HRH The Princess Elena (Helen) of Romania opens RoyalTeas

HRH The Princess Helen cuts the ribbon 

On Wednesday 25th April 2012 Gloria (Sat Nav) and I were privileged to attend the Official Opening Ceremony of the UK's only Royal Tea Room which is in Stanhope, Weardale, County Durham, and aptly named RoyalTeas.

The Opening Ceremony was graciously performed by HRH The Princess Helen of Romania, accompanied by her husband H.E. Domnul Alexander.  Princess Helen gave a wonderful speech which was simultaneously heart-warming and poignant and she charmed everyone.

HRH The Princess Helen 

Anita Atkinson with HRH The Princess Helen
in RoyalTeas 

RoyalTeas is the brainchild of my longtime friend Anita Atkinson's daughters Ruth and Gemma. 

  

Ruth
behind Ellen and Anita's
Aunt Audrey

Ruth had the idea to open a Royal Tea Room to celebrate our Queen's Diamond Jubilee and exhibit some of Anita's record breaking collection of Royal Memorabilia.

Gemma came up with the clever name.
                            

Gemma

HRH The Princess Helen, H.E. Domnul Alexander,
Ellen Dean 

Of course Anita couldn't have managed a tea room on her own....she is not a baker - sorry Anita, but you know it's true :-).... however, Christine Dodd is a first class baker and RoyalTeas is their terrific joint venture. It is open now and right through the summer to August of 2012.

Christine Dodd with Ellen

Anita is a well know Royalist and holds the Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest collection of Royal Memorabilia in the world. And, what she doesn't know about the Royal Family History, past and present, isn't worth knowing. Over the last thirty years she has given numerous 'Royal Talks' always donating any money generated to charity.

As some of you know I have been a Royalist since the age of six when I managed to get my head stuck in the railings outside Buckingham Palace....moving swiftly on.......

The Royal Visitors chat to
a member of Stanhope Silver Band

Lilian Peart admires the exhibition
and decor

                                                 

RoyalTeas is a MUST VISIT. 

Stanhope Silver Band played both the Romanian and our national anthems at the Opening Ceremony AND in RoyalTeas gave an impromptu performance of 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' to celebrate the typically British weather! Oh yes, many raindrops were falling throughout the day....

The exhibition is incredible and so colourful it has to be seen to be fully appreciated. The food is fabulous - we recommend the plain scones with jam and cream, and the fruit cake. 

RoyalTeas venue is courtesy of Stanhope Methodist Chapel who deserve a huge thank you for their support of Anita and Christine.  

Ellen Dean Most Definitely Recommends :-)

The Golden Prince by Rebecca Dean

Being a Royalist, when the news broke about the Prince William and Kate Middleton engagement and forthcoming wedding, I was interviewed several times live on BBC Radio York for my opinion.

Needless to say I was delighted when I was asked to review Rebecca Dean's novel The Golden Prince available now.

This novel mixes both fact and fiction about Edward Vlll the blond blue-eyed playboy who was widely popular until his abdication to marry the ambitious (she wanted the crown) divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson. It was put to the Commonwealth Countries as to whether he should marry Wallis, or not. History tells us that only Winston Churchill was in favour of the marriage.

Was Edward Vlll happy with Wallis or did the whole thing backfire on him? Had he really wanted to marry her at all? Had things gone too far for him to back out?
He led a fruitful life before Wallis came along. However, he only dated married women - the wives of his friends! Hmmm......

Introduction to The Golden Prince 

Written in stone was the cardinal rule that royalty only married royalty, 

and though Rosemary Leveson-Gower was aristocratic – her father was the 

Duke of Sutherland – she was, in King George’s eyes, a commoner. 

What he would have thought of his great-great-grandson marrying the beautiful 

Kate, daughter of parents from a working-class background,

 can only be guessed at. 

It is written into the British constitution that a Prince of Wales must have 

the monarch’s consent when he wishes to marry. As King George 

adamantly refused to sanction Edward’s marriage to Rosemary, Edward 

couldn’t marry her and two years later Rosemary married one of 

Edward’s friends, Eric, Viscount Ednam. 

The author, Rebecca Dean, believes that his father’s refusal to allow him to 

marry the girl he loved had a traumatic effect on Edward whose name 

was never again linked with that of an unmarried woman.

 In her book The Golden Prince, published this month by HarperCollins, she melds 

fact with fiction to explore the poignant situation of Prince Edward when, 

as a very young man, he was denied personal happiness by not being 

allowed to marry the commoner he loved. 

And . . . what would King George V have thought about our now Prince of Wales having married two commoners?

Watch out for my review - but please remember that I need time to read it.