IN MEMORIAM
HRH THE PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH

Royal Mail today revealed images of four new stamps being issued in memory of HRH The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The black and white images feature Prince Philip through the years:

• 2^nd Class stamp: HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh taken by the photographer Baron

• 1^st Class: HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attending the passing out parade of Prince Andrew at Dartmouth Naval College, Devon

• £1.70:  HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at the Royal Windsor Horse Show

• £2.55: HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh taken by the photographer Terry O’Neill

Simon Thompson, CEO, Royal Mail said: ”Throughout adulthood, The Duke of Edinburgh dedicated himself to the service of this country, the Commonwealth and to the many causes he was involved with. For more than seven decades he was at the centre of our national life. His passing is a key moment in our history which we mark with this set of commemorative stamps”.

Born on June 1921 in Corfu, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was the only son and youngest child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenburg. Like HM The Queen, he was also a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, descended from her second daughter, Princess Alice. 

Following the abdication of his uncle, King Constantine I, during a turbulent period in Greece’s history, his family fled the country to exile in France when the Prince was 18 months old.

After education at Cheam Preparatory School and Gordonstoun, in 1939 the 18-year-old Prince joined the Royal Navy as a ‘Special Entry’ Cadet, where he excelled in his training.

In July 1947 the engagement of Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten to Princess Elizabeth was announced, and four months later their wedding at Westminster Abbey was the first great State occasion since the end of World War II.

On the death of King George VI in February 1952, Prince Philip gave up his naval career to commit himself fully to establishing his role as consort to the new monarch. 

In addition to supporting HM The Queen, Prince Philip became patron or president of some 800 organisations during his lifetime, including the Industrial Society, the National Playing Fields Association and the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He was also President of the World Wildlife Fund UK, WWF International President and President Emeritus, Chancellor of Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities, and President of the International Equestrian Federation.

Founding The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in 1956, HRH inspired and encouraged millions of young people around the world to learn new skills and develop their full potential.

In his spare time, Prince Philip pursued his interests in sports and adventure, becoming a qualified pilot, a keen sailor who competed regularly at the Cowes Regatta and an avid polo player. He also took up four-in-hand carriage-driving and represented Britain at several World and European championships. 

An artistic individual, The Prince enjoyed painting landscapes and he was a keen collector of art. Prince Philip also played a vital role in helping to modernise the institution of the monarchy. In May 1961, he became the first member of the Royal Family to be interviewed on television. It was his suggestion that The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace should be built on the site of the chapel destroyed in an air raid in 1940 to display items from the Royal Collection to the public.

During more than half a century in the public eye, Prince Philip accompanied The Queen on more than 250 overseas tours and completed well over 20,000 official engagements. He successfully carved a niche that combined ceremonial and family duties, as the father of four children, with his own crowded itinerary.

The four portrait stamps presented in a miniature sheet, retails at £6.65. The stamps and a range of collectible products are available now to pre-order from www.royalmail.com/dukeofedinburgh.

The stamps will be available on general sale from 24 June 2021.

The Duke and Duchess Celebrate 10th Wedding Anniversary

Today The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are celebrating their 10th Wedding Anniversary! 

Prince William and Catherine Middleton were married on the 29th April 2011 at Westminster Abbey, London, in front of their 1,900 guests.

To mark the occasion, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released two new images, taken earlier this week at Kensington Palace by photographer Chris Floyd. The first image is above and the second can be seen below.

The BBC will also be taking a look back at the special day, with Royal Wedding: A Day to Remember, which will broadcast on BBC 1 at 19:30 pm BST on the 30th April 2021. 

In the meantime, you can once again enjoy the romance and grandeur of the special occasion – in full – via the video below, along with a few fun royal wedding facts…

– Prince William and Catherine Middleton were engaged in October 2010, while on a private holiday in Kenya.

– Around 1,900 people attended the wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey; with approximately 600 people being invited to the luncheon reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by the Queen; and finally, about 300 people attended the evening dinner hosted by the Prince of Wales.

– Around 5,500 applications were submitted to hold royal wedding street parties across England and Wales, including 850 in London. Prime Minister David Cameron hosted one such party in Downing Street for charity workers and local children.

– The menu for the reception remained a secret for several years until a copy of the menu was sold at auction. It included appetizers of South Uist salmon, Lyme Bay crab and Hebridean langoustines, followed by North Highland organic lamb with spring vegetables, English asparagus and Jersey Royal potatoes. Berkshire honey ice cream, sherry trifle and chocolate parfait with a glass of Rose champagne, made up the desserts.

– Following the reception, Prince William drove his new wife back up the Mall to Clarence House. The car, a blue, two seat Aston Martin DB6 Volante (MkII convertible), was decorated in the customary newlywed style by the best man and friends; the rear number plate read “JU5T WED”

Please join us in congratulating the happy couple!

Have a lovely day,
The Royal Life Team

Thank you to everyone for the kind messages on our wedding anniversary. We are enormously grateful for the 10 years of support we have received in our lives as a family. W & C

📹 @will_warr pic.twitter.com/eWNw1E8FLB

— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 29, 2021

TUDORS TO WINDSORS: BRITISH ROYAL PORTRAITS

National Maritime Museum
28 May – 31 October 2021

On 28 May 2021 Royal Museums Greenwich, in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, London, will open Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits at the National Maritime Museum, a major art exhibition exploring the changing nature of the British monarchy and royal portraiture over 500 years.

Tudors to Windsors will feature over 150 works, including famous paintings, miniatures, sculpture, photographs, medals and stamps spanning five royal dynasties: Tudors, Stuarts, Georgians, Victorians and Windsors. Visitors will come face-to-face with the kings, queens, heirs, consorts and favourites who have shaped British royal history and portraits by some of the most important artists to have worked in Britain, often under the direct patronage of the Royal Family, from Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller to Andy Warhol, Cecil Beaton and Annie Leibovitz.

The majority of the artworks are drawn from the outstanding collection of the National Portrait Gallery. The loans will be on display alongside works from private lenders and pieces from the National Maritime Museum’s own renowned collection.

Beginning with the famous and infamous kings and queens of the Tudor dynasty, a period that coincides with the foundations of portrait painting in England, the exhibition will explore the development of the royal portrait as statements of wealth, power, continuity and tradition and how this was impacted by both the personalities of individual monarchs and wider historical change.

Highlights on display include the earliest known portrait of Henry VII – the oldest artwork in the exhibition – painted in 1505 by an unknown artist, as well as the famous ‘Ditchley Portrait’ of Elizabeth I by Flemish artist Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger. Regal portraits of Charles II and his mistresses will feature alongside early 19th century domestic photographs of Queen Victoria and her family. A selection of paintings and photographs of Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton and Annie Leibovitz will be displayed, alongside portraits of other members of the current Royal Family.

The exhibition takes place in the historic setting of Greenwich, one of London’s key royal sites as the location of the principal Tudor palace, the birthplace of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the home of the Royal Armouries and the location of the Queen’s House, commissioned by James I’s consort Anne of Denmark, and the Royal Observatory founded by Charles II.

Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits is on at the National Maritime Museum from 28 May 2021.
For more information, or to buy tickets, visit www.rmg.co.uk/TudorsWindsors

Exhibition information for visitors:

Venue: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Dates: 28 May – 31 October 2021
Website: www.rmg.co.uk/TudorsWindsors
Admission: Adults from £9.00 | Children from £4.50 | Under 25/Students from £5.85
Visitor Enquiries: 020 8858 4422 | bookings@rmg.co.uk

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Funeral will take place on Saturday 17 April 2021 at 3pm in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The Funeral Service will begin with a National Minute’s Silence at three o’clock. The service will be preceded by a ceremonial procession inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. 

The plans for the funeral are in line with The Duke of Edinburgh’s own personal wishes, and the occasion will recognise and celebrate The Duke’s life and his more than 70 years of service to The Queen, the UK and the Commonwealth. 

It will be a Ceremonial Royal Funeral, the same as for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, rather than a State Funeral – something which is generally reserved for Monarchs. The plans have been approved by The Queen and reflect appropriate Government advice.

The Dean of Windsor will conduct the Funeral Service and the Archbishop of Canterbury will pronounce the Blessing.

Due to the current public health guidelines, some elements of the Funeral plan have been modified, although the day will still be very much in line with His Royal Highness’s wishes.

The Funeral will be broadcast live on TV and radio to allow people around the world to take part in mourning The Duke. A live stream of the ceremony will be available on the Royal Family’s YouTube channel from approximately 2.30pm BST on Saturday 17 April 2021.

Overview

The Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin, covered with His Royal Highness’s Personal Standard and dressed with a wreath of flowers, will rest initially in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle, where it will remain until the day of the Funeral. 

On Saturday 17th April, The Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin will be moved by a Bearer Party found by The Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. Positioned in the Quadrangle at Windsor Castle will be representative detachments drawn from His Royal Highness’s military special relationships.

His Royal Highness’s coffin will be carried in a purpose-built Land Rover – which The Duke was involved in the design of – flanked by military Pall Bearers, in a small Ceremonial Procession from the State Entrance to St George’s Chapel, for the Funeral Service. Members of the Royal Family and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Household will walk behind the coffin from the Quadrangle, down Chapel Hill and into Horseshoe Cloister. The Funeral Service will begin with a National Minute’s Silence at 1500hrs. 

The Funeral Service will be attended by Her Majesty The Queen and Members of the Royal Family. The coffin, carried by a Bearer Party found by the Royal Marines, will be received at the top of the West Steps of St George’s Chapel by the Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Naval Cap and Sword will be placed on the coffin ahead of the service and His Royal Highness’s Insignia will be laid on the Altar of the Chapel. At the conclusion of the service, His Royal Highness will be interred in the Royal Vault in St George’s Chapel.

Running Order

On Saturday 17 April at 2:40pm, the coffin will emerge from the State Entrance of Windsor Castle into the Quadrangle, followed by the members of the Royal Family who will be walking in the procession. All those in the Quadrangle will give the coffin a Royal Salute before the coffin is placed onto the Land Rover.

The Queen will depart from the Sovereign’s Entrance in the State Bentley.

The Procession will move towards St. George’s Chapel, through Engine Court, Chapel Hill Parade Ground and into Horseshoe Cloister, arriving at the West Steps. The procession route will be lined by representatives from the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Highlanders, and 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Air Force.

Minute Guns will be fired by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from the East Lawn of Windsor Castle for the duration of the Procession. The Curfew Tower Bell will also toll.

The members of the Royal Family who will follow on foot behind the coffin are:

The Princess Royal  The Prince of Wales

The Earl of Wessex and Forfar   The Duke of York

The Duke of Sussex   Mr. Peter Phillips   The Duke of Cambridge

Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence   The Earl of Snowdon

The National Anthem will play as the coffin arrives at Horseshoe Cloister, to met by representatives from the Commonwealth and a Dismounted Detachment of the Household Cavalry.

The Bearer Party will carry the coffin up the West Steps of the Chapel before pausing for a National Minute Silence at 3pm. The Dean of Windsor and the Archbishop of Canterbury will then receive the coffin.

As the doors to St. George’s Chapel close, the Royal Navy Piping Party will pipe the ‘Carry On’.

Members of the Royal Family

The following Members of the Royal Family will attend the Funeral Service in the Chapel:

• The Duchess of Cornwall
• The Countess of Wessex and Forfar
• Viscount Severn
• The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
• The Duchess of Cambridge
• Mr. and Mrs. Mike Tindall
• Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
• Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
• Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank
• Mr. Jack Brooksbank
• The Lady Sarah and Mr. Daniel Chatto
• The Duke of Gloucester
• The Duke of Kent
• Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy
• The Hereditary Prince of Baden The Landgrave of Hesse The Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
• The Countess Mountbatten of Burma

The congregation will wear masks for the Service and Members of the Royal Family will wear Day Dress or Morning Coat with medals.

During the Service, a small choir of four will sing pieces of music chosen by The Duke of Edinburgh. The choir will be located in the Nave, away from the seated congregation, and in line with public health guidelines there will be no congregational singing.

The Funeral Service will be conducted by the Dean of Windsor, and is expected to last for approximately 50 minutes.

At the conclusion of the Service, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault. The Archbishop of Canterbury will pronounce the Blessing and the National Anthem will be sung by the Choir.

Her Majesty The Queen, Members of the Royal Family and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Family will then depart the Chapel via Galilee Porch.

A statement from Buckingham Palace:

The Duke of Edinburgh
1921 – 2021

It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

Further announcements will made in due course.

The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

Tuesday, 16th March 2021

The Duke of Edinburgh has today been discharged from King Edward VII’s Hospital and has returned to Windsor Castle, following treatment for an infection and a successful procedure for a pre-existing condition.

His Royal Highness wishes to thank all the medical staff who looked after him at both King Edward VII’s Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Hospital, and everyone who has sent their good wishes.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that The Duke of Edinburgh has been admitted to hospital as a precaution after feeling unwell.

A palace spokesperson said, “His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital in London, on Tuesday evening.

“The Duke’s admission is a precautionary measure, on the advice of His Royal Highness’s Doctor, after feeling unwell.

“The Duke is expected to remain in hospital for a few days of observation and rest.”

Oscar, Emmy and BAFTA-winning team making first ever archive-only cinema documentary on the extraordinary life of Diana, the Princess of Wales
And they need your help!

The life of Diana Frances Spencer is one of the iconic stories of our time. Twenty-five years after her death Lightbox have the opportunity to tell her story as it has never been told before and to create a landmark theatrical documentary which, they hope, will come to be seen as one of the defining records of her life and the era she lived through.

Told exclusively through archive material, the film will be a highly immersive narrative of Diana’s life, from her birth to her tragic death, which will be experienced by audiences as if the story were unfolding in the present.  As much as Lightbox are interested in the particulars of Diana’s story, however, they are equally interested in the way she was influenced by the era she lived through, how she impacted those events herself and the public’s response to her. 

As with all their films, this story will be told with the care and respect that the subject deserves. Lightbox wants to pay tribute to Diana’s life, and create a profound and cinematic film that will feel fresh and relevant to a contemporary audience looking back on these events.

How You Can Help

If you know anyone that might have footage of Diana, even in the most fleeting of moments, or that might have filmed the 1981 Wedding Day Celebrations or the 1997 Funeral then please spread the word and get in touch.

Find out how you can be part of this collaborative project by contacting Sheena: sheena@legacymagazines.co.uk

From the Academy Award®- and Emmy-winning producers of MAN ON WIRE, SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN and LA 92, and the Academy Award®-nominated director of BLACK SHEEP and TELL ME WHO I AM.

ABOUT LIGHTBOX

Headquartered in London and Los Angeles, Lightbox is a multi-platform media company creating high quality non-fiction content for an array of distribution platforms. It was founded by two-time Academy Award®-winning producer Simon Chinn (MAN ON WIRE, SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN) and two-time Emmy® Award-winning producer Jonathan Chinn (LA 92, AMERICAN HIGH). Lightbox’s recent productions include WHITNEY, a major theatrical feature documentary directed by Academy Award® winner Kevin Macdonald, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival; Netflix feature documentary TELL ME WHO I AM, which premiered to critical acclaim at Telluride and the London Film Festival; Academy Award®-nominated BLACK SHEEP; UNTOUCHABLE, a theatrical documentary on the Weinstein scandal which premiered at Sundance 2019 and aired on BBC2 and Hulu; high-profile Netflix hit series MURDER MOUNTAIN and DIAGNOSIS, an innovative Netflix Original eight-part documentary series produced in partnership with Scott Rudin Productions and The New York Times. The company is set to release its new feature documentary, TINA.  This will be the first major documentary to be made with the full participation of Tina Turner and is directed by Academy® and Emmy® Award winners Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin. Lightbox is also in production on an array of other feature documentaries and limited series for Netflix, FX, BBC, Showtime and HBO.

ABOUT ED PERKINS

Ed Perkins is an Academy Award®-nominated documentary filmmaker whose films have won numerous international awards. Ed has directed films for Netflix, the BBC, The Guardian, National Geographic and Channel 4 and was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2015. In 2009, Ed directed the behind-the-scenes documentaries for PROJECT NIM, THE EAGLE, the BAFTA-winning THE IMPOSTER, and the Academy Award®-winning SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN. In 2015 Ed made his first feature documentary GARNET’S GOLD, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival 2014, and won a Grierson Award for Best Newcomer as well as Best International Documentary awards at Docville and Jozi Film Festival. Ed then went on to make BARE KNUCKLE FIGHT CLUB for Channel 4 and FX Studios, of which The Times said, “You will not have seen a better documentary this year.” He has also made a number of short films, including IF I DIE ON MARS, which has had more than 1,000,000 views over multiple platforms. In 2018 Ed directed BLACK SHEEP, a documentary short for The Guardian, which won 13 international awards and was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the 91st Academy Awards. Ed’s latest film – TELL ME WHO I AM – is a Netflix Original feature documentary and has recently been nominated for a British Independent Film Award.

Today at Royal Life magazine we’re celebrating the news that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting their second child.

A spokesperson for the couple said: “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”

According to a Buckingham Palace spokesman, The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the whole Royal Family are “delighted” and “wish them well”.

The black and white image that was released to mark the occasion, was taken by photographer Misan Harriman and taken remotely on an iPad.

We couldn’t be happier for the couple and can’t wait to meet the new arrival.

For all the latest updates, be sure to follow Royal Life on Facebook and Twitter.

Remembering Captain Sir Tom Moore

Today we’re celebrating the extraordinary life of Captain Sir Tom Moore who sadly passed away on the 2nd February 2021 at the age of 100.

Her Majesty The Queen has sent a private message of condolence to the family of Captain Sir Tom Moore and is said to have very much enjoyed meeting him and his family at Windsor last year. The Palace has said that ‘Her thoughts and those of the Royal Family are with them.’

When Captain Tom Moore embarked on a personal challenge to complete 100 laps of the garden in his Bedfordshire home before his 100th birthday, he was hoping he might garner enough local support to raise a modest £1,000 for the NHS. What happened next, his daughter Hannah recalls, was “unimaginable”.

Clutching his walking frame for support and proudly wearing his WWII medals, the war veteran’s steely determination to keep lapping his garden, come rain or shine, quickly captured the hearts of wellwishers worldwide.

Donations, tributes and national news interviews poured in. By the time his 100th birthday (marked with a Spitfire flyover and more than 120,000 cards from fans around the globe) came around, Captain Moore’s status as a national hero was cemented.

To commemorate the life of Captain Sir Tom Moore, here are just a few of his amazing achievements…

• Captain Sir Tom was born on 30 April 1920 in Keighley. His father, Wilson, came from a family of builders; his mother, Isabella, taught children at a local school.
• His real passion was motorbikes. At the age of 12, Captain Sir Tom discovered one lying in a barn and bought it for half a crown. He proudly took it home, and lovingly did it up.
• Conscripted into the British army in June 1940, Captain Sir Tom joined the Duke of Wellington’s regiment, an infantry battalion involved in the Burma Campaign from 1942 to 1945.
• Selected for officer training, he became a second lieutenant on his 21st birthday, and – now part of the 146th Royal Armoured Corps – found himself posted to India.
• With his knowledge of motorbikes, Captain Sir Tom was asked to train dispatch riders. Radio transmissions could be intercepted, so this was the best means of getting information to and from the front line.
• Moore left military service in 1960, and took a job as a sales manager for a roofing company in his native Yorkshire.

• As Captain Sir Tom turned to complete his final lap, the fundraising total stood at more than £12m. It would eventually surpass £32m. An honour guard from his old regiment saluted an extraordinary achievement.
• His cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone, a duet with Michael Ball, raised even more – hitting the top of the charts in time for Captain Sir Tom’s 100th birthday and making him the oldest person ever to score a number one single in the UK.

• In July 2020, Captain Tom Moore became Captain Sir Tom Moore after receiving a knighthood from the Queen in her first official engagement since lockdown. Queen Elizabeth used the sword that belonged to her father, George VI, to present Captain Sir Tom with the insignia of Knight Bachelor.

You can learn more about the extraordinary life of Captain Sir Tom Moore in issue 48 of Royal Life magazine.