Special Sub-Topic: Oh Those Brits! Royal Family Authored by: vendome Sub-topic of: U.K. Royals

What is Prince Philip's relationship to Queen Sofia, wife of King Juan Carlos of Spain?

cousin. Queen Sofia of Spain was born a princess of the Greek royal family and is Prince Philip's cousin. She and Princess Diana became very close, and Diana visited with the Queen frequently. Queen Sofia was partcularly fond of Princes William and Harry and stated, 'They are very special, such delightful and lovable children....I would love to keep them both.'

What King was educated in England, had a daughter who went through school with Princess Anne, and owned several estates in and around London?

King Hussein of Jordan. Long time friends, King Hussein and his American born wife, Queen Noor, made several State visits, as well as many private visits, to see the Queen and Prince Philip.

Beginning in 1968, Lavinia Keppel became governess to Queen Elizabeth's children. One of her ancestors, Alice Keppel, also was involved with the royal family. In what capacity?

mistress of King Edward VII. Alice Keppel was the last mistess of Edward VII, and is a distant relative of Sarah, Duchess of York. Queen Alexandra, knowing of Edward VII's deep love for Keppel, led Alice by the hand to Edward's death bed, so that they might have a few private moments together.

Who is considered the 'hardest working' royal insofar as royal duties are concerned?

Anne, the Princess Royal. Even though she is routinely panned by the press, Anne by far is the hardest working royal. Recent statistics compiled by the 'Illustrated London News' tallied the following engagements: Anne, the Princess Royal--471, the Prince of Wales--419, Prince Andrew--78, Prince Edward--13, Princess Margaret--124.

What must the Queen wear at every State occasion to indicate her position and status?

the Imperial State crown. The Imperial State Crown must be worn at all State functions. Made for the coronation of Queen Victoria, it is set with a large ruby that belonged to Henry IV tthat he wore in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. It also has 4 huge pear-shaped pearls once worn as earrings by Queen Elizabeth I (she must have been a Dumbo look-alike--we're talkin' BIG pearls!) It also contains the world's largest diamond, the Cullinan, as well as 2,700 other smaller diamonds. I guess a basic black sheath would be appropriate to wear with it...anything else would be too busy.

There was a Nazi sympathizer in the royal family. Who was it?

the Duke of Windsor. Yep, the Duke struck out again in the popularity polls when he announced, 'I never thought Hitler was such a bad chap.' He and Wally visited Hitler in 1937 and were quite taken with him and very favorably impressed.

The relationship between Anne, the Princess Royal and Diana, Princess of Wales, can be described as ?

visceral. Anne and Diana loathed each other. Anne thought Diana to be vain, dim-witted and neurotic. Anne reminded Diana of a female impersonator...'I think she shaves,' Diana once quipped. The press seemed to side with Diana, branding Anne '...rude, surly, petulant and miserable.'

Princess Diana confronted Camilla Parker-Bowles about her affair with the Prince of Wales. What was the setting for the confrontation?

Camilla's sister's birthday party. At Camilla's sister's birthday party, Diana showed up unexpectedly and told Camilla that she wanted to speak privately. Diana waited until the last guest had departed, then asked Camilla about her affair with Charles, and concluded with, 'Why don't you leave my husband alone?' Camilla was to flustered to speak.

Princess Margaret once told Gore Vidal, 'I detested her. She was rude to all of us, except Lilibet (the Queen's nickname). Of course she had an inferiority {complex;} we were royal...she was not.' About whom was she speaking?

Queen Mary. Margaret's sharp tongue spares no one, not even her grandmother, Queen Mary. She has also referred to Indians as 'those little brown people', stated that she '...finds all those tiresome films about the holocaust a bore'. When introduced to columnist Ann Landers, the first thing Margaret said was, 'Are you a Jew?' What a gal!

What is Anne, the Princess Royal's, daughter's name?

Zara. Anne and 'Fog' (husband Mark Phillips) chose Zara for their daughter. No accounting for some people's taste.