisoned Crete when the Italians attacked Greece on 28 October 1940, enabling the Greek government to employ the Fifth Cretan Division in the mainland campaign. The Italians were repulsed, but the subsequent German invasion of April 1941, at the end of the month 57,000 Allied troops were evacuated by the Royal Navy. Some were sent to Crete to bolster its garrison until fresh forces could be organised, oberkommando des Heeres was preoccupied with Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union and was largely opposed to a German attack on Crete. The directive also stated that the operation was to be in May, before the invasion, the Germans conducted a bombing campaign to establish air superiority and forced the RAF to move its remaining aeroplanes to Alexandria. No RAF units were based permanently at Crete until April 1941 but airfield construction had begun, radar sites built, equipment was scarce in the Mediterranean and in the backwater of Crete. The British forces had seven commanders in seven months, in early April, airfields at Maleme and Heraklion and the landing strip at Retimo on the north coast were ready and another strip at Pediada-Kastelli was nearly finished. After the German invasion of Greece, the role of the Crete garrison changed from the defence of an anchorage to preparing to repel an invasion. On 17 April, Group Captain George Beamish was appointed Senior Air Officer, Crete, taking over from a Flight-Lieutenant whose duties and instructions had been only vaguely defined. The navy tried to deliver 27,000 long tons of supplies from 1–20 May 1941, but the Luftwaffe attacks forced most ships to turn back, and only 2,700 long tons of stores were delivered. In mid-May, the four squadrons had about 24 aircraft, of which twelve were serviceable, due to a lack of tools. The unfinished ground at Pediada-Kastelli was blocked with trenches and heaps of soil and all but narrow flight paths were blocked at Heraklion, at Maleme, blast pens were built for the aircraft, and barrels full of petrol were kept ready to be ignited by machine-gun fire. Around each ground, a few guns, anti-aircraft guns. The three areas were made into independent sectors, but there were only eight QF 3-inch and twenty Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, on 30 April 1941, Major-General Bernard Freyberg VC a New Zealand Army officer, was appointed commander of the Allied forces on Crete. Cadets from the Gendarmerie academy and recruits from Greek training centres in the Peloponnese had been transferred to Crete, the British Commonwealth contingent consisted of the original 14, 000-man British garrison and another 25,000 British and Commonwealth troops evacuated from the mainland
21.
Battle of Cape Matapan
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The Battle of Cape Matapan was a Second World War naval engagement fought from 27–29 March 1941. The cape is on the south-west coast of the Peloponnesian peninsula of Greece, the opening actions of the battle are also known in Italy as the Battle of Gaudo. As always with Enigma, the breakthrough was concealed from the Italians by ensuring there was a plausible reason for the Allies to have detected and intercepted their fleet. In this case, it was a carefully directed reconnaissance plane, as a further deception, Admiral Cunningham made a surreptitious exit after dark from a golf club in Alexandria to avoid being seen boarding his flagship, the battleship HMS Warspite. An evening party on his flagship was advertised for that night but was never meant to take place, at the same time, there was a failure of intelligence on the Axis side. The Allied force was the British Mediterranean fleet, consisting of the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable, the main fleet was accompanied by two flotillas of destroyers. The 10th Flotilla had, HMS Greyhound and Griffin and HMAS Stuart commanded by Commander Hec Waller, the 14th Flotilla consisted of, HMS Jervis, Janus, Mohawk and Nubian commanded by Philip Mack, also present were HMS Hotspur and Havock. The Australian HMAS Vendetta had returned to Alexandria, the Italian fleet was led by Iachinos flagship, the modern battleship Vittorio Veneto. It also included almost the entire Italian heavy cruiser force, Zara, Fiume and Pola, none of the Italian ships had radar, while several Allied ships did. The 13th Flotilla of Italian destroyers, with Alpino, Bersagliere, Fuciliere, Granatiere was also involved screening the flagship, on 27 March, Vice-Admiral Pridham-Wippell—with the cruisers Ajax, Gloucester, Orion and Perth and a number of destroyers—sailed from Greek waters for a position south of Crete. Admiral Cunningham with Formidable, Warspite, Barham and Valiant left Alexandria on the day to meet the cruisers. The Italian Fleet was spotted by a Sunderland flying boat at 12,00, the Italian Admiral also learned that Formidable was at sea, thanks to the decryption team aboard Vittorio Veneto. Nevertheless, after discussion, the Italian headquarters decided to go ahead with the operation, to show the Germans their will to fight. On 28 March, an IMAM Ro.43 floatplane launched by Vittorio Veneto spotted the British cruiser squadron at 06,35, at 07,55, the Trento group encountered Admiral Pridham-Wippells cruiser group south of the Greek island of Gavdos. The British squadron was heading to the south-east, thinking they were attempting to run from their larger ships, the Italians gave chase, opening fire at 08,12 from 24,000 yd. HMS Gloucester fired three salvos in return. These fell short but did cause the Italians to make a course change, as the distance had not been reduced after an hour of pursuit, the Italian cruisers broke off the chase, turning to the north-west on a course to rejoin Vittorio Veneto. The Allied ships changed course in turn, following the Italian cruisers at extreme range, Iachino let them come on in hopes of luring the British cruisers into the range of Vittorio Venetos guns. An officer on Orions bridge remarked to a companion, Whats that battleship over there, I thought ours were miles away
22.
Allied invasion of Sicily
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The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II, in which the Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers. It was an amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign and was the beginning of the Italian Campaign. Husky began on the night of 9/10 July 1943, and ended on 17 August, the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, was toppled from power in Italy and the way was opened for the Allied invasion of Italy. The German leader, Adolf Hitler, canceled a major offensive at Kursk after only a week, in part to divert forces to Italy, resulting in a reduction of German strength on the Eastern Front. The plan for Operation Husky called for the assault of Sicily by two Allied armies, one landing on the south-eastern and one on the central southern coast. The amphibious assaults were to be supported by gunfire, as well as tactical bombing, interdiction. As such, the operation required a complex structure, incorporating land, naval. The overall commander was American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, as Commander-in-Chief of all the Allied forces in North Africa, British General Sir Harold Alexander acted as his second-in-command and as the 15th Army Group commander. The American Major General Walter Bedell Smith was appointed as Eisenhowers Chief of Staff, the overall Naval Force Commander was the British Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham. The Allied land forces were from the American, British and Canadian armies, the Eastern Task Force was led by General Sir Bernard Montgomery and consisted of the British Eighth Army. The Western Task Force was commanded by Lieutenant General George S. Patton, the two task force commanders reported to Alexander as commander of the 15th Army Group. Seventh Army consisted initially of three divisions, organized under II Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Omar Bradley. Middleton, sailed from the United States via Oran in Algeria, the 2nd Armored Division, under Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey, also sailing from Oran, was to be a floating reserve and be fed into combat as required. On 15 July, Patton reorganized his command into two corps by creating a new Provisional Corps headquarters, commanded by his deputy army commander, Major General Geoffrey Keyes. The two divisions of XIII Corps, the 5th and 50th Infantry Divisions, commanded by Major-Generals Horatio Berney-Ficklin and Sidney Kirkman and this request was granted by the British, displacing the veteran British 3rd Infantry Division. The Red Patch Division was added to Leeses XXX Corps to become part of the British Eighth Army, in addition to the amphibious landings, airborne troops were to be flown in to support both the Western and Eastern Task Forces. To the east, the British 1st Airborne Division, commanded by Major-General George F. Hopkinson, was to seize vital bridges and high ground in support of the British Eighth Army. The initial plan dictated that the U. S. 82nd Airborne Division, Allied naval forces were also grouped into two task forces to transport and support the invading armies
23.
Operation Dragoon
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Operation Dragoon was the code name for the Allied invasion of Southern France on 15 August 1944. By July 1944 the landing was reconsidered, as the ports in Normandy did not have the capacity to adequately supply the Allied forces. Concurrently, the French High Command pushed for a revival of the operation that would include large numbers of French troops, as a result, the operation was finally approved in July to be executed in August. The goal of the operation was to secure the ports on the French Mediterranean coast. After some preliminary commando operations, the US VI Corps landed on the beaches of the Côte dAzur under the shield of a naval task force. Hindered by total Allied air superiority and an uprising by the French Resistance. The Germans decided to withdraw towards the north through the Rhône valley, Allied mobile units were able to overtake the Germans and partially block their route at the town of Montélimar. The ensuing battle led to a stalemate, with neither able to achieve a decisive breakthrough, until the Germans were finally able to complete their withdrawal. While the Germans were retreating, the French managed to capture the important ports of Marseille and Toulon, the Germans were not able to hold Dijon and ordered a complete withdrawal from Southern France. Army Group G retreated further north, pursued by Allied forces, the fighting ultimately came to a stop at the Vosges mountains, where Army Group G was finally able to establish a stable defense line. After meeting with the Allied units from Operation Overlord, the Allied forces were in need of reorganizing and, facing stiffened German resistance, Operation Dragoon was considered a success by the Allies. The captured French ports were put into operation, allowing the Allies to solve their supply problems soon after, during planning stages, the 1942 operation was known as Anvil, to complement Operation Sledgehammer, at that time the code name for the invasion of Normandy. Subsequently, both plans were renamed, Sledgehammer becoming Operation Overlord, and Anvil becoming Operation Dragoon, the original idea of an invasion of Southern France had come from General George Marshall, the U. S. Army Chief of Staff already in 1942. Operation Dragoon was controversial from the time it was first proposed, the American military leadership and its British counterparts disagreed on the operation. When first planned, the landings were to take place simultaneously – Overlord in Normandy and it soon became clear that a dual landing was impossible to conduct with the available forces. The expansion of Overlord from a three- to a five-division front required many additional LSTs, at the same time, another Allied amphibious landing in Italy at Anzio had gone badly. All of these resulted in the postponing of Anvil by the Allies, after the landing at Normandy, a revival of Anvil became increasingly attractive to the Allied planners. These factors led to a reconsideration of the plan, despite Churchills objections, the operation was authorized by the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff on 14 July and then renamed Dragoon on 1 August
24.
Operation Lentil (Sumatra)
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Operation Lentil was an air raid by British carrier based aircraft on oil installations at Pangkalan Brandan on Sumatra on 4 January 1945. It was part of the larger Operation Outflank, Pangkalan Brandan was an important centre for Indonesian oil production. A high proportion of the pilots were New Zealanders, table of actions by Royal Navy New Zealand naval history HMS Ursa, Destroyer
25.
Battle of Okinawa
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The 82-day-long battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945. The Tenth was unique in that it had its own air force. The battle has been referred to as the typhoon of steel in English, the nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of Japanese kamikaze attacks, and the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific, with an total of over 82,000 direct casualties on both sides,14,009 Allied deaths and 77,417 Japanese soldiers. Allied grave registration forces counted 110,071 dead bodies of Japanese soldiers,149,425 Okinawans were killed, committed suicide or went missing, a significant proportion of the estimated pre-war 300,000 local population. As part of the operations surrounding the battle, the Japanese battleship Yamato was sunk. After the battle, Okinawa provided an anchorage, troop staging areas. Expeditionary Troops under Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. with Tenth Army, TF56 was the largest force within TF50 and was built around the 10th Army. The army had two corps under its command, III Amphibious Corps, consisting of 1st and 6th Marine Divisions, the 2nd Marine Division was an afloat reserve, and Tenth Army also controlled the 27th Infantry Division, earmarked as a garrison, and 77th Infantry Divisions. In all, the Army had over 102,000 soldiers, at the start of Battle of Okinawa 10th Army had 182,821 men under its command. It was planned that General Buckner would report to Turner until the phase was completed. Although Allied land forces were composed of U. S. units. Although all the carriers were provided by Britain, the carrier group was a combined British Commonwealth fleet with British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian ships. Their mission was to neutralize Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands, most of the air-to-air fighters and the small dive bombers and strike aircraft were U. S. Navy carrier-based airplanes. The Japanese land campaign was conducted by the 67, 000-strong regular 32nd Army and some 9,000 Imperial Japanese Navy troops at Oroku naval base, supported by 39,000 drafted local Ryukyuan people. The Japanese had used kamikaze tactics since the Battle of Leyte Gulf, between the American landing on 1 April and 25 May, seven major kamikaze attacks were attempted, involving more than 1,500 planes. The 32nd Army initially consisted of the 9th, 24th, and 62nd Divisions, the 9th Division was moved to Taiwan prior to the invasion, resulting in shuffling of Japanese defensive plans. Primary resistance was to be led in the south by Lt. General Mitsuru Ushijima, his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Isamu Chō and his chief of operations, Yahara advocated a defensive strategy, whilst Chō advocated an offensive one
26.
Mentioned in dispatches
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In a number of countries, a servicemembers name must be mentioned in dispatches as a condition for receiving certain decorations. In the British Armed Forces, the despatch is published in the London Gazette, for 1914–1918 and up to 10 August 1920, the decoration consisted of a spray of oak leaves in bronze. This decoration was established in 1919, but it had retroactive effect. From 1920 to 1993, the decoration consisted of a bronze oak leaf. In a change introduced in 2014 to the British Armed Forces, prior to this change, even if the soldier was mentioned in dispatches more than once, only a single such decoration was worn. In Britain, since 1993, the decoration is a silver oak leaf. In each case the decoration is pinned or sewn diagonally on to the campaign medal ribbon. If no campaign medal is awarded, the oak leaf is worn on the left breast of the dress uniform, prior to 1979, a mention in dispatches was one of the three awards that could be made posthumously, the others being the Victoria Cross and George Cross. The 1979 reform removed the all or nothing lottery, soldiers can be mentioned multiple times. The British First World War Victoria Cross recipient John Vereker, later Field Marshal Viscount Gort, was mentioned in dispatches nine times, the Australian general Gordon Bennett was mentioned in dispatches a total of eight times during the First World War, as was Field Marshal Sir John Dill. Similarly, the equivalents of the MiD for acts of bravery by civilians, the reformed and comprehensive system is now as follows, The Commendation for Gallantry is now the fourth level decoration for gallantry. The Commendation for Brave Conduct recognises acts of bravery carried by soldiers not directly fighting the enemy, a mention in dispatches – in French, Citation à lordre du jour – gives recognition from a senior commander for acts of brave or meritorious service, normally in the field. The Mention in dispatches is among the list of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, personnel can be mentioned in dispatches posthumously and multiple awards are also possible. A recipient of a mention in a dispatch is entitled to wear an emblem and they are also issued with an official certificate from the Ministry of Defence. The emblem, which was regarded as a decoration, was worn on the ribbon of the Victory Medal, only one emblem was worn, irrespective of the number of times a recipient had been mentioned. The Afrikaans rendition of mentioned in dispatches is Eervolle Vermelding in Berigte, the mention in dispatches was one of only four awards which could be made posthumously. The others were the Victoria Cross, the George Cross, the oak leaf emblem was worn on the ribbon of the War Medal 1939–1945. The Kings Commendation was denoted by a bronze King Protea flower emblem worn on the ribbon of the Africa Service Medal and it could be awarded posthumously and was the equivalent of a mention in dispatches for services rendered away from the battlefield
27.
War Cross (Greece)
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The War Cross is a military decoration of Greece, awarded for heroism in wartime to both Greeks and foreign allies. In addition, from 1919, the first class could be awarded to the war flags of distinguished regiments, the reverse bears the inscription ΕΛΛΑΣ and underneath the dates 1916–1917. The ribbon was black, edged with blue, and 35–37 mm wide, subsequent awards were designated by the addition of silver five-pointed stars on the ribbon. The new medal was instituted by Royal Decree on 11 November 1940 and it was re-authorised on 19 April 1947 for the Greek Civil War and extended until 1953, covering the Greek participation in the Korean War. It was awarded to Greek and Allied military personnel, as well as to war flags. The reverse bears the date 1940, the ribbon features three equal alternating bands of red, blue and red. The cross was awarded in three classes, distinguished by the colour of the crown, bronze for the 3rd class, silver for the 2nd, and gold for the 1st class. Until 1942, the first award could be in any class, but according to Compulsory Law 3120/1942, up to three subsequent awards remained in the same class, but the fifth and eighth awards upgraded the medal to the 2nd and 1st classes respectively. Due to the fall of the junta and the restoration of democracy a few months later, in 1985, a provisional version was cut. The reverse bore the legend ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ, four medals of the 1st class were issued to war flags of units participating in UN peacekeeping missions. The design was finalized in Presidential Decree 159 of 17 March 2003, hellenic General Staff of National Defence, 36–37. Hellenic General Staff of National Defence, 46–63, awards of the 1940 War Cross to New Zealanders The 1940 War Cross, at Phaléristique européenne
28.
British royal family
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The British royal family comprises the monarch of the United Kingdom and her close relations. There is no legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the British royal family. Different terms may be applied to the same or similar group of relatives of the monarch in his or her role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, for example, in Canada, the family is known as the Canadian royal family. Some members of the family have official residences named as the places from which announcements are made in the Court Circular about official engagements they have carried out. The state duties and staff of some members of the family are funded from a parliamentary annuity. Since 1917, when King George V changed the name of the house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, members of the royal family belong, either by birth or by marriage. In 2014, the family were regarded as British cultural icons. Today, they often perform ceremonial and social duties throughout the United Kingdom, in the other countries of the Commonwealth royalty do not serve as Counsellors of State, although they may perform ceremonial and social duties on behalf of individual states or the organisation. Wives of the said enjoy their husbands precedence, and husbands of princesses are unofficially but habitually placed with their wives as well and she did not alter the relative precedence of other born-princesses, such as the daughters of her younger sons. The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy and they Serve the Queen, A New and Authoritative Account of the Royal Household. The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England, symbol and Privilege, The Ritual Context of British Royalty. Britains Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy, Royal Family is a celebrated and reverential BBC documentary made by Richard Cawston to accompany the investiture of the current Prince of Wales. The documentary is frequently responsible for the greater press intrusion into the royal familys private life since its first broadcast. Official website of the royal family Official YouTube Channel House of Windsor Family Tree, archived from the original on 2010-12-02
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Commonwealth realm
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Subsequently, India and Pakistan and Ceylon became Dominions. By the early 1950s, in order to reflect the equality between the countries in that group, each came to be known as a realm. The word was used in Britains proclamation of Elizabeth II as queen in 1952 and was adopted for the modern royal styles and titles under the legislation enacted by the individual countries. The principle was applied to countries as they became Commonwealth realms. The phrase Commonwealth realm, though used officially, is not a statutory term, the number of independent countries in the Commonwealth of Nations all sharing the same person as monarch reached 18 between 1983 and 1987. The Commonwealth realms are, for purposes of international relations, sovereign states, political scientist Peter Boyce called this grouping of countries associated in this manner, an achievement without parallel in the history of international relations or constitutional law. Since each realm has the person as its monarch, the diplomatic practice of exchanging ambassadors with letters of credence. Diplomatic relations between the Commonwealth realms are thus at a cabinet level only and high commissioners are exchanged between realms, a high commissioners full title will thus be High Commissioner for Her Majestys Government in. Opinion on the prospect of the coming to fruition is mixed. This means that in different contexts the term Crown may refer to the extra-national institution associating all 16 countries, from a cultural standpoint, the sovereigns name and image and other royal symbols unique to each nation are visible in the emblems and insignia of governmental institutions and militia. By 1959, it was being asserted by Buckingham Palace officials that the Queen was equally at home in all her realms and this convention was first applied to the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936. For expediency and to avoid embarrassment, the British government had suggested that the Dominion governments automatically regard the monarch of the UK, whoever this may be, as their monarch also. Sir Maurice Gwyer, first parliamentary counsel in the UK, reflected this position and these changes came into effect on 26 March 2015. Agreement among the realms does not, however, mean the succession laws cannot diverge, the parliament of South Africa, however, passed its own legislation—His Majesty King Edward the Eighths Abdication Act, 1937—which backdated the abdication there to 10 December. The Irish Free State recognised the kings abdication with the Executive Authority Act 1936 on 12 December, according to Anne Twomey, this demonstrated the divisibility of the Crown in the personal, as well as the political, sense. For E H Coghill, writing as early as 1937, it proved that the convention of a line of succession is not of imperative force. It is generally agreed that any alteration of succession by the UK would not have effect in all the realms. Following the accession of George VI to the throne, the United Kingdom created legislation that provided for a regency in the event that the monarch was not of age or incapacitated
30.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, GCVO, CSM, PC, is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, who is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Instead of using the title of Princess of Wales, she uses the title Duchess of Cornwall, in Scotland, she is known as the Duchess of Rothesay. Camilla was born into a family as the eldest child of Major Bruce Shand and his wife, the Honourable Rosalind Cubitt. She was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington, and was educated in England, Switzerland, subsequently, she worked for different firms based in central London, most notably the decorating firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. In 1973, Camilla married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles, for many years, Camilla was in a relationship with the Prince of Wales before and after their former marriages. The relationship became highly publicised in the media and attracted worldwide scrutiny, as the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla assists the Prince of Wales on his official duties. She is also the patron, president and a member of numerous charities, since 1994, she has taken action on osteoporosis, which has earned her honours and awards. She has also raised awareness in areas including rape and sexual abuse, literacy and poverty, Camilla Rosemary Shand was born at Kings College Hospital, London, on 17 July 1947 at 7,00 am. She grew up in the Laines, a house located in Plumpton, East Sussex. Her parents were British Army officer turned businessman Major Bruce Shand and his wife, the Hon. Rosalind and she has one younger sister, Annabel Elliot, and had a younger brother, Mark Shand. Her maternal great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, was a mistress of King Edward VII from 1898 to 1910, on 1 November 1947, Camilla was baptised at Firle Church, Sussex. Her godparents were Hon. Henry Cubitt, Major Neil Speke, Mrs Heathcoat-Amory, Mrs Lombard Hobson, Camillas mother worked for an adoption agency, while her father had different business interests after retiring from the army. He was most notably a partner in Block, Grey and Block, during her childhood years, Camilla became an avid reader due to the influence of her father, who read to her frequently. She grew up with dogs and cats, and, at a young age, according to her, childhood was perfect in every way. Biographer Gyles Brandreth describes her background and childhood, Camilla is often described as having had an Enid Blyton sort of Childhood, in fact, it was much grander than that. The Shands had position and they had help—help in the house, help in the garden and they opened their garden for the local Conservative Party Association summer fête. At the age of five, Camilla was sent to Dumbrells and she left Dumbrells aged ten to attend Queens Gate School in Queens Gate, South Kensington. Her classmates at Queens Gate knew her as Milla, her pupils included the singer Twinkle
31.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, KG, KT, PC, ADC is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. He is second in line to succeed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, William was educated at four schools in the United Kingdom and obtained a degree from the University of St Andrews. He spent parts of a gap year in Chile, Belize, in December 2006, he completed 44 weeks of training as an officer cadet and was commissioned in the Blues and Royals regiment. In April 2008, he qualified as a pilot by completing training at Royal Air Force College Cranwell. He then underwent helicopter flying training in order to become a pilot with the RAF Search. His service with the British Armed Forces ended in September 2013, William married Catherine Middleton, on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. Hours before the wedding, he was created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, the couples first child, Prince George, was born on 22 July 2013, and their second, Princess Charlotte, was born on 2 May 2015. William, the first child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, was born at St Marys Hospital and his names, William Arthur Philip Louis, were announced by Buckingham Palace a week later on 28 June. He was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 4 August by the Archbishop of Canterbury and he was the first child born to a Prince and Princess of Wales since Prince John in 1905. William was affectionately called Wombat by his parents or Wills, Williams first public appearance was on 1 March 1991, during an official visit of his parents to Cardiff, Wales. After arriving by aeroplane, William was taken to Llandaff Cathedral where he signed the visitors book, on 3 June 1991, William was admitted to Royal Berkshire Hospital after being accidentally hit on the side of the forehead by a fellow student wielding a golf club. He did not lose consciousness, but suffered a fracture of the skull and was operated on at Great Ormond Street Hospital. In a 2009 interview, he dubbed this scar a Harry Potter scar and he was reported to have said, I call it that because it glows sometimes and some people notice it—other times they dont notice it at all. His mother wanted him and his younger brother Harry to have wider experiences than are usual for royal children and she took them to Walt Disney World and McDonalds as well as AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless. She bought them typical teenage items, such as video games, Diana, who was by then divorced from the Prince of Wales, died in a car accident in the early hours of 31 August 1997. William, then aged 15, along with his brother who was 12, the Prince of Wales waited until his sons woke the following morning to tell them about their mothers death. At his mothers funeral, William accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather, William began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age. William was educated at independent schools, starting at Jane Mynors nursery school, following this, he attended Ludgrove School near Wokingham, Berkshire, and was privately tutored during summers by Rory Stewart
32.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Following his father Charles, Prince of Wales, William is second in line to succeed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, the duchess grew up in Chapel Row, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, England. She studied art history in Scotland at the University of St Andrews and their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010 before they married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. The duke and duchess have two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, who are third and fourth in line to the British throne. Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on 9 January 1982 to an upper-middle-class family and she was christened at St Andrews Bradfield, Berkshire, on 20 June 1982. The family of her father Michael has ties to British aristocracy and her Middleton relatives were reported as having played host to British royalty as long ago as 1926. She has a sister, Philippa Pippa, and a younger brother. The family lived in Amman, Jordan, from May 1984 to September 1986, her father worked for British Airways, following her return to Berkshire in 1986, she was enrolled aged four at St Andrews School, a private school near the village of Pangbourne in Berkshire. She boarded part-weekly at St Andrews in her later years and she then studied briefly at Downe House. In November 2006, Middleton accepted a position as a buyer with the clothing chain Jigsaw. She also worked until January 2011 at Party Pieces, her role within the business included catalogue design and production, marketing. In 2001, Middleton met Prince William while they were students in residence at St Salvators Hall at the University of St Andrews. The couple began dating in 2003, although their relationship remained unconfirmed, on 17 October 2005, Middleton complained through her lawyer about harassment from the media, stating that she had done nothing significant to warrant publicity. Middleton attended Prince Williams Passing Out Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 15 December 2006, on 17 May 2008, Middleton attended the wedding of Prince Williams cousin Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, which the prince did not attend. On 19 July 2008, she was a guest at the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor, Prince William was away on military operations in the Caribbean, serving aboard HMS Iron Duke. In 2010, Middleton pursued an invasion of privacy claim against two agencies and photographer Niraj Tanna, who took photographs of her over Christmas 2009 and she obtained a public apology, £5,000 in damages, and legal costs. In April 2007, Prince William and Middleton split up, the couple decided to break up during a holiday in the Swiss resort of Zermatt. Newspapers speculated about the reasons for the split, although these reports relied on anonymous sources, Middleton and her family attended the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, where she and Prince William sat two rows apart
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Prince George of Cambridge
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Prince George of Cambridge is the elder child and only son of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. He is third in line to succeed his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, after his grandfather, Charles, Prince of Wales. On 3 December 2012, Clarence House announced that the Duke, at less than twelve weeks, the announcement was made earlier in the pregnancy than is traditional because of the Duchesss admission to hospital with hyperemesis gravidarum. During this time, a couple of Australian radio jockeys attempted to ring up the Hospital and they tried to put on fake British accents and mimicked the Queen and Prince Charles. The nurse who answered their call later committed suicide, before the birth, there was speculation the event would boost the British national economy and provide a focus for national pride. Welsh composer Paul Mealor, who composed Ubi Caritas et Amor for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess, composed a lullaby entitled Sleep On, a recording was made of it by New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra as a gift for the baby. Commemorative coins were issued by the Royal Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, and Royal Australian Mint, the Duchess was admitted to St Marys Hospital, London, in the early stages of labour on 22 July 2013. She gave birth to a boy weighing 8 pounds 6 ounces at 16,24 BST later the same day, Queen Elizabeth IIs former gynaecologist, Marcus Setchell, delivered the baby assisted by Guy Thorpe-Beeston, Sunit Godambe and Physician to the Queen John Cunningham. The midwifery team accompanying the gynaecologists was led by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trusts director of midwifery Professor Jackie Dunkley-Bent, William was by his wifes side when she gave birth. The Duchess and her baby, accompanied by the Duke, left hospital on 23 July, William took the full two weeks paternity leave from his job allowed by the Ministry of Defence. Julia Samuel, William van Cutsem and Zara Tindall serving as godparents, the ceremony used a font that was made for Queen Victorias first child and water from the River Jordan. The Royal Mint issued a set of coins to celebrate the christening. George, with his parents, embarked on his first royal tour in April 2014 and his first public engagement of the tour was on 9 April at a playdate at Government House, Wellington, organised by the New Zealand parenting organisation, Plunket. On 20 April, Easter Sunday, he met a bilby named after him at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, the BBC said at the end of the tour theres no doubt Prince George stole the limelight. Georges first birthday party was themed around childrens author Beatrix Potter, on 2 May 2015, George visited the hospital of his birth after the birth of his sister Charlotte, his first public appearance in the United Kingdom. In January 2016, George started his education at the Westacre Montessori School Nursery and that April, he was photographed for postage stamps to mark his great-grandmothers 90th birthday, alongside his father and grandfather. On 22 April of that year, he met President of the United States Barack Obama and he was photographed with a rocking horse that Obama had given him when he was born. The encounter later prompted Obama to joke that Prince George showed up to our meeting in his bathrobe, in March 2017, it was announced that George would begin primary school in September at the private Thomass School in Battersea
34.
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
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Princess Charlotte of Cambridge is the younger child and only daughter of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. She is fourth in line to succeed her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, after her grandfather, father. Clarence House announced on 8 September 2014 that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were expecting their second child, the next month, Kensington Palace announced that the baby was expected to be born in April 2015. On 2 May 2015, at 08,34 BST, the Duchess gave birth to a daughter at St Marys Hospital, London, the Duke of Cambridge was present at the birth. The Duchess had been in labour at St Marys Hospital since 06,00 BST, farthing, Thorpe-Beeston, and Godambe were also present at the birth of the Cambridges first child, Prince George, in 2013. The baby was shown to the public for the first time outside the hospital with her parents, on 4 May, gun salutes were fired at Hyde Park and the Tower of London. Later that day, her name was announced as Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, on 5 July 2015, Princess Charlotte was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham. Laura Fellowes, Prince Williams maternal cousin, Adam Middleton, the Duchesss paternal cousin, and family friends Thomas van Straubenzee, James Meade, on 1 May 2016, the Royal Family released photographs of Charlotte ahead of her first birthday. Multiple retailers, particularly in clothing, were expected to benefit greatly from their placement in these photographs. On 11 June, she made her first public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following Trooping the Colour, the princess is fourth in line to succeed the Queen, after her grandfather, father, and elder brother. Because of the changes to succession law effected in 2015, she cannot be displaced in the line of succession by any younger brothers. In 2016, Marc Jacobs debuted the lipstick Charlotte named after her, ancestry charts of the current British royal family Genealogy of the British royal family Birth certificate The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge website
35.
Prince Harry
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Prince Henry of Wales, KCVO, familiarly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. After an education at schools in the United Kingdom and spending parts of his gap year in Australia and Lesotho, Harry chose a military career, undergoing officer training at RMA Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a cornet into the Blues and Royals, serving temporarily with his brother, in 2007–2008, he served for 77 days in Helmand, Afghanistan, but was pulled out following publication of his presence there by an Australian magazine. He returned to Afghanistan for a 20-week deployment in 2012–2013 with the Army Air Corps and he left the army in June 2015. Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014, and remains patron of its Foundation and he also gives patronage to several other organisations, including the HALO Trust, the London Marathon Charitable Trust, and Walking With The Wounded. Harry was born at St Marys Hospital in Paddington, London, on 15 September 1984 at 4,20 pm and he was baptised on 21 December 1984 at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. His godparents are Prince Andrew, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, Carolyn Bartholomew, Bryan Organ, Gerald Ward and Celia, Harry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age, his first overseas tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985. Harrys parents divorced in 1996, and his mother died following a car accident in Paris the following year, Harry and William were staying with their father at Balmoral at the time, and the Prince of Wales told his sons about their mothers death. Like his father and brother, Harry was educated at independent schools and he started at Jane Mynors nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School, and, after passing the exams, was admitted to Eton College. In June 2003, Harry completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels, having decided to drop history of art after AS level and he excelled in sports, particularly polo and rugby union. Passing two A-levels, Harry was eligible to apply for a commission in the British Army. One of Harrys former teachers, Sarah Forsyth, has assessed that Harry was a weak student, both Eton and Harry denied the claims. While a tribunal made no ruling on the claim, it accepted the prince had received help in preparing his A-level expressive project. After school, Harry took a gap year, during which he spent time in Australia, working on a cattle station and he also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom. Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company. Within a year, in April 2006, Harry completed his training and was commissioned as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals. He was given the service number 564673, on 13 April 2008, when he reached two years seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant
36.
Meghan Markle
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Rachel Meghan Markle is an American actress. Since 2011, she has portrayed Rachel Zane on the legal drama Suits and is known for her work as FBI special agent Amy Jessup in the sci-fi thriller Fringe. Markle was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Markle is of mixed race, and self-identifies as such, My dad is Caucasian and my mom is African American. I have come to embrace to say who I am, to share where Im from, to voice my pride in being a strong and her father is of Dutch and Irish descent. Her mother, Doria Radlan, has a degree in social work and works as a yoga instructor. Her father is Emmy Award winner Thomas W. Markle, whose profession—director of photography—resulted in his daughter spending many years as a child visiting the set of Married. At age 11, she wrote a letter to then First Lady Hillary Clinton, the soaps manufacturer was forced to alter the advertisement after Markles complaint. She then graduated in 2003 with a major in theater. To support herself between early acting jobs, Markle worked as a freelance calligrapher and she appeared in Foxs series Fringe as Junior Agent Amy Jessup in the first two episodes of its second season. Since July 2011 she has played paralegal Rachel Zane, on the USA Network show Suits, Markle appeared in two 2010 films, Get Him to the Greek and Remember Me and one 2011 film, Horrible Bosses. She appeared in the short film The Candidate as a secretary in 2012, in 2002, Markle appeared in an episode of the daytime soap opera, General Hospital. She has also appeared in episodes of Century City, Cuts, Love, the War at Home,90210, Knight Rider, Without a Trace, The Apostles, CSI, NY, The League and Castle. Markle is the founder and editor-in-chief of lifestyle site The Tig, in November 2016, Markle and Canadian clothing company Reitmans released a line of reasonably priced womens fashion workwear. In 2016 Markle became the Global Ambassador for World Vision Canada and she has also worked with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women as an Advocate. Markle was a Counselor for international charity One Young World, speaking at the summit in Dublin on the topics of gender equality. She also attended the Ottawa summit in 2016, Markle is a self-proclaimed foodie, which was incorporated into her Suits character, Rachel Zane. Markle married Trevor Engelson on September 10,2011, after having dated since 2004, the couple split in May 2013, divorcing in August 2013. It was reported in November 2016 that Markle had waived her right to support from Engelson
37.
Princess Beatrice of York
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Princess Beatrice of York is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. Beatrice is seventh in line to succeed her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II and her name, an unexpected choice, was not announced until almost two weeks after her birth. Beatrice began her education at the independent Upton House School in Windsor. From there, she and her sister attended the independent Coworth Park School from 1995. Beatrice continued her education at the independent St Georges School in Ascot, having been diagnosed with dyslexia as a child, she delayed sitting her GCSE exams for one year. She remained at St Georges to take her A-Levels, gaining a grade A in drama and she was elected Head Girl in her final year. In September 2008, she started a course studying for a BA in History and History of Ideas at Goldsmiths College. Princess Beatrice graduated in 2011 with a 2,1 degree, in 2002, Beatrice visited children living with HIV in Russia, and, in Britain, she supported Springboard for Children and the Teenage Cancer Trust. During the summer of 2008, Beatrice volunteered as an assistant at Selfridges, and it was reported Beatrice. In April 2010, running to raise money for Children in Crisis, Beatrice was in a long-term relationship with Virgin Galactic businessman Dave Clark until July 2016. Princess Beatrice attends garden parties and receptions at Buckingham Palace, at the wedding of her cousin Prince William, Beatrices fascinator designed by Philip Treacy was remarked upon by some as an odd choice of fashion. In May 2011, the hat was offered for sale on the auction site eBay with the proceeds going to charity. Princess Beatrice accompanied her grandmother, the Queen, to the traditional Royal Maundy services on 5 April 2012 in York and she and the Duke of Edinburgh were the sole members of the royal family to attend the Maundy Thursday services at York Minster with the Queen. There, Beatrice interacted with parishioners, received flowers from the public, in the lead up to the 2012 Summer Olympics Princess Beatrice welcomed the Olympic flame on the steps of Harewood House near Leeds. In 2013, Beatrice and her sister promoted Britain overseas in Germany and she also visited the Isle of Wight in 2014. After the birth of her first cousin once removed, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge in 2015, in November 2012, Beatrice became a patron of the York Musical Society. In April 2013, she became patron of The Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre. She accompanied her father during an engagement in the United Arab Emirates on 24 November 2014
38.
Princess Eugenie of York
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Princess Eugenie of York is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and of Sarah, Duchess of York. She is eighth, and the female, in line to succeed her grandmother. In 2015, she started working for the Hauser & Wirth art gallery in London as an associate director, on 30 March, the seventh day after her birth, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of York had named her Eugenie Victoria Helena. She was baptised at the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, by the Bishop of Norwich and she was the first royal baby to have a public christening, and the only one of the Queens grandchildren not to be baptised in the Lily font. Her godparents were James Ogilvy, Captain Alastair Ross, Susan Ferguson, Julia Dodd-Noble and she was named after Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg and after Princess Helena, Queen Victorias granddaughter and daughter respectively. Eugenie is the first British princess since her grandmothers aunt, Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary, Eugenie is the only one of the Queens granddaughters without Elizabeth as a middle name. Eugenies parents divorced when she was six years old, when she was not at school, she spent her time with her family, as the divorce had been amicable. The Duke and Duchess of York had agreed to joint custody of the girls, Eugenie and her sister frequently travel abroad with one or both of their parents. In the April 2008 issue of Tatler, Eugenie described her grandmother as one of the most amazing women ever and she made a full recovery and is not expected to undergo any further surgery for the condition. Eugenie began her schooling at Winkfield Montessori from 1992 to 1993, from there she joined her sister at Upton House School in Windsor until 1995. She attended Coworth Park School from 1995 to 2001, and then St Georges School, for the next five years, Eugenie boarded at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. She undertook a gap year before continuing her education in 2009, Eugenie began studying Combined Honours BA at Newcastle University in September 2009, combining Art History, English Literature and Politics. She completed her studies in 2012, earning a 2,1 in English literature, in 2013, she moved to New York City for one year to work for the online auction firm Paddle8 as a benefit auctions manager. In July 2015, she moved back to London to work for the Hauser & Wirth art gallery as an associate director, Princess Eugenie does not carry out public duties and receives no allowance from the Privy Purse. She has undertaken limited public engagements, such as connected with charities her mother supports, including the Teenage Cancer Trust, Children in Crisis. She also attends receptions and garden parties at Buckingham Palace, Eugenie and her sister represented their father at a service of thanksgiving for her aunt, Diana, Princess of Wales, in 2007. In 2008, she opened a Teenage Cancer Trusts unit for young patients in Leeds. On 2 June 2011, Eugenie visited the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital with her father as one of her first official engagements, in April 2012 she agreed to be patron for the Hospitals Redevelopment Appeal, this was her first patronage
39.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex
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Sophie, Countess of Wessex, GCVO, is the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Married in 1999, she worked in public relations until 2002, the Earl and Countess have two children, James, Viscount Severn, and Lady Louise Windsor, who are respectively tenth and eleventh in line to the British throne. She has a brother, David, and was named after her fathers sister, Helen. Her godfather, actor Thane Bettany, is her fathers stepbrother, Sophie was raised in a four-bedroom 17th-century farmhouse in Brenchley, Kent. She then trained as a secretary at West Kent College, Tonbridge and she also worked as a ski representative in Switzerland and spent a year travelling and working in Australia. In 1996, Rhys-Jones launched her public relations agency, RJH Public Relations, while working at Capital Radio, Sophie met Prince Edward, the youngest son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, for the first time in 1987 when he was dating her friend. She met Prince Edward again at a charity event in 1993, and their engagement was announced on 6 January 1999. Edward proposed to Sophie with an engagement ring featuring a two-carat oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped gemstones set in 18-carat white gold and this engagement ring was made by Asprey and Garrard and is worth an estimated £105,000. Following their union, the moved to Bagshot Park, their home in Surrey. The Earl and Countess have two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, in December 2001, the Countess was taken to the King Edward VII Hospital after feeling unwell. It was discovered that she was suffering from an ectopic pregnancy, the Countess returned to Frimley Park Hospital on 17 December 2007, to give birth, again by caesarean section, to her son, James, Viscount Severn. The Countess of Wessexs first overseas tour after her marriage was to the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island in 2000 and she also became patron of a number of organisations, including the SAFC Foundation and Girlguiding UK. In 2003, she became Patron of Tomorrows People Trust, in 2006, she also lent her support to the Born in Bradford research project, which is investigating causes of low birth weight and infant mortality. In December 2011, the Countess of Wessex joined her husband visiting troops in Afghanistan, on the same trip, the royal couple visited Bahrain, and received two gifts of jewels from the Bahraini royal family and Prime Minister. Given concern about human rights abuses in Bahrain, this gift attracted controversy, with calls for the jewels to be sold, on 26 March 2015, she attended the reburial of Richard III of England in Leicester Cathedral. Buckingham Palace immediately issued a statement saying, This mornings story in The Sun is an invasion of privacy. Prime Minister Tony Blair also condemned the publication of the photograph, the Palace made an official complaint to the Press Complaints Commission. According to Sophies business partner the incident had left her distressed, tarrant later said, There was never, ever the slightest hint of romance between Sophie and myself, let alone these snidey insinuations
40.
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
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Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, KG, GCVO, SSI, GCStJ is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He trained and practiced as an architect until the death of his brother placed him in direct line to inherit his fathers dukedom of Gloucester. He is currently 24th in the line of succession to the British throne, and he is also the senior male line descendant of three British monarchs, Victoria, Edward VII and George V. Prince Richard was born on 26 August 1944 and his father was Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. His mother was Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, a daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch and he was baptised at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park on 20 October 1944 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Gordon Lang. When Richard was four months old, he accompanied his parents to Australia, the family returned to Barnwell Manor in 1947, where Richard was largely raised. At the time of his birth, he was fifth in the line of succession to the throne and second in line to his fathers dukedom, behind his brother, William died in 1972 when the plane he was piloting crashed at Halfpenny Green near Wolverhampton. Richard then became apparent to his fathers dukedom and inherited it two years later upon the death of the first duke. Prince Richards early education took place at home, later, he attended Wellesley House School at Broadstairs and Eton College. In 1963, he matriculated at Magdalene College, Cambridge where he studied Architecture, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June 1966, he proceeded as MA in 1971. Later in 1966, straight after university, Prince Richard joined the Offices Development Group in the Ministry of Public Building and he returned to Cambridge in 1967, completing both parts of the Diploma in Architecture degree in June 1969. Upon passing his exams, he became a partner in Hunt Thompson Associates in London. Richard became first in line to his fathers dukedom and had to take on additional family obligations and he resigned his partnership and began representing his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II on royal duties. On 10 June 1974, Prince Richard succeeded to his fathers titles as Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster, the Duke remains particularly interested in architecture and conservation. He was elected as a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1972. He is President of the Society of Architect Artists and he serves as a Commissioner of the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England. The Duke has been Patron of construction charity Construction Youth Trust for many years and has a set of charitable interests. He is Royal Patron of the UK branch of the charity Habitat for Humanity, Royal Patron of the St. Georges Society of New York, and President of The London Society
41.
Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester
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Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, GCVO, is the wife of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, and first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Birgitte was born Birgitte Eva Henriksen, in Odense, Denmark, the daughter of Asger Preben Knud Wissing Henriksen, a lawyer, and his wife, Vivian van Deurs. After her divorce, her father married Emma Neergaard Rasmussen, the wife of magnate Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller. She took her mothers name van Deurs on 15 January 1966. She moved to Cambridge, England, and also worked at the Danish Embassy in London, in February 1972, Birgitte became engaged to Prince Richard of Gloucester, the younger son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. The groom designed her coral and silver engagement ring and their marriage took place on 8 July 1972 at St Andrews Church, Barnwell, Northamptonshire. The brides wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell, at that time, she was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Richard of Gloucester. Six weeks after their wedding, Prince Richards elder brother, Prince William, was killed in a flying accident, Prince Richard unexpectedly became heir apparent to the dukedom and upon his fathers death in 1974, the couple became the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. The couple have three children and six grandchildren, Alexander Patrick Gregers Richard Windsor, Earl of Ulster, born 24 October 1974 and he married Claire Alexandra Windsor, Countess of Ulster on 22 June 2002. The couple have two children, Xan Richard Anders Windsor, Lord Culloden Lady Cosima Rose Alexandra Windsor Lady Davina Elizabeth Alice Benedikte Lewis and she married Gary Christie Lewis on 31 July 2004. The couple have two children, Senna Kowhai Lewis Tāne Mahuta Lewis Lady Rose Victoria Birgitte Louise Gilman, born 1 March 1980 and she married George Gilman on 19 July 2008. Birgitte has also travelled overseas in support of her own patronages and military units and she and her husband represented the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the state funeral of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga on 19 September 2006. They also represented the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the coronation of King George Tupou V of Tonga on 1 August 2008 in Nukuʻalofa, Birgitte is sponsor of two Royal Navy ships, HMS Gloucester and HMS Sandown. She is also the Royal Patron of the Bermuda Regiment, after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, Birgitte became President of the Royal Academy of Music. She is also the patron of Prostate Cancer UK, in March 2006, she opened the Prostate Centre. The Duchess lives in London at Kensington Palace, her royal residence
42.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
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Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, KG, GCMG, GCVO, ADC is a grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has held the title of Duke of Kent since the death of his father in 1942, the Duke of Kent carries out engagements on behalf of his first cousin, Elizabeth II. He is perhaps best known as president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, presenting the trophies to the Wimbledon champion and he also served as the United Kingdoms Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, retiring in 2001. He is also the president of The Scout Association, the Royal United Services Institute, and the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and since 1967 Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. The Duke of Kent is also patron of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, as of the birth of the Duke of Cambridges second child, the Queens fifth great-grandchild, on 2 May 2015, the Duke of Kent was 34th in line. As of the death of the 7th Earl of Harewood in 2011, he became the Queens oldest living paternal cousin, since his mother was a cousin of Prince Philip, he is also a second cousin to Prince Charles and his siblings. Prince Edward was born on 9 October 1935, at No.3 Belgrave Square, home Secretary Sir John Simon was present to verify the birth. Prince Edwards father was Prince George, Duke of Kent, the son of George V. His mother was Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, the daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and he was baptised in the Private Chapel of Buckingham Palace on 20 November 1935 by the Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang. Prince Edward began his schooling at Ludgrove, a school in Berkshire, before going on to Eton College. After school he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he won the Sir James Moncrieff Grierson prize for foreign languages, on 25 August 1942, Prince Edwards father, the Duke of Kent, was killed when his plane crashed in bad weather in Caithness. Prince Edward, who was almost 7, succeeded his father as Duke of Kent, Earl of St Andrews and he later took his seat in the House of Lords in 1959. As a member of the family, he began performing engagements at an early age. In 1953, he attended the coronation of his cousin, Elizabeth II, the Duke of Kent graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 29 July 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, the beginning of a military career that would last over 20 years. He was promoted to captain on 29 July 1961, the Duke of Kent saw service in Hong Kong from 1962–63 and later served on the staff in Eastern Command. He was promoted to Major on 31 December 1967, during the early 70s, the Duke also served in Northern Ireland with his Regiment. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on 30 June 1973, the Duke retired from the Army on 15 April 1976. He was subsequently promoted Major-General on 11 June 1983 and Field Marshal on 11 June 1993, the Duke of Kent married Katharine Worsley at York Minster on 8 June 1961
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Katharine, Duchess of Kent
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Katharine, Duchess of Kent, GCVO, is the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, and first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. The Duchess of Kent gained attention for her conversion to Catholicism in 1994, the Duchess of Kent is strongly associated with the world of music, and has performed as a member of several choirs. She is also known as the presenter of trophies at the annual Wimbledon lawn tennis championships — a role she inherited from her mother-in-law, Princess Marina. As a known fan, she also has attended —. She prefers to be known in her life as Katharine Kent. However, her formal title remains Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent and she is a descendant of Oliver Cromwell. Worsley was christened at All Saints Church, Hovingham, on 2 April 1933 and her godparents were, Sir Felix Brunner, 3rd Baronet, Major Sir Digby Lawson, 2nd Baronet, Mrs Arthur Colegate, and Mrs Ronald Fife. She was educated at Queen Margarets School, York, and at Runton Hill School in North Norfolk, at school she was introduced to music, and was taught to play the piano, organ and violin, which she still plays today. The Duchess has stated her admiration for the late cellist Jacqueline du Pré in the documentary by Christopher Nupen called Who is Jacqueline du Pré and she later worked for some time in a childrens home in York and worked at a nursery school in London. On 8 June 1961, she married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the eldest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, at York Minster. Guests included actors Noël Coward and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as well as members of the British, Greek, Danish, Norwegian, Yugoslavian, Romanian, the brides gown was designed by John Cavanagh, and she wore a diamond bandeau tiara lent by her mother-in-law. After her marriage she was styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Kent have three children, George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, Lady Helen Taylor, Lord Nicholas Windsor. It had the most devastating effect on me, she told The Daily Telegraph in 1997, I had no idea how devastating such a thing could be to any woman. It has made me extremely understanding of others who suffer a stillbirth, the Duchess of Kent was received into the Catholic Church in 1994. This was a decision, and she received the approval of The Queen. As she explained in an interview on BBC, I do love guidelines, I have always wanted that in my life. I like to know whats expected of me, I like being told, You shall go to church on Sunday and if you dont youre in for it. Basil Hume, then Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster and thus leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales
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Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
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Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, KG, GCVO is the youngest granddaughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She is the widow of Sir Angus Ogilvy, as of January 2017, she is 50th in the line of succession to the thrones of 16 states, at the time of her birth in 1936, she was sixth. Princess Alexandra was born on 25 December 1936 at 3 Belgrave Square and her parents were Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. She received the name Christabel because she was born on Christmas Day, like her aunt by marriage, Princess Alice and her birth was the last to have the tradition of having the Home Secretary present to verify the birth of potential heirs to the throne. Secretary Sir John Simon was present and was the last to do this, as a male-line granddaughter of the British monarch, she was styled as a British princess with the prefix Her Royal Highness. She was born two weeks after the abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII, of her godparents, only the King and Queen and Lord Athlone were present. Princess Alexandra spent most of her childhood at her familys house, Coppins. She lived with her grandmother, Queen Mary, the widow of George V and her father was killed in an aeroplane crash near Caithness, Scotland on 25 August 1942 while serving in the Royal Air Force. Princess Alexandra has the distinction of being the first British princess to have attended a boarding school and she was also trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital. She was a bridesmaid at the 1946 wedding of Captain Lord Brabourne, the following year, she served as bridesmaid at the wedding of her cousins, the then-Princess Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh, on 20 November 1947. The Queen is Princess Alexandras paternal first cousin, the Duke of Edinburgh is Princess Alexandras maternal first cousin once removed and she was also a bridesmaid at the 1962 wedding of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and her second cousin, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark. On 24 April 1963, she married the Hon. Angus James Bruce Ogilvy, the wedding ceremony was attended by the royal family and was broadcast worldwide on television, watched by an estimated 200 million people. The bride wore a gown of Valenciennes lace, with matching veil and train. Angus Ogilvy declined the Queens offer to be created an earl upon marriage, Angus Ogilvy was knighted in 1988, later being sworn of the Privy Council in 1997. Taking part in roughly 120 engagements each year, Princess Alexandra is one of the most active members of the royal family, the number of her engagements in 2012 were 110. However, in late June 2013 she cancelled all future engagements due to arthritis, Princess Alexandra was almost 16 years old when her cousin acceded to the throne. In 1959, she carried out a tour of Australia. The Alexandra Waltz was composed for this visit by radio legend, Russ Tyson and it was sung for the princess by teen-aged Gay Kahler, who later changed her name to Gay Kayler
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