Guest blog: Princess Elizabeth Stuart (1635-50) (Mary McVicker, writer)

The Five Eldest Children of Charles I  (1637) by Van Dyck (Princess Elizabeth Stuart second-right).

I knew that a couple of Charles I's children (Henry and Elizabeth) had shared a heart-breaking few minutes with their father prior to his execution, but as both died young, their stories have rather been lost.

In this guest article, writer Mary McVicker reflects on the short life of Princess Elizabeth Stuart (1635-50), revealing a dramatic existence governed by the tides of war ...

In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion @ Queen's Gallery

Portraits of English Civil War commanders in the section on military clothing and armour.

There's just a few weeks left to catch the excellent exhibition In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion, which runs at the Queen's Gallery (Buckingham Palace) until 6 October.

Here's some of what you can expect ...

Half-way house: the Stuarts at Titchfield

The ruins of Place House/Titchfield Abbey. The mansion would have evoked difficult memories for both Charles I and his eldest two sons.

Titchfield Abbey (or Place House) in Hampshire is perhaps best known for its Shakespeare associations: its owner, the Third Earl of Southampton, was the playwright's patron (and, many assume, the 'Fair Youth' to whom the majority of his sonnets are addressed), and some of the bard's plays are believed to have been performed there for the first time.

Less well-known, but no less dramatic, however, is Titchfield's association with the Stuarts ...

Queen's House Conference 2012

Queen's House, Greenwich (1614-17). Photo: © Bill Bertram 2006, CC-BY-2.5

This year's Queen's House Conference is entitled 'Inigo Jones, the Queen's House and languages of Stuart culture'.

The building has had many uses over the centuries, and is slated to play a role in the 2012 Olympic Games ...