Queen Amelia of Portugal, a French princess born in exile in England, married the heir to the Portuguese throne, a throne that became increasingly precarious during her husband's reign. She tried to find a meaningful role as Queen but was constantly attacked by the republican press. Her husband and eldest son were assassinated in front of her, and when her younger son was deposed after a short reign, she left Portugal, the country she had come to deeply love, and ended her life as she had begun it - in exile.

They are loved and hated, praised and criticized, presented as the sign of a more democratic era or the proof of modern decadence: they are the commoners who marry royals. This article does not tell their personal stories; instead, it analyzes the rarely treated issue of why royal marriages to commoners occur so often nowadays and what could be their possible consequence for the future of the monarchies in which it happens. This issue touches on the future development and ultimate survival of monarchy itself.

Kings and Queens, Pharaohs and Popes - they die just like everyone else, but their passing is marked by rituals, traditions and memorials that are unmistakably royal. This article looks at some of the traditions and rituals associated with royal deaths.

The War of the Waleses and Diana's desire to be Queen in people's hearts posed a challenge to the established order where people give their love and their loyalty to the monarch. Instead, we were being invited to take part in a popularity contest with Diana on one side and the Windsors on the other. Did this cause lasting damage to the monarchy, or will Charles manage to become King in people's hearts as well as King by right of inheritance?