The Royal Fanzine

Have you ever wondered who those nice looking ladies were following the Queens and Princess of the world, often appearing like personal assistants? Well, those ladies are the Royal's Lady-in-Waiting. Some Royals have several ladies-in-waiting. Often heads of state have what is know as a First-aide-de-campe.  Their duties vary from royal to country, however, one major task often taken up by these ladies is attending to the needs of the Queen and the Princesses, sometimes representing them in househould matters such as commissioning gifts from craftspeople or arranging for entertainment for parties. Great Britain Queen Elizabeth II: Mistress of Robes:Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire 1953-1967 Mistress of Robes: Ann Fortune FitzRoy, Dogwager Duchess of Grafton 1967-present Lady-in-waiting: Lady Mary Palmer. Lady Mary Palmer served as an Extra-Lady-in-Waiting, and Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Elizabeth from 1944-1949. Her son, Charles, was a Page of Ho...

Just like their commoner counterparts-their subjects, people of other lands, etc.-Royals like animals, and keep them as pets. Granted, some of these animals are more unconventional-i.e. many royal families take claim to the Royal Zoo animals…take Great Britian or Monaco for example: In Great Britain, not only does the Sovereign take claim to her private animals such as dogs or horses, but to several exotic animals in the London Zoo. In Monaco, Prince Rainier started a zoo in 1954 that once held two hundred fifty animals that includes many animals including: elephants, an Arabian camel, exotic birds, a black panther, white tiger, hippopotamus, reptiles, primates, lemurs, among others. Marcia Tracy  and  Ashley Michael explored the four-legged friends of royal families from Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and more! Belgium Queen Paola walking her Bull Terrier Prince Laurent & Princess Claire have a Jack Russel Terrier nam...

While Katie Nicholl and crew @GMA would say, unequivocally, that 2011 has been the Year of The Duchess of Cambridge, we at @TheRoyalFanzine have something to say about that! Of course, it is true that the Royal Duchess Formerly Known as Catherine Elizabeth Middleton has had more magazine covers than her 17-years-older aunt-in-law. As Catherine Middleton alone--forget about her marital covers--she was on the cover of People magazine, and even made Vanity Fair's best-dressed list, almost every year of the last decade. Sophie? Sure, she's been mentioned in those magazines a few times. She was even on the cover of People at the times of her engagement and marriage to Prince Edward in 1999. But mostly, she's lucky to be on the cover of Majesty or Hello! I mean, let's face it. Most People readers are likely to furrow their brows in some confusion if you ask them what they think about Sophie, The Countess of Wessex. -Sophie? Countess of Where? -Prince Edward's wife. ...

With this week's passing of the 63rd annual Red Cross Gala, the editors of The Royal Fanzine thought it would be a good idea to explore the history of Monaco's annual summer Gala. Marcia Tracy reports. The Monegasque Red Cross Gala -- or, Gala de la Croix Rouge --  has been held every late July/early August in the Salle des Etoiles  in the Sporting Club -- Sporting d'Eté   de Monte-Carlo -- since it's inception in 1948, by the present sovereign's great-grandfather, Prince Louis II. It's presidency is served by the sovereign, Prince Albert II. Until 1957, the year after Prince Rainier III gave Monaco a new princess, the event remained low-key. The purpose of the ball is to raise funds for Monaco's division of The Red Cross. It was in 1957 that the Red Cross Gala became what it is today. Since 1957, the ball has hosted performers including: Eddie Fischer, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Gloria Gaynor, Frank Sinatra, Julio Iglesais, Elton John, Liza Minel...

Charlotte Louise Juliette Grimaldi was born 30 September 1898 and was the daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and the mother of Prince Rainier III. She was the only child and illegitimate daughter of HSH Prince Louis II of Monaco. She was born in Algeria, the daughter of a prince and cabaret singer, Marie Juliette Louvet. Due to Monaco’s constution at the time of her birth, Monaco was due to pass to her father’s cousin, Prince Wilhelm of Urach, Count of Württemberg, 2nd Duke of Urach upon his death. To prevent this, on 15 May 1911, when Charlotte Louvet was only twelve years old, a law was passed recognizing Charlotte as Louis's daughter, and making her a member of the sovereign family. Though it was later held to be invalid under the 1882 statutes, an Ordinance of 30 October 1918 allowed her to be adopted. Louis legitimated and adopted Charlotte in Paris on 16 May 1919, when she was twenty years old, bestowing on her the surname Grimaldi and granted her the title Duchess of ...