The Battle of Britain (the “Eagle Day”) began on August 13, 1940 with the Luftwaffe launching a series of attacks on British fighter bases and radar installations.

The Queen, Churchill, the King on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on VE-Day

Shortly before the Battle was to commence, Winston Churchill gave one of his most famous morale-boosting speeches (during the Battle of France) where he braced the nation for the war, saying: “…that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’. “
The name of the battle derives from another famous speech of Churchill’s, given in the House of Commons, where he stated that “…the Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin…”

Following the French surrender and evacuation of British soldiers from Dunkirk, Hitler thought that the British, alone and without allies, would either have to surrender or negotiate an armistice. The failure to destroy Britain’s air defences and launch a full-scale invasion is considered Germany’s first major defeat in the World War II and a turning point in the course of the entire war.
At the height of the Battle of Britain, on August 20, 1940, Churchill gave arguably his most famous speech, during which he highlighted the bravery of British troops: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few…”

An important factor in keeping the public morale high was the refusal of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) to leave London: they stayed in the city throughout the war, even after the Buckingham Palace was repeatedly bombarded. During one of the hits, the Royal Couple were mere 80 yards from where the bombs burst. When the Cabinet advised the King and Queen to send their daughters to Canada, Queen Elizabeth famously said: “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave the King. And the King will never leave”.
Queen Elizabeth’s resolution, moral support to the British public and her role as propaganda tool made Hitler call her ‘the most dangerous woman in Europe’.

Marsel British Royals, Historical Royals Battle of Britain, George VI, Queen Mother, Winston Churchill, World War II

August 4 is marked by all sorts of events, starting from the World’s first public smoking ban and the end of the Age of Chivalry in England, to the birth of ‘most dangerous woman in Europe’. If you want to learn what important things happened in the (Royal) History on August 4, read on.

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August 4, 1265 – The Battle of Evesham, one of the two most important Wars during the Second Barons’ War
The army of Prince Edward (future Edward I of England) defeated the army of rebellious Barons led by Simon de Monrfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. Outnumbered two to one, Monrfort had no illusions about the outcome of the battle: when he saw the advancing army of Prince Edward, he allegedly exclaimed “May the Lord have mercy upon our souls, as our bodies are theirs.”
The battle itself was over fairly quickly but the massacre continued for some time. The memory of the disastrous Battle of Lewes, fought in 1264, was still fresh in the memories of the Royalist forces: they showed no mercy or compassion and killed most of the rebels who wanted to surrender. According to the legend King Henry, who was in de Monrfort’s custody and was wearing his colours, barely escaped death himself: the enraged soldiers killed everyone who was in de Monfort’s colours and if he hadn’t been recognized by a former rebel, he would have been murdered as well. The massacre that followed the Battle of Evesham is referred to as an ‘episode of noble bloodletting unprecedented since the Conquest’. As most of the rebels were brutally murdered, rather than imprisoned, the Battle is often called “the end of the age of chivalry in England”.

August 4, 1521 – Birth of Pope Urban VII
Pope Urban’s papacy lasted only 12 days, thus making his reign the shortest in the history of Papacy. Despite this, he managed to introduce one memorable decree – world’s first known public smoking ban. Pope Urban threatened to excommunicate anyone who ‘took tobacco inside a church, whether it be by chewing, smoking or sniffing’.
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Marsel Historical Royals Edward I, Military, Pope Urban VII, Queen Mother, Sebastian I, World War I

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 The Death of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother seven years ago did not come as a shock. Her late Majesty was in her 102^nd year and had been in declining health since the death of her Younger Daughter Her late Royal Highness The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon in February. Queen Elizabeth’s funeral took place Seven years ago today amid much pomp and ceremony in one of the largest Funerals and gatherings of foreign Crowned Heads since the death of her beloved husband King George VI of Blessed and Glorious Memory some 50 years before.

Westminster Abbey was the venue for Her Majesty’s funeral which was a scene from a bygone age. After the very Anglican and in parts very Scottish service the last post was sounded and The Garter King of Arms proclaimed the styles and titles of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth:

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RoyalProtocol British Royals Death, Funeral, Queen Mother

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 HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and nearly all of the members of the British royal family turned out on the Mall today to unveil the new memorial statue of HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.  The statue, which depicts The Queen Mum wearing the robes of the Order of the Garter, was placed just below the memorial statue to her late husband, King George VI.

Two bronze friezes were also unveiled, showing The Queen Mother on a walkabout following the London bombings of World War II and attending one of her favorite events of the year, Royal Ascot.

HRH The Prince of Wales delivered a speech in tribute to his beloved grandmother during the unveiling ceremony.  He was accompanied to the event by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and his two sons, HRH Prince William of Wales and HRH Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales.

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Ella Kay British Royals Duke of Edinburgh, Elizabeth II, Memorial, Prince Philip, Queen Mother

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Click on the image to to read the article at the Mail On Line

 And so at last London gets a memorial of the Queen Mother that’s more than a few wirey gates, dented from an argument with a lorry. As well as the new statue of a young Queen Elizabeth, there’ll be bronze reliefs showing scenes from the Queen Mother’s life placed alongside it, depicting both the war role the Queen Mother played and her later years as Grandmother of the nation. The memorial will be unveiled by the Queen this afternoon in view of her family, friends and the world’s press. It’s said to have cost £2m and was funded by the sale of commemorative £5 coins, specially minted for Her Majesty The Queen’s birthday. It’s taken some time to complete and one hopes it doesn’t go the way of a marble statue of Margaret Thatcher that was decapitated in protest in 2002. It seems to be the week for tributes; Gordon Brown has apparantly just paid £100,000 to artist Richard Stone to paint a portrait of Lady T for the newly christened “Thatcher Room” in Downing Street. Oooh er.

BeatrixFan British Royals Elizabeth II, Memorial, Queen Mother