Royal Themed Quarantine Activities
I hope everyone is staying healthy both physically and mentally with everything going on in the world. If you are protesting, I hope you are being safe and if you are still quarantining I hope you are staying sane. To that end, I wanted to share some of my favorite royal themed activities and purchases that I have collected through the years. These are only products that I have personally purchased so if there is something royal themed that you love, let me know about it in the comments below!
Royal Collections
While the royals have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, it wasn't until William and Catherine's relationship went public when I was a child that I became a fan. I used to pick up any magazine, article, or book with any reference to Will and Kate. I have since become slightly more controlled about what photo collections I purchase (photo books tend to be a bit more expensive and I am still on a budget) but I have amassed a collection that I am quite proud of. Some of my favorites are listed below!
William & Catherine: Their Romance and Royal Wedding - This collection still has some of my favorite photographs taken on April 29th 2011 and also has photos from their childhood to their university and dating days with their engagement photos and, of course, their wedding portraits. If I ever want a little reminder of why I love the Royals so much, I can flip through this book and instantly be transported back to age thirteen and remember all of the excitement and anticipation for this day.
Modern Monarchy: The British Royal Family Today - If you want a slightly more updated photo collection, longtime royal photographer, Chris Jackson, published some of the best photos from the past decade or so in a new collection. Jackson's collection is much more comprehensive, featuring all of the Royals throughout his career. It is an incredible coffee table book as several of my friends have flipped through it (even those with no interest in the Royals) and begun asking more and more questions about the British Royal Family, which is obviously a subject matter I love to discuss with anyone and everyone.
Artists with Royal Collections
As I personally feel like there is no such thing as too much Royal memorabilia, there are a few artists I have purchased from through the years that I absolutely adore. the first being Amelia Noyes.
Amelia Noyes - Amelia has a unique style which includes not including the faces of her subjects but they are still easily identifiable. You can check out her Instagram to get a taste from her work and if interested she has an entire royal collection on her site. I have previously purchased both mugs and phone cases from Amelia Noyes Design and have absolutely loved both my purchases though I have yet to order a print from her or a t-shirt.
Jennifer Vallez - The second artist I am obsessed with is Jennifer Vallez who does Royal themed prints, stickers, mugs, calendars and ornaments. I have personally purchased a calendar from Jennifer and was gifted a travel mug from my friends. I am also obsessed with some of her tea towels (specifically "The Queen has Spoken" which is just brilliant in my opinion). Much like Amelia Noyes, Jennifer has another unique style that I really love and feels way more artistic than some of the more mainstream products available on the royals from bigger companies.
Royal Shows and Movies
I could probably make this entire post just about films and shows that I love but I have limited myself to my top ten. These are all inspired by real historical British royals so while I love movies like The Princess Diaries (seriously it is such a perfect film and I highly recommend it) there won't be any fictional royalty on this list.
It is important to remember that royally inspired shows and films are usually dramas and therefore, some things are exaggerated and artistic liberties are often taken. Regardless, these shows can help educate royals fans, to a certain degree, about royal history to give a better understanding of the monarchy and respect for this institution.
I have ordered them chronologically, which is how I would personally recommend watching them. Of course, feel free to skip around or focus on a favorite historical moment of your own and I hope you enjoy!
The White Princess - Following the story of Elizabeth of York, who is forced to marry King Henry VII after he seized the throne from Richard III. King Henry VII was the last English king to win his crown on a battlefield and is credited with bringing stability back to England following the War of the Roses. Elizabeth and Henry were the parents of perhaps one of the most famous of the English kings, King Henry VIII.
The Tudors - The Tudors follows the reign of King Henry VIII from young adulthood through his death. King Henry VIII is one of the most famous of the English Kings for his six marriages and his decision to split from the Catholic Church. The showtime series certainly dramatizes certain elements of his life but overall does a great job of going through the Tudor Kings history.
Elizabeth - The daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I place in the line of succession was contested due to her fathers divorce from his first wife. It was highly unlikely that Queen Elizabeth I should ever rule England but she has become one of the most famous, if not the most famous Queen, in history. She brought religious stability to England during her reign as well as championing arts and culture.
The Duchess - While the Duchess of Devonshire was aristocratic rather than royal, it is one of my all time favorite historical dramas. Georgiana was as close to a celebrity as there was in the eighteenth century and her story includes some of the most dramatic elements of that time in the aristocracy.
The Young Victoria - Queen Victoria is probably my favorite of the English Queens in history. When so many believed they would be able to control her as she was both a woman and very young when ascending to the throne, she showed them that she was going to rule in her own right in her own way. The first years of her reign were difficult both because of her gender and marital status but she proved a formidable force to become one of the most well respected figures in the world.
Victoria - The ITV series on Victoria dives a little deeper and goes a bit further in Queen Victoria's story than the Young Victoria. The show begins with Princess Victoria finding out her uncle has died and therefore she is Queen and the last episode had just covered the Great Exhibition of 1851, which her husband, Prince Albert, was largely responsible for. Currently there are three series of the show with a fourth hopefully coming sometime in the next year or so.
The Kings Speech - The Queens father, King George VI suffered from a stutter which made it quite difficult to give speeches over radio or in person. The Kings Speech is the story of the speech therapist he worked with that helped him overcome his stammer and give speeches to the entire nation during and after World War II
The Crown - Obviously, I wasn't going to make a list of my favorite royal themed shows and not include, perhaps, the best known modern retelling of the life of the Queen. In my opinion, the Crown does a wonderful job portraying the sacrifice, dedication and commitment it takes to protect The Monarchy in a modern world
Diana - Princess Diana was the most famous woman in world in the 1980's and 1990's after marrying Prince Charles. This film focuses on her life following her divorce from Charles while she forged a new path as a humanitarian, philanthropist and global icon. It also shares details about her romantic life with some of her love interests including Hasnat Khan and Dodi Fayed.
The Queen - Following the death of Princess Diana, The Queen remained at Balmoral with her grandsons as they mourned the death of their mother. The Royal Family's response to the accident was met with criticism from the public and the media, who felt she had a duty to speak out after the tragedy. The Queen ended up returning to London to address the nation at the urging of Prime Minister Tony Blair, managing to keep the monarchy and her family together through impossibly difficult times.
Fictional Royal Books
I have always loved reading, a passion of mine that began with my parents reading me Great Illustrated Classics and continued with series like Harry Potter and now finds itself in romance and mystery novels. I also (obviously) love reading fictionalized stories of Royals and while some of them can be (very) cringey, there are a few reads that I have thoroughly enjoyed through the years that I highly recommend to any royals fans.
The Royal We - Pretty much anyone who is a big enough fan of the Royals has probably heard about this book. Written by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, it is a dramatic, romantic and at times comedic story about a royal romance that begins as the American Rebecca (Bex as she is referred to) studies abroad in England and meets the future heir to the British Throne and has to learn to navigate the world of royalty as a commoner and outsider, sound familiar?
This novel has only grown on me with time as it was easy to compare the love story of Rebecca and Nick to that of William and Catherine. However, Cocks and Morgan seem to have some prophetic ability as there are easy parallels to draw to both Harry and Meghan as well despite being published in 2015 long before the couples romance was revealed to the world.
I will fully admit to purchasing this book in 2015 simply because the cover looked like William and Catherine but I genuinely love this book and always recommend it to any royal or romance fans. Cocks and Morgan have announced a sequel, The Heir Affair, which will be published on July 7th 2020.
American Royals - Admittedly a newer favorite of mine, American Royals imagines what would have happened if George Washington (The first President of the United States) became a King and the House of Washington reigned in modern times. In this fictionalized monarchy, Princess Beatrice is set to become the first female to reign in her own right, putting enormous pressure on her and creating rifts with her younger twin siblings, Samantha and Jefferson who seem to only want to reap the benefits of monarchy with none of the responsibilities.
Told form several perspective Katherine McGee paints an interesting view of what the Monarchy might be like from the inside. There are allusions to other Royals around the world and common threads of modern culture to ground the story in an alternative reality. McGee has already announced a sequel which will be available in the fall.
Trivia
If you are anything like me, you love trivia and are missing your local bar or pub trivia on weekends. If so, I have created some royal themed trivia that you can play with or quiz your friends and family on a night in. I hope you all enjoy and let me know how you do!
Easy
Women of Windsor Trivia - Easy
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Download PDF • 104KB
Women of Windsor Answer Key - Easy
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Download PDF • 131KB
Medium
Women of Windsor Trivia - Medium
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Download PDF • 104KB
Women of Windsor Answer Key - Medium
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Download PDF • 131KB
Hard
Women of Windsor Trivia - Hard
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Download PDF • 105KB
Women of Windsor Answer Key - Hard
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Download PDF • 131KB
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