Category: royalty

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Queen Elizabeth II

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Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, 1926 –2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death in 2022.

She had been queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime, and was the monarch of 15 realms at her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch, the second-longest of any sovereign state, and the longest of any queen regnant in history.

Born in Mayfair, London during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V, Elizabeth was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother).Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother Edward VIII, making the ten-year-old Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive.In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark. Their marriage lasted 73 years until his death in 2021.They had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.From Elizabeth’s birth onwards, the British Empire continued its transformation into the Commonwealth of Nations. By the time of her accession in 1952, her role as head of multiple independent states was already established.Elizabeth was known to favor simplicity in court life and was also known to take a serious and informed interest in government business, aside from the traditional and ceremonial duties.Privately, she became a keen horsewoman; she kept racehorses, frequently attended races, and periodically visited the Kentucky stud farms in the United States.

More about Queen Elizabeth II can be found at https://www.royal.uk/queen-elizabeth.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — King Henry VIII

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Henry Tudor, King Henry VIII (1491 – 1547) was King of England from 1509 until his death.Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled.His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority.Henry VIII appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated by the pope.The King’s break with the Catholic Church and the establishment of the Church of England marked the beginning of the English Reformation, a pivotal event in British religious history.

The monarch brought radical changes to the Constitution of England, expanding royal power and ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings in opposition to papal supremacy.Henry also is credited with modernizing the English navy, expanding the fleet and investing in warships, which laid the groundwork for England’s naval supremacy.

More about King Henry VIII can be found at https://www.royal.uk/henry-viii and  https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/henry-viii.

 

 

 

Sunday Evening Art Gallery — Tohukiro Kawai

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Tohukiro Kawai is a Japanese surrealist contemporary artist who’s best known for his regal cat paintings.Unique and whimsical, the paintings of royal cats look both majestic and kingly while at the same time putting a smile on the spectator’s face.By drawing inspiration from the Renaissance style of painterly technique, Kawai delivers a unique visual style full of myths, legends, and fantasies.Kawai wants to work on the fragile bond between story and picture to bring the two into reunion.Since gods and faith are less related to our modern society, Kawai “complements the theme with his own imagination,” the artist’s official page reads.Kawai’s paintings are always illustrations without chapters with classical technique portraying stories of modern lives.

More of Tohukiro Kawai‘s whimsical paintings can be found at http://www5.plala.or.jp/kawaitokuhiro/Top.html.