A century of royal photography
The exhibition 'Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography' was one of the hits of the season last summer during its run at Buckingham Palace. Now the people of Scotland will have a chance to enjoy it as it opens at The King’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse this morning, 28 February, running until 7 September 2025.
Cecil Beaton, Proofs of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on Coronation Day, 1953
The exhibition charts royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day, showing some of the most famous royal photographs of all time — including Hugo Burnand's coronation pictures of King Charles III, and Snowdon's gorgeous portrait of Princess Margaret in 1967.
Perhaps best of all, though, are the exhibits which tell the stories behind the creation of some of the most iconic images of the Royal Family. There are proofs of unseen Cecil Beaton images taken on the wedding day of the late Queen Elizabeth II to Prince Philip, for example — and a fascinating behind-the-scenes snapshot from the day that Julian Calder captured her late majesty wearing full regalia in the middle of the Highlands back in 2010.
A snapshot reproduced on an information panel within the exhibition gives a behind-the-scenes insight into the sitting.
Total wreck for sale. Several very careless owners. £695,000.
A three-bedroom farmhouse in Wales for... almost £700k? That's the headline that has been doing the rounds about this house for sale via agents John Francis Cardigan.
Posted by JohnFrancisEstateAgents on
The reality is that the house — which has lain derelict of a quarter of a century — is just a tiny part of a property that includes 132 green, rolling acres not far from the pretty North Wales coast at Cardigan.
If you're feeling brave don't mind a complete rebuild project, then it's a pretty delightful-looking slice of Planet Earth at the same money that you'd pay for a three-bedroom home in Woking.
Access nearly all areas
We've written and spoken a lot about access to the land of late — most recently in fascinating podcast with Patrick Galbraith earlier this week. So this post from the NFU about how farmers are engaging with the issue and doing their bit to make things better is great to see.
This is the age of the beautiful vintage train
If the Queen in the Highlands has whetted your appetite for a monarchy-themed trip north of the border, you're in luck. Captain's Choice have an exclusive charter trip aboard The Royal Scotsman at the end of April.
You'll kick off with dinner in Edinburgh Castle before spending a few days aboard the luxurious train, heading north from the capital, crossing the Highlands, and heading back. If you have more time on your hands, you can hop straight from the train journey on to a 14-day cruise around the British Isles on board Silver Endeavour. Find out more and see the full itinerary here.
The trip leaves on 28 April 2025. The rail leg costs £12,300 per person, based on two sharing, while rail plus cruise is £22,300.
Hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of vintage cars, and all anyone wants to look at are the cute dogs
Rosie Paterson went to The ICE event in St Moritz expecting to see cool cars (in every sense). She did, but the real stars turned out to have four legs rather than four wheels. Read about it here.
That's it for this week — Dawn Chorus is back on Monday
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Sold, singed and sunk: The sorry tale of Normanton HallFew English country houses suffered more than Normanton Hall.
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A Clarkson's Farm of one's own: Five properties with just enough farmland for you and your family, from under £1 millionMoving to the country is one thing; moving to the country and being able to grow and rear all your own food is another level entirely, and all these properties offer exactly that.
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Mastiffs: Gentle giants revered by Shakespeare, feared by thieves, adored by familiesThe mastiff is England’s gentle giant.
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‘People would rather buy 20 synthetic jumpers than a woollen one that would last them a lifetime’: The British wool trade todaySheep shearing was king in the middle ages, writes Lotte Brundle, but the rise of synthetic fibres put the industry in a woolly position. How is it faring now?
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Bedlington terriers: The rare dog breed that conquered the coal mines and made it to CruftsThe Bedlington terrier originated in the mining towns of Northumberland, and while it might look like a lamb, it’s got the heart of a lion.
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'A world within a world… a community with an identity, a smoothly turning cog in the wheel of royal life': A look behind the stable doors of the Royal MewsHome to carriages, coachmen and craftspeople, Buckingham Palace’s Royal Mews is a village in the heart of London. It celebrates its 200th anniversary this year.
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‘We couldn’t go around digging holes in existing graveyards for fear of exhuming a real body’: The man who brought The Thursday Murder Club to the big screenLotte Brundle caught up with James Merifield, the production designer behind the new Netflix film adaptation of the Richard Osman novel, to chat about the murder mystery.
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What everyone is talking about this week: The great porpoise panicWeek in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
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The otterhound — the story behind Britain's rarest breed of dogBred for centuries to hunt otters in icy rivers, these shaggy, web-footed hounds were once favoured by royalty. Today, fewer than 1,000 survive worldwide.
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One by one: The lone wolves of the animal kingdomMankind may be tribal and sociable by nature, yet the ‘bliss of solitude’ — a state previously reserved for hermits — is the key to achieving inner peace, says Laura Parker
