Prunella Scales returns to role of Queen Victoria for Edinburgh fringe show

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Admin

The Fawlty Towers actor has often played the monarch in the past and has now recorded audio for a new production at the festival

At the age of 91, Prunella Scales has reprised one of her favourite roles. The actor, who was diagnosed with vascular dementia 10 years ago, has recorded the part of Queen Victoria for a production at the Edinburgh fringe this summer.

She played the character more than 400 times in An Evening With Queen Victoria, a play written for her by Katrina Hendrey in 1979. She returned to the show on and off in performances around the world until 2007 and brought it to an end only because she was finding it hard to remember the lines.

Buckingham Palace declines to return remains of ‘stolen’ Ethiopian prince, say reports

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Admin

Prince Alemayehu, who was taken to England after his father’s citadel was looted, was buried at Windsor Castle in 19th century

Buckingham Palace has reportedly declined a request to return the remains of an Ethiopian prince who came to be buried at Windsor Castle in the 19th century.

Prince Alemayehu, a claimed descendant of the biblical King Solomon, was taken to England – some say “stolen” – after British soldiers looted his father’s imperial citadel after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868.

‘A time for reflection’: Queen prepares for first accession day without Philip

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Admin

Marking 70 years on the throne will be a private occasion of mixed feelings for the monarch

Seventy years after becoming monarch far sooner than she could have anticipated, the Queen will mark the anniversary of her accession on Sunday at Sandringham, where her father George VI died aged 56 in 1952.

Though it has long been her custom to mark this milestone at the Norfolk estate, this year has added poignancy. The Duke of Edinburgh, her “strength and stay” during 73 years of marriage, and who broke news to her of the king’s death while they were thousands of miles away at a Kenyan game lodge, is no longer at her side.

Show your mettle: Victoria Cross not made of captured Russian guns after all

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Admin

The long-held belief about the UK’s highest award for valour may have originated in speculation by the press, research has found

The Victoria Cross, or VC as it is popularly known, is the most cherished award in the British armed forces, awarded since 1857 for courage displayed “in the presence of the enemy”.

Its long history is filled with true stories of great bravery. But one long-held belief – that Victoria Cross medals were made from enemy guns captured during the Crimean war against Russia – is unlikely to be true, and originated instead from speculation in the press, according to new research.