Q: Frederick - York, England
Is HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent the granddaughter or great-granddaughter of George V?
Princess Alexandra is the granddaughter of King George V. She is the daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent, the son of the late king, and her brothers are the current Duke of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent. Princess Alexandra is a cousin of The Queen.
Q: Fanny - Paris
Where is Queen Mary's Dolls' House?
Queen Mary's Dolls' House is situated at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, and is open to the public for viewing.
Q: Kim Parrell - UK
Are Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York entitled to use the style of "Her Royal Highness"?
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are both entitled to the title of 'Her Royal Highness' on account of the fact that they are grandchildren of the Sovereign through the male line (their father being The Duke of York).
Grandchildren of the Sovereign through the female line are not entitled to use either 'Her Royal Highness' or 'His Royal Highness'. Peter and Zara Phillips, as the children of The Princess Royal, do not, therefore, have the style of 'His' or 'Her Royal Highness.
Q: Sue Kamm - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Members of the Royal Family are "patrons" of various organisations. What does the patronage entail? How are the organisations chosen?
Between them, members of the Royal Family hold many hundreds of patronages, mostly of charitable organisations. The Queen's patronages alone number around 800 and many of these were inherited from King George VI on her accession. The Queen has managed to carry out engagements on behalf of nearly all of them.
Work as a Royal patron can include not only visits to the organisations in this country and overseas (where appropriate), but also the chairing of meetings and hosting events at a Royal Palace in support of the charities concerned.
Although Royal involvement in charities does not involve direct appeals for money for those charities by Royal patrons, they provide indirect support for fundraising activities, and the Royal link helps organisations gain respectability and publicity.
Very often, members of the Royal Family take a very close and informed interest in those charities' affairs (for example, The Princess Royal's links with the Save the Children Fund).
In such cases, they may take on positions of office rather than simply being described as 'Patron'. Thus you may see members of the Royal Family described as a 'President', or 'Trustee' for example.
Applications for the patronage of any member of the Royal Family are submitted to the appropriate Private Secretary. It is then decided whether or not a particular member of the Royal Family will take on the patronage or not, depending on factors such as the nature and work of the organisation in question, whether the charity has a reputable track record, and what the impact of the new patronage on the work carried out on its behalf by the Royal patron will be. Royal patrons rarely take on completely new charities, and their patronages are usually of UK-based charities.
Q: Grace Tolson - Australia
I have often seen photographs of HRH the Prince of Wales wearing a kilt. To which Highland clan does HRH's kilt belong?
Members of the Royal Family are entitled to wear a selection of tartans. There are two tartans acknowledged as 'Royal': the Royal Stewart Tartan and the Balmoral Tartan (which can be worn only by members of the Royal Family).
In addition, however, many members of the Royal Family are entitled to wear tartans of regiments with which they are associated.
As well as the Royal Stewart and Balmoral Tartans, therefore, The Prince of Wales can wear kilts of the Gordon Highlanders, of which he is Colonel-in-Chief, and of the Lord of the Isles.
He also inherited a selection of other tartans from his grandfather, King George VI.
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