Far from covering himself in glory, Mountbatten’s actions in extracting Britain from India were to leave a devastating legacy. ibid.
Partition: two days later when the borders were revealed, panic set in. And the full horror of partition was unleashed. In the ensuing weeks, one million people lost their lives, and fifteen million were displaced as people fled across the borders. ibid.
Mountbatten had been engaged in an audacious plot to overthrow the prime minister [Harold Wilson] he was now glad-handling. ibid.
The extraordinary life of Princess Alice, the Duke of Edinburgh’s mother and the Queen’s mother-in-law is one of the best kept secrets in Royal history. Born in Windsor castle, she begins life as a privileged royal. But from the start, Alice is no ordinary princess. She was deaf. She served as a nurse on the front line. She goes on to face huge personal challenges and is committed to an asylum. But she would overcome these struggles to help those in need. Princess Alice: The Royals’ Greatest Secret, Channel 5 2020
Reporting of Alice’s death is minimal; it makes just the fourth item in the night’s news. ibid.
The Greek monarchy is not a stable one. Greece had only existed as a county in its own right for seventy years following the break-up of the Ottoman empire. ibid.
Out of the latest tragedy Princess Alice emerges with a renewed sense of purpose. But her return home to Greece throws up another test: one that takes her into a clandestine battle with the Nazis. ibid.
Prince Philip is one of the British monarchy’s most controversial figures. Decidedly old-school and occasionally inappropriate, in start contrast to the younger modern royal family. But before he joined the House of Windsor, Philip’s life was an epic tale of war, illness and tragedy, abandonment, and heroism. It’s a life that dashes from the war-torn Mediterranean to the streets of Paris and school-halls of Nazi Germany. Prince Philip: The Bachelor Years, Channel 5 2021
Philip’s father’s life is only spared by the court when his cousin, the British King George V, intervenes. ibid.
Philip’s mother, Alice, is a princess of the German house of Battenberg. ibid.
‘Alice felt she communicated with the spiritual world. She took to lying on the floor for great periods of time waiting for the spirits to tell her what she should be doing.’ ibid. Jenny Bond
Philip would see little of his father or his mother for the rest of his childhood ... 1930: his mother Alice is committed to an asylum in Switzerland and his father Prince Andrew is in Monte Carlo with his mistress. ibid.
Philip is seen as an outsider. Someone who didn’t go to the right schools. Doesn’t have any money. And is far too outspoken to be a true British gentleman. ibid.
Britain’s royal palaces: majestic, luxurious, and packed to the rafters with incredible secrets. Secrets of the Royal Palaces s1e1, Channel 5 2021
Royal security under the spotlight as the Queen gets locked out of her own palace [Nelson’s gate]. One of our most loved royals [Diana] is revealed to the world at Balmoral. We explore the blueprints for the most famous royal palace in the world [Buckingham Palace]. ibid.
William’s [golden] weather-vane may be subtle and hidden away but Kensington Palace most certainly isn’t. It’s one of the most public and easily accessible of all the royal palaces. ibid.
For privacy, the royals retreat up to Scotland to their most secluded palace: Balmoral. Located 100 miles north-east of Edinburgh, Balmoral estate has been a royal palace since 1852 when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought the land and commissioned the castle. ibid.
Buckingham Palace on the other hand was designed to be seen. It’s the most famous and the most visited of all the royal palaces. Buckingham Palace is the brainchild of one man: King George IV. ibid.
Marble Arch was painstakingly removed stone by stone to its present location at the end of Oxford Street. ibid.
‘As recently as 2019 exterminators were called in because rats were seen tearing through the royal kitchens.’ ibid. Kate Williams
There are more than 100 coaches in the royal collection. ibid.
The Royals’ hidden getaway: the vast estate of Balmoral … ‘Victoria was infused with the romance of Scotland’ … But Victoria’s and Albert’s fantasy Scottish castle is not to everyone’s taste … ‘Balmoral is a really ugly building’ … In addition to the castle there are 150 other buildings dotted throughout the estate. Secrets of the Royal Palaces s1e2, Dr Folye
We discover that Henry VIII’s great lost palace was a stadium for violence. ibid.
Every wall, corner and staircase of the palaces is lined with sensational features of art including hundreds of portraits. ibid.
William III’s Kensington Palace was built outside of London because he had asthma and wanted to avoid the pollution. ibid.
We learn how these iconic creations were built. Uncover the spectacular art housed therein … ‘More than a million objects spread across the royal palaces’ … Discover their gruesome stories. And relive the recent events that shaped the modern royal family. Secrets of the Royal Palaces s1e3
The United Kingdom’s royal palaces have the unique power to capture the imagination. Sightseers from across the globe flock to Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Holyrood. ibid.
The granddaddy of them all: Windsor Castle. While it may not be called a palace, for 900 years this fortress has been a home from home to Britain’s royalty … ‘Windsor castle is the largest occupied castle on the planet’ … This vast royal home comprises 951 rooms including 225 bedrooms and covers some 13 acres, and the look is straight out of a fairy-book. ibid.
The Queen’s Dolls’ House: built in the 1920s … showcasing contributions from 1,500 of the finest craftsmen and manufacturers of the day, this was not your average dolls’ house ... ‘there was bathrooms, a garage, cellars, a vault, kitchens, it’s simply the most spectacular dolls’ house anywhere in the world’ … including 700 paintings … real jewellers and goldsmiths … a library the envy of any book club ... no detail was too small … ‘electricity was installed throughout the house’ … proper taps with hot and cold running water … even the cellar is the real deal. ibid.
A palace security breach puts the Queen in peril; we reveal Sandringham’s scandalous past as a playboy prince creates the ultimate party palace; and the world’s most iconic palace suffers a plumbing problem. Secrets of the Royal Palaces s1e4
Set in 20,000 acres of Norfolk countryside, this private kingdom has been the private home of four generations of British monarchs. ibid.
Whitehall was probably the largest palace in Europe and the centre of English royal power. It was also beautiful. ibid.
When the monarchy was restored, the [art] collection continued to grow and today it’s one of the largest private art collections in the world. ibid.
The Queen and Prince Philip spend the winter months at Sandringham and enjoy the freedom the vast estate provides often driving themselves around. However, in January 2019 all that changed when 97-year-old Prince Philip was involved in an accident. Secrets of the Royal Palaces s1e5
At Hampton Court in the fifteenth century nothing could protect the King from himself. Henry VIII was famously celebrated for his skill at hunting and jousting in royal palaces like Hampton Court. ibid.
Brighton Pavilion can be considered a piece of art in itself, a piece of art which Queen Victoria hated. ibid.
Those palaces that can often go unnoticed, built to blend in and to be a place the royals can call home. Across Hyde Park, two miles west of Buckingham Palace, lies a remarkable housing complex brimming with secrets. Royals have occupied Kensington Palace for over three centuries. Secrets of the Royal Palaces s1e6
Windsor Palace: only two works of art were lost in the fire. The blaze took 15 hours to bring under control … In total 115 rooms had been completely destroyed. ibid.
The Royal Family have a palace for every occasion. Windsor: a castle steeped in a millennium of royal history still in use today; Buckingham Palace: the majestic royal home of the monarchy; and then there are private residences like Prince Charles’ country retreat Highgrove. Charles bought the Gloucestershire estate in 1980 and turned it into a family home, an organic oasis. Secret History of the Royal Palaces s1e7
Holyrood: ‘a massive building with enormous buttress-angled turrets and small windows, parapets, it is a castle … all the paraphernalia of a Bram Stoker Gothic novel.’ ibid. Dr Foyle
The hidden palace at the very heart of the monarchy … St James’ Palace is the real seat of royal power. St James’ Palace is also the oldest royal palace in London. It was built in 1532 by England’s most prolific palace builder, Henry VIII. Secrets of the Royal Palaces s1e8
In the south-west corner of the [St James’] palace complex lies this place: Clarence House, London home to Prince Charles. Built in 1825 the house owes its existence and name to another heir to the throne: the Duke of Clarence … The man for the job was the architect John Nash. ibid.