Asparagus Divination

Jemima Packington divines the future by interpreting asparagus. She calls this the art of Asparamancer. She throws the asparagus in the air, and where they land tells her the future. Using this method, she claims to have correctly foreseen Brexit, Prince Philip's death, Theresa May's resignation, and the Queen's death.

The latest thing that the asparagus have told her: "King Charles will take a step back, due to his age, and make William Prince Regent."

More info: express.co.uk

Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 24, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Predictions, Royalty, Vegetables

Bees told of Queen Elizabeth’s Death

Royal housekeeper John Chapple has carried out the duty of telling the bees kept at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House that Queen Elizabeth has died, and that King Charles is their new master.


This was in accordance with the ancient British custom of "telling the bees," which we described in a post back in 2012.

More info: geo.tv

Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 11, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Customs, Death, Royalty, Superstition

Perkin Warbeck, Pretender to the British Throne

Essay here.

Dealing with Warbeck cost Henry VII over £13,000 (equivalent to £10,301,000 in 2019)

Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Feb 26, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: History, Historical Figure, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Royalty

Double King

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 09, 2021 - Comments ()
Category: Royalty, Surrealism, Fantasy, Cartoons, Fictional Monsters

The Duchess of Windsor’s Trench Mittens

Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, is best known as the woman for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936, so he could marry her. But she was also an inventor, though not a very prolific one. In 1940, she invented "trench mittens" that could be unzipped to allow a soldier to use his trigger finger.

The Whitewright Sun - Feb 8, 1940

The backstory is that the Duke and Duchess were widely suspected to be Nazi sympathizers. Nevertheless, at the start of the war they were trying to make a public display of how patriotic they were. The Duke pushed to get a position in the army. And the Duchess used her fashion skills to invent "trench mittens".

But by the end of 1940, the British military had decided they were too much of a liability to keep around, so they were shipped off to the Bahamas for the duration of the war.

Winnipeg Tribune - Apr 6, 1940

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1937

Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 25, 2020 - Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, Royalty, War, 1940s

The toenails of King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy

Victor Emmanuel II, who was king of Italy from 1861 to 1878, had a strange habit which isn't recorded on his wikipedia page.

Each year he would let the nail of his big toe grow. Then he would cut the nail off and have a jeweler polish it and frame it in gold. The king would then present this oddity to his mistress (and eventual wife), the Countess Rosa Mirafiori. She eventually accumulated fifteen royal toenails.

I assume these royal toenails must be preserved in a museum somewhere. But if so, I haven't been able to track down where. Nor can I find any pictures of them.

Unless, of course, the story is an urban legend. The lack of good sources does make me a bit suspicious.

Chicago Tribune - Mar 26, 1961

Nebraska Advertiser - May 15, 1896

Posted By: Alex - Thu Aug 27, 2020 - Comments (3)
Category: Royalty, Nineteenth Century, Feet

Queen Mary’s Dollhouse

Queen Mary's Dolls' House is the largest, most beautiful and most famous dolls' house in the world. Built between 1921 and 1924 for Queen Mary, consort of George V, by the leading British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, it includes contributions from over 1,500 of the finest artists, craftsmen and manufacturers of the early twentieth century. From life below stairs to the high-society setting of the saloon and dining room, and from a library bursting with original works by the top literary names of the day, to a fully stocked wine cellar and a garden, created by Gertrude Jekyll, no detail was forgotten. The house even includes electricity, running hot and cold water and working lifts. Each room is fully furnished and waiting to be explored.

The official homepage.

Article on the library therein.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 10, 2020 - Comments (2)
Category: Architecture, Buildings and Other Structures, Domestic, Enlargements, Miniatures, and Other Matters of Scale, Royalty, 1920s, United Kingdom

The (upside down?) art of Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew has been in the news lately, but this post isn't about the various scandals besetting him. Instead, it's about the prince's brief foray into the world of art, when he was a teenager.

At the age of 17, he completed an oil painting which he titled "Canadian Landscape." It was displayed at the Windsor Festival, which was an exhibition that gathered together works related to the Royal Family from Tudor times to the present.

I'm sure his painting must have been in color, but the AP image archive has a photo of it in black-and-white. As seen below.



As I was looking at the picture, I kept thinking that it didn't visually make much sense. Of course, perhaps it was intended to be an abstract work, but out of curiosity I flipped it around, at which point it immediately made a lot more sense. At least, I think so. See below for comparison. So, I'm pretty sure that the AP archive has his picture upside-down — and it's had it that way for years.



What I wonder is if this is just a screw-up by the AP archive, or was his painting actually displayed that way? Does Prince Andrew's painting deserve a place in the WU Gallery of Art Hung Upside-Down?

Posted By: Alex - Fri Nov 22, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Royalty

King Vitaman Cereal

Because the Middle Ages were known for healthy eating.



The Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 05, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Food, Royalty, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1960s

Follies of the Madmen #382

Associating your product, even in jest, with reviled aristocrats: not the smartest move.

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Sep 11, 2018 - Comments (7)
Category: Business, Advertising, Royalty, Soda, Pop, Soft Drinks and other Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 1960s