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Illustrated talk:
The Strange History of Buckingham Palace
We learn about kings and queens who have lived there, see its
splendid position at the heart of fashionable London, and now at
last there is a chance to visit inside this famous building. Did you
know that the Duke of Wellington described it as 'a monstrous insult
to the nation'. Or that a witch lived where the forecourt now is?
Then there is the matter of exploding bosoms, mentioned in an 18th
Century letter, and the many earlier, fascinating buildings on the
site, nearly all of which were the result of dishonest land
dealings. Even the vintners of Westminster once marched out with
'roaring drums and girded swords' during the Civil War to build a
fort beside the present terrace and, unknown to puritan killjoys, a
clandestine pleasure park and haunt of courtesans grew up where the
royal apartments are today. |
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Talks:-
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Strange
Tales and Ghosts from Buckingham Palace's past - An amusing hour with the unexpected.
Royal London - An entertaining tour through the past including St
James's, Whitehall, Westminster, as well as Buckingham Palace.
Meet your Medieval Ancestors - fashion, flirting, feasting and
insights, all bringing our predecessors to life.
Upstairs and downstairs on an old landed estate - personal recollections
from a now vanishing world.
The Wonderful Mediterranean: cradle of civilizations - A fascinating
tour through this unique meeting place of peoples and cultures. Particularly
suitable for cruises.
Only Yesterday : The courts of Europe before Victoria - For centuries
these formed a stage for extravagance, power, patronage of the arts
- and back-stabbing.
A European Treasure Trail - Sit back and enjoy some supreme achievements,
from architecture to jewellery, manuscripts to embroidery. (This talk
does need slides)
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