I discussed Diana’s legacy in popular culture with Daniel Arkin in NBC News including key themes from films and TV series about Diana and why her life and death has such resonance for screenwriters and audiences alike.
Click here to read From ‘Spencer’ to ‘The Crown’: Why do we remain captivated by Princess Diana? at NBC News
My latest article in Reader’s Digest Canada discusses little known facts about the royal wedding of 1981 including the backup wedding dress for Lady Diana Spencer, the special chair commissioned for one of the wedding guests, and the concerns that both Prince Charles and Lady Diana expressed before the ceremony.
I discussed Season 4 of The Crown on Netflix with NBC News and Le Figaro including the portrayals of the Queen, Margaret Thatcher and Diana, Princess of Wales.
I discussed the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 with Jessica Pearce Rotondi at History.com, including the menu, guest list and media coverage at the time.
In an interview with Janet Davison at CBC News, I discussed screen portrayals of Diana, Princess of Wales and the challenges that arise in fictional depictions of Diana’s life for TV and film.
My latest article in the Canadian Encyclopedia is about Lady Lansdowne,
viceregal consort of Canada from 1883 to 1888 and Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Alexandra. Lady Lansdowne was an active and popular viceregal consort who became an accomplished figure skater during her time in Canada. Her eldest brother was an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales and Lady Lansdowne was therefore a great-great-great-great grand-aunt of Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the newborn son of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Click here to read my article about Lady Lansdowne in the Canadian Encyclopedia
I discussed royal parenting over the past century with Laura T. Coffey from Today. One hundred years ago, King George V’s and Queen Mary’s youngest son Prince John died following an epileptic seizure. While his parents grieved his loss, his daily care had been entrusted almost entirely to his governess Charlotte Bill, and he resided in his own residence, the Wood Farm cottage on the Sandringham Estate. Royal parents are far more involved in the daily care of their children today, a trend that will continue with the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby.
Click here to read Royal parenting over the years: From distant and lonely to loving and hands-on
Diana, Princess of Wales at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987
Here an excerpt from the interview:
“This isn’t a new game; reporting on royal gossip has been happening for a while, though it’s certainly evolved under different monarchs’ reigns. “It’s varied over time, as there’s a balance between maintaining the mystique of the monarchy and ensuring members of the royal family have a private life to some degree, but also responding to a very strong public interest in royalty and life behind palace doors that has existed for centuries,” royal historian Carolyn Harris, the author of Raising Royalty: 1,000 Years of Royal Parenting, told the Cut.”
Click here to read “Inside the Royal Gossip Machine” in New York Magazine
Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales on their wedding day in 1981
In honour of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this weekend, my feature article in the BBC History Magazine is about the 8 most famous royal weddings in British history. I discuss what each bride wore on her wedding day, guest list complications, wedding cakes and the variety of popular responses to royal weddings over the centuries from Tudor times to today.
Click here to read The 8 Most Famous Royal Weddings in British History
Meghan Markle
There have been conflicting reports this week concerning whether Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, will attend the royal wedding on Saturday May 19 and escort his daughter down the aisle to marry Prince Harry. The latest news indicates that he will be undergoing heart surgery later in the week and be unable to travel to the United Kingdom for the wedding.
I discussed the history of royal weddings with Lindsay Good at E News online. Although the most famous recent royal brides, Catherine Middleton and Lady Diana Spencer were accompanied by their respective fathers on their wedding days, there are numerous royal brides who have been escorted by other relatives including mothers, uncles, brothers and brothers-in-law. As a widow, Queen Victoria escorted at least two of her daughters, Helena and Beatrice, down the aisle when they married.
Click here to read Who Could Walk Meghan Markle Down the Aisle in Place of Her Father, According to a Royal Expert