Extremely Salty About Ancient Dead Kings

Lady Louise Windsor at Westminster Hall for the arrival service of HM The Queen coffin. | September 14, 22022

This story has returned and cheered me up a bit.

Gold and purple outfit of Ulanara Ruyi, Consort Xian

The Princess of Wales curtsying before Queen Elizabeth’s coffin at Westminster Hall | September 14, 2022

I think that's her and her family.

Ah, so it is. Hadn’t spotted her - thanks love ❤️

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice attend a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin at Westminster Hallon | September 14, 2022

The Countess of Wessex curtsying before Queen Elizabeth’s coffin at Westminster Hall | September 14, 2022

"He told me that the life ot my dreams would be promised and someday be mine..."

No words to describe how much I love ENCANTO!

favourite photographs of princess elizabeth in 1947

The Princess of Wales watch on as Elizabeth II is placed on the catafalque at Westminster Hall. | September 14, 2022

MERLE OBERON in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933) The character of Anne Boleyn was perfect for her. The queen was ambitious, eager, attractive, and she loved beauty. She had immense courage, style, grace, and charm, and was sexually impossible to resist. Even her features, high cheekbones, and mysterious, opalescent eyes, were not far removed from Merle’s. Merle went to the National Portrait Gallery in London to look at pictures of Anne Boleyn. She bought prints of Anne Boleyn and hung them in her new flat. She bought books on the ill-fated queen and borrowed others from the library. Francis Hackett’s biography of Henry VIII was a hit in London that year, and she devoured it at a sitting. Her consuming ambition, as her possession of a dozen books on the subject and a script of her own authorship attested, was to expand the part of Anne Boleyn into a full-scale feature. - Princess Merle: The Romantic Life of Merle Oberon

The quiet power of Princess Anne

Grace, restraint and graft: in times of crisis, the Princess Royal comes to the fore.

By Camilla Tominey for The Telegraph

When the Princess Royal stood guard with her brothers, with calm dignity, by her late mother Queen Elizabeth’s coffin at the vigil at St Giles’ Cathedral on Monday, she made history as the first woman to do so. But this solemn moment was also emblematic of her dedication to her mother, and the strength and steadfastness of spirit that have long made her a jewel in the Crown.

It was Anne, her trusted confidante, who her mother had chosen to accompany the coffin on its journey from Balmoral, and to fly with it to RAF Northolt from Edinburgh. On her arrival in London, in just 120 words, the Princess Royal last night encapsulated what has been an extraordinarily moving few days.

“I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life,” she wrote in a poignant tribute. “It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys”. She went on to thank mourners for their love and respect and the British public for the support shown to her brother the new King. She ended her statement simply: “To my mother, The Queen, thank you.”

The Princess Royal had been in Scotland for two days when she had to make the dash to her mother’s bedside at Balmoral Castle to see her for the very last time.

Having visited Tarbert, a village in the west, before spending the previous day on the Isle of Skye, the late Queen’s only daughter had been due to carry out a series of engagements in Perthshire last Thursday morning when news reached her of her mother’s deteriorating condition. She quickly informed her siblings of the situation, prompting Charles to take a helicopter to travel from Dumfries House, where he had been staying, to Royal Deeside. If there is any consolation to Queen Elizabeth’s unexpectedly rapid demise, it is that her son and daughter were already in Scotland and could be with her at the end.

Ever since that heartbreaking day for the royals, the Crown has endured, with the smooth transition to the reign of Charles III supported by a family united in its desire to lead a nation in respectful mourning.

But there has also been one constant: Princess Anne, the ever-dutiful daughter who has played such a dignified role in what the King has described as their late mother’s “last great journey.”

From accompanying the funeral cortège on the poignant six-hour drive through the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh on Sunday, to yesterday evening’s final flight to London – Anne, 72, has once again proved her willingness to go the extra mile for an institution she has served unwaveringly for more than half a century.

But this wasn’t just a case of a daughter serving Crown and country. Once the arrangements had been made to convey Queen Elizabeth back to Buckingham Palace, ahead of today’s four-day lying in state at Westminster Hall, it was the Princess Royal’s solemn wish that she should be with her every sombre step of the way.

The decision could not be more symptomatic of Anne and the solid presence she has proved to be for a monarchy that has been riven with sibling rivalry in recent years. Amid all the conflict between the King and Prince Andrew – not to mention the ongoing rift between the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex – Anne has always risen above: the embodiment of her late mother’s “keep calm and carry on” mantra.

While the grief that was etched on her face as she curtseyed to Queen Elizabeth’s coffin upon its arrival at St Giles’ Cathedral on Monday may have shocked those used to her resolute stoicism, it came as no surprise to those who know the Princess well.

As one friend put it: “I was speaking to someone who used to work for the Princess and we both agreed how distraught she looked. But her dedication to her mother over the years has been tireless. She is just like Queen Elizabeth in being a truly remarkable woman.”

Anne has always quietly got on with the job, sailing through the tricky times by keeping her head down, and focusing on her role as one of the monarchy’s most prolific performers. As well as being one of the hardest-working royals, she has carried out her role without fuss or fanfare, largely eschewing press coverage despite the enormous value of her contribution to The Firm.

Having never felt the need to surround herself with the trappings of royal life, the famously frugal Princess chose not to give titles to her children, Peter Phillips, 44, and Zara Tindall, 41, preferring them to make their own way in life.

In a sign of just how tight-knit they are, the family all live together on Anne’s Gatcombe Park estate. Zara and her rugby player husband Mike share Aston Farm with their three children Mia, eight, Lena, four and one-year-old Lucas, while a stone’s throw away is the cottage where Peter lives with his daughters Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10. So convivial is the scene that Anne remains on very good terms with her ex-husband Mark Phillips, to whom she was married from 1973 to 1992, and let him live on the estate for years following their divorce.

Visitors to Gatcombe Park, an 18th-century country residence in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, speak of a thoroughly down-to-earth and outdoorsy set-up where, when she’s off-duty, Anne is known to be “warm”, “funny” and “affectionate” towards her children and grandchildren.

“The Princess is the type of woman who will come up to you and shake your hand rather than expecting you to go to her,” added the friend. “Yes, she is a stickler for protocol but in her private life she is incredibly funny. I remember one time when I asked her which of her grandchildren was the best at riding. I suggested Mia because Zara is such an accomplished horsewoman but the Princess signalled Mia’s lack of interest by doing an impression of the “Am I bovvered?’’ character from Catherine Tate. It was exactly like the TV show, which she had clearly watched. “

On another occasion we were at an event and the Princess suddenly asked, “anyone for a sandwich?” and started making cheese and coleslaw sandwiches and handing them out. I’ve often seen her going around with a tray of canapés. She’s just a normal person,” they continued. “Her house at Gatcombe – it’s quite cluttered. I’m sure it probably needs quite a lot of work doing to it, but she deplores waste. She’ll always look to save costs wherever she can.”

Like her late mother, Anne has also found her “strength and stay” in her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, described by those who know him as “kind” and “decent”. “He’s not an exciting person but he’s an absolute gentleman, terribly nice,” was how one insider describes him.

The couple, who are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in December, share a love of sailing and have a yacht, Ballochbuie, moored in a remote harbour on the west coast of Scotland. Their sailing holidays, which usually take place in the early summer, sandwiched between the more than 500 engagements that Anne carries out in a year, are considered to be sacrosanct.

So what will happen to the couple now there has been a significant shift in the royal order?

According to one former royal aide: “I don’t think anything will change for the Princess at all. She doesn’t need to do any stepping up, she’s already done that.

“I don’t think there will be any change in her status or titles and she’s never indicated that she wants to slow down,” they add. “She’s a workaholic and incredibly well respected by her charities and patronages, so she’ll surely just keep calm and carry on.”

There is no suggestion that Zara or Mike will take on any public duties, although both do their bit for charity – and will act as stalwart supports to the Prince and Princess of Wales, to whom they are very close (Zara is Prince George’s only royal godparent while it is thought William is Mia’s godfather).

Anne’s proximity in age to the King, 73, means that, of all the siblings, she will likely act as his closest confidante – but they have always led quite separate lives. With their brother Andrew having stepped back from royal duties, Anne will continue to be a “front-row royal” along with the Earl and Countess of Wessex in the court of King Charles.

But first they face the not inconsiderable task of laying their late mother to rest. Having played a central role in Monday night’s “Vigil of the Princes”, when she became the first female to ever take part in the historic ritual, Anne will once again be prominent in today’s walking procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall – as well as Monday’s concluding ceremony.

Long regarded as a “Daddy’s girl” thanks to her similar no-nonsense temperament to Prince Philip, what we have learned this sorrowful week is that the woman who was never destined to be Queen has proved herself once again to be every inch her mother’s daughter.

No official announcement of the princess’ engagement had yet been made. The name of Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten formerly Prince Philip of Greece has been repeatedly mentioned throughout the world. To inquire as about her engagement the Princess said ‘you must wait and see’.

There was, by now, one very regular visitor to the palace. In 1946, Prince Philip came back from the Far East and was appointed to a Royal Navy training unit. Palace staff noticed a new photograph on Princess Elizabeth’ desk. Following a night out with the Prince to see the musical Oklahoma!, she had taken to playing the song ‘People Will Say We’re In Love’ on her gramophone. Crawfie and others noted that the Prince’s sports car was an increasingly familiar sight at Buckingham Palace. He had even taken to inviting himself round to see Lilibet, as he acknowledged in a half-apology to the Queen. ‘However contrite,’ he wrote to her in June 1946, ‘I feel there is always a small voice that keeps saying “nothing ventured, nothing gained" - well, I did venture and I gained a wonderful time.’

SEPTEMBER 1946 BALMORAL