Royal Babies Rule! (Well, They Will Someday)

Last week, we saw some truly horrific things happen around the world (If you don't already know what I'm talking about, good for you, ignorance really is bliss.).

But since it's almost Christmas, and I'm in a really good mood, I'm going to risk the chance of going to the darkest place in hell, and completely skim over all terrorist attacks and only talk about royal babies.

Lots and lots of royal news this month, after a relatively dry spell. To begin with, two royal babies were born - TWO.

The twin children of Prince Albert II of Monaco and his wife, Princess Charlene, were born on the 10th of December. The daughter, Princess Gabriella, was born two minutes before her younger brother, Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco, but because Monaco still follows the principle of male primogeniture, poor Gabriella is only second in line to the throne. As consolation, perhaps, she was given the title of Countess of Carladès, but it's not as though she's going to appreciate that much when she's told that the reason she won't be Queen is because she's a girl.

But that's a few years in the future. For now, both Jacques and Gabriella are probably sleeping in their cradles, not really bothered about anything at all, let alone the prospect of ruling a country. The babies will be introduced to the Monegasque public on the 7th of January, which has been declared a public holiday... for some reason? Was the day Prince George was born a public holiday? Well, either way, there are some adorable pictures to look forward too.

Speaking of adorable pictures: In the spirit of Christmas, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge released three new pictures of this charmer:

The latest photos of Prince George for you! Our little Prince is pictured sitting on the steps of Kensington Palace. pic.twitter.com/kWkj9aAtTz
— Clarence House (@ClarenceHouse) December 13, 2014

He's growing up too fast, faster than I can handle. Very soon, he won't be making grumpy faces at the camera any more, and then what?

But thankfully, I'll always have this picture of George to remember him by.

Not to be outdone, the Swedish Royal Family brought in their own cute child in a knitted jumper. And they made it into a video, just to give themselves an edge in this competition between royal babies.

I give you, Princess Estelle of Sweden.



I was introduced to Princess Estelle through Order of Splendor, and I instantly adored her, She had the most sass that I have ever seen in a child, let alone a royal baby. In fact, I'm almost sorry that George came along, because that meant I paid less attention to her. But then I'm also not sorry, because Prince George.

A similar situation is going to be created next year, when Baby Cambridge No. 2 is born, and I shift my attention from George to him/her. These royals really need to stop having children in such quick succession.

Which leads me to the last piece of royal news. Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Chris O'Neill have announced that they are expecting their second child. Their first child, Leonore, will turn 1 this coming February, so that will make it two children in two years for Madeleine and Chris. Which is only a little bit better than the Cambridges - if Prince George had been born in February, they would have been two for two too (Alliteration).

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That's all for this post. I'll have more news on each of these royal babies as they are born/presented to the public/grow up, and until then I'll continue to type away about something or the other.

Happy Christmas, and best wishes this festive season if you don't celebrate Christmas. Don't forget to write to your favourite royal!

N

UPDATE: Literally minutes after I published this post (And I don't use the word literally lightly), I saw on Twitter that the first photos of Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella had been released. Take a look.

First PICS of Monaco's twins! Albert & Charlene with babies Jacques & Gabriella http://t.co/UnMA25dUeJ via @Femail pic.twitter.com/I0vEZNtfH5
— British Royals (@britishroyals) December 23, 2014

Adorable!

Welcome To New York

Everyone's favourite Duke and Duchess (because, let's face it: the Duke of Edinburgh's wife is The Queen; no one knows that Prince Charles is also the Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay; the Duke of York isn't married anymore, and even though Sarah Ferguson hold the title of Duchess, no one calls them the Duke and Duchess of York anymore; and the Dukes of Gloucester and Kent are way too far down in the line of succession to be anyone's favourite) William and Catherine are in New York City!

Minus their baby boy George, which is always a disappointment.

William and Kate arrived yesterday, and they're leaving tomorrow, so it isn't a very long visit, but they've got quite a packed itinerary (see here) and I think they're meeting the Obama's at some point.

They are staying at The Carlyle Hotel. Now, I have no idea where that is, but if you live anywhere near by, or even a subway ride away, you should go and just stand in the lobby, waiting for William and Kate to pass by when they go to the pool or something. 

Unlike nearly two years ago when she was expecting George, Kate looks a lot more obviously pregnant now.

Look:

Photo: The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge arrive at The Carlyle Hotel in NYC. pic.twitter.com/rbEQQIxOIb
— ET Canada (@ETCanada) December 7, 2014 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, arrive in New York City http://t.co/nTEsd62O7D #CBSEveNews pic.twitter.com/pyNZJspe9w
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) December 8, 2014 

I have a fair bit more to write about this Royal visit to New York, but, seeing as how I'm currently quite bogged down with projects and assignments and procrastinating, I'm going to have to put it off until next week.

There will be more pictures,

N 

Random Book Review: The Captive Queen

Every time I've sat down to write this review, I've thought about how long it's been since I read The Captive Queen, and how little of the story I remember, and abandoned my post half-way. But then I realised that none of the 'book reviews' I've written in the past have been book reviews at all. I've just read a book, written down whatever I was thinking at the time, gone off onto a tangent about the Wars of the Roses, and published that for all and sundry to read.

I must confess that when I read The Captive Queen, I knew next to nothing about Eleanor of Aquitaine. A few months earlier, I had read Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park, in which Eleanor Douglas admits to being named after Eleanor of Aquitaine. And, believe it or not, that was the first time I ever read Eleanor's full title. Up until that point, she had just been King Henry II's 'Queen Eleanor' to me. 

But that's the whole point of reading, isn't it? Why would anyone ever read anything if they knew everything that there was to be known? After I read The Captive Queen, I read more about Eleanor, and now I do know who she is. And she fast became one of favourite Queens, too (Which is more than I can say about Elizabeth Woodville, that conniving Lancastrian widow who managed to fulfill her dynastic ambitions even though no one liked her). Here's why.

When the story begins, Eleanor is still married to her first husband, King Louis VII of France. She had been one of the most sought after brides in Europe, which is evident by the fact that, by virtue of his marriage to her, Louis has possession of Aquitaine, one of the largest French duchies of the time. But Louis and Eleanor [I'm writing about the King and Queen of France and I can only think about Louis from One Direction and his girlfriend Eleanor] don't have any sons - and besides, Eleanor doesn't really love Louis any way. So she annuls their marriage, giving her inability to produce a male heir as the reason, and then promptly marries Henry Plantagenet. 

Henry becomes the new Duke of Aquitaine, then he becomes the King of England, and the two have a lot of sons together... And then their sons grow up. And that's when the trouble begins.

King Henry has his eldest son, also Henry, crowned the 'Young King' in Westminster, the only time in English history that an heir was crowned while the present King was still on the throne. And I think we know why it was never done again - having been crowned, the Young King wants more power and authority than his father was willing to let him have. He leads a revolt against his father, the King, supported by his younger brothers and his mother. 

When Henry gets wind of the fact that his wife is helping their sons to rebel against him, he locks her in a tower at Sarum (And you thought things like that only happened in fairy tales!) and takes a mistress, Rosamund Clifford, while Eleanor sits in the tower, regretting her life choices. 

And then, one by one, the rebellious sons start dying. When the Young King dies, Henry briefly lets Eleanor out of her prison so that they can grieve together, and then again when Geoffrey dies and then again when their daughter, Eleanor, gets married to the King of Castile. At long last, King Henry dies too, Richard becomes King and Eleanor is let out of her tower. Hurray!

Eleanor of Aquitaine lived until she was 82, a surprisingly long time when you consider the fact that there were virtually no medical facilities at the time. She died during the reign of her last son, and second to become King, John, as a nun in Fontevrault Abbey - a less than fitting end for woman who had been Queen of both England and France and ruler of Aquitaine and Poitiers in her own right.

I have a feeling her life would have turned out very differently if she had lived today. 

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This was the first time that, after reading a historical novel, I learnt absolutely nothing about the life in court. Usually, there the protagonist is a woman who is pottering around her palace, plotting with her women of the bedchamber, going into confinement to give birth, ordering gowns for coronations. Nothing of that sort happened in The Captive Queen (or maybe it did, and I just wasn't paying attention). It was too fast paced to allow for n. Maybe Eleanor compared the English food to what she was used to having in France, but apart from that it was just historical event after historical event after historical event. The Anarchy, Thomas Beckett's murder, Princes going to war against Kings, sons going to war against their father - it's a little wonder, really, that the Angevins are said to be descended from the Devil.  

Alison Weir has also written a non-fiction account of Eleanor of Aquitaine's life, but I am never going to read that. I have a feeling that it'll be like studying.

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The Captive Queen can be purchased on Amazon (click here), or Flipkart (here) if you live in India.

N