Theatrical performances highlight Christmas festivities in the 16th and 17th century. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is said to have been written as a Twelfth…

Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guard. Image from Flickr A visit to London is not complete without witnessing one of the most anticipated spectacles …

Born in 1630 at Roch Castle to a family of middling gentry,   Lucy Walter was one of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England. When she was 14,…

Barbara Villiers. Image: Flickr Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland, holds the distinction for being King Charles II’s mo…

1. She was born Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille on September of 1649 into an upper class family in Brittany, a region located in the northwest o…

Frogmore House. Image by Karen Roe via Flickr 1. Frogmore was first constructed in 1680 after Charles II employed architect Hugh May to design a house fo…

Tea Party by Louis Moeller (1905). Source: Wikimedia The tradition of drinking tea in today’s contemporary period is so closely associated with the Britis…

One of the many royal pageants at the Thames. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee river pageant in 2012 was steep in pomp, splendor and tradition. This traditi…