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Queen Alexandra - my family #50

Queen Alexandra was the daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria as she was married to her eldest son and heir, Edward VII. Her family were from Denmark and although of royal blood they were a distant branch of the royal house of Oldenburg and apparently lived very modestly on her father's army commission. However, in 1852 her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, was chosen to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as King of Denmark thus the family's status rose and they moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace. Alexandra, or 'Alix' as she was known was born on 1st December 1844, her full name being Alexandra Caroline M...

Queen Alexandra - my family #52

Here is a final selection of photos from the album of Queen Alexandra, found in the Library of Hoar Cross Hall.  Alexandra enjoyed photography as a hobby and in 1908 put together this album of personal photos of her family to be sold for charity.  It is a fascinating insight into another world, long gone now.  As we lead up to the Coronation of King Charles III it is a reminder of all that has gone before and all that is to come in the future with our hard working royals.     King Edward VII and David Here is the King in relaxed pose with his grandson, David, who later became King Edward VIII.  David became the King in January 1936 and famously abdicat...

Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' #6

...tarted by Henry VIII when guns became easier to handle back around 1500 and continues to this day although some have now changed to clay pigeon shooting. On a good day they could bag anything up to 300 birds! The shooting season was from October through to February and every year the local ‘shoot’ would come to the Hall to bag a few birds. I think there was an arrangement with the Meynells that they could still come and shoot on our land when we bought the house. A gamekeeper used to breed the pheasants in some sheds in the woods and I remember seeing him there and looking at the little chicks. It seemed incredible to us that someone would raise chicks to gr...

Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' #6

...tarted by Henry VIII when guns became easier to handle back around 1500 and continues to this day although some have now changed to clay pigeon shooting. On a good day they could bag anything up to 300 birds!  The shooting season was from October through to February and every year the local ‘shoot’ would come to the Hall to bag a few birds. I think there was an arrangement with the Meynells that they could still come and shoot on our land when we bought the house.  A gamekeeper used to breed the pheasants in some sheds in the woods and I remember seeing him there and looking at the little chicks.  It seemed incredible to us that someone would raise chicks...

Hysterical Productions #15

...By the end of 1974 we had done about 40 banquets at Hoar Cross Hall and they were still going strong. Most of the original cast were still with us but we were on our second King now and also doing our own catering and bar, whereas when we first started, we had a catering firm in to do it all. Every weekend over 200 people came to sample our Noble Brose, Roast Lambe and Saracen’s Delight and sing along to ‘I’m Henry VIII’ whilst drinking beer, wine and mead. But it was a very adult environment for 15 year old girls to work in; a few of my school friends also worked at the banquets as wenches and we were constantly being chatted up by men who bought us dri...

Meet the Neighbours - Coombe Abbey # 81

...500s when Henry VIII came along! In 1603 King James I sent his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, to live there and be educated, when it was bought by a John Harington but by 1622 the Craven family had acquired the Abbey, and it stayed with them for another 300 years.  Sounds like there’s been a few royal connections to this Grade I listed building!  John Harington converted the abbey into  one of the most substantial houses in the county and it seems that he and his wife looked after the Princess Elizabeth for about four years, keeping her safe from the plague in 1604 and then the famous Gunpowder Plot later that year.  Apparently, King James and his two sons...