A Life of Controversy: Get to know King Charles III

Sep 9 2022

Britain’s new monarch King Charles III has been a controversial figure throughout his life. Following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, the former Prince of Wales ascended to the British throne.

Prince Charles Philip Arthur George was born on November 14, 1948, in Buckingham Palace. When his mother acceded to the throne in 1952, the 3-year-old prince became the Duke of Cornwall. He became Prince of Wales at 20.

Now 73 years old, he has been the longest serving heir apparent to become the British monarch. The official proclamation by the Accession Council is scheduled to take place on Saturday September 10th at St James’ Palace in London.

Charles was also the first heir not educated home. Reportedly having a very ‘unhappy’ experience at school due to severe bullying, he still became the first British royal to earn a University degree. He studied history at Cambridge University’s Trinity College.

He then spent seven years in uniform, training as a Royal Air Force pilot before joining the Royal Navy, where he learned to fly helicopters. He ended his military career as commander of the HMS Bronington in 1976.

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In the 2018, Charles was named the queen’s designated successor as head of the Commonwealth. A big part of his life, and budding controversial reputation, came through his relationship with Princess Diana.

Charles met Lady Diana Spencer in 1977 when she was 16 and was dating her sister. Rumours of the couple’s engagement swirled after she was invited to spend time with Charles and the royal family after reportedly not having seen each other until 1980.

The couple married on July 29th, 1981 in a globally televised ceremony. Prince William, now heir to the throne, was born less than a year later, followed by his brother Prince Harry.

However, Charles admitted to adultery to a TV interviewer in 1994. In an interview of her own, Diana drew attention to her husband’s relationship with Camilla, saying: “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”

Diana and Charles formally divorced in 1996, with Diana dying at the age of 36 in a high speed car crash whilst being chased by media in Paris. The fallout with Diana and the revelation about his infidelity dented the public image of the British monarchy.

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Rare footage of NASA astronauts struggling to walk on moon makes rounds

Sep 9 2022

‘That’s one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind’ – well, it seems as though the steps were not as easy to execute as one might think.

The Apollo missions landed multiple men on the moon, from Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11 to Harrison H. Schmitt on Apollo 17.

A less common sight of the moon landing are video clips showing the astronauts bobbing about, trying to find their balance amid the lack of gravity.

The video started doing rounds on Twitter after the account Universal Curiosity shared the NASA footage. It was subsequently reposted by entrepreneur Sahil Bloom, who wrote:

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“I can’t believe I’ve lived 31 years of my life without seeing this. Absolutely hilarious. College me stumbling home from the bar finds this so very relatable.”

On Earth, falling down is usually very painful as gravity ensures a bit of a slam. But falling on the moon is quite different, with the astronauts ending up tumbling slowly. Despite being hilarious to watch, one of the biggest concerns during the moon landings was that the men would not be able to get up after falling about.

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Zero sugar & calories; the new Green Cola is changing the soft drink game

Sep 9 2022

Did you know that you can get the delicious, refreshing taste of cola without having to consume a mountain of sugars, calories, preservatives and artificial sweeteners?

That’s right; thanks to Green Cola, you needn’t sacrifice the sweet taste of your favourite beverage to pursue a better lifestyle. The unique beverage combines the great taste & enjoyment of cola with wholesome, natural ingredients to present a zero calorie, zero sugar and zero preservative product.

The beverage obtains its flavour by being naturally sweetened with the zero-carb, zero-calorie plant known as Stevia. Beyond being Japan’s most popular sweetener, Stevia is approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and we can understand its popularity.

On top of the cola product, the brand also makes 3 refreshing carbonated fruit flavour drinks with the same ideals! Green Orange, Green Lemon and Green Lemon Lime never tasted so good and when you crave something other than the classic cola, the three other flavours offer a sweet alternative; we can honestly say that summer never tasted so refreshing.

Have you tried Green Cola yet?

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The other side of Queen Elizabeth II: 8 Fun Facts

Sep 9 2022

The Queen owned over 30 corgis in total during her life.

The Queen was well known for her love of the miniature dogs, starting a trend in the process. But what many might not know is that she owned over 30 of them throughout her life. She was also described by the Queen’s former Corgi trainer Roger Mugford as an excellent dog trainer. ‘When I visited her’ he said, ‘she had nine dogs and they were incredibly well controlled, well managed and obedient.’

Her first horse was called Peggy, a gift by King George V.

The queen was gifted her first horse by her grandfather King George V, a Shetland pony called Peggy. She has been riding them ever since and in her later years, sightings of the Queen riding around on horses would prove to be indications of her health improving after bouts of discomfort or sickness.

She bought her wedding dress with WWII ration coupons.

According to ‘British Heritage’, the then Princess Elizabeth purchased the material for her wedding dress with ration coupons two years after the end of the Second World War. Due to the post-war austerity measures, the princess had to use clothing ration coupons to show entitlement to the dress. The government allowed her 200 extra ration coupons. She was also given hundreds of coupons by brides-to-be from all parts of the country, but she had to return these coupons as it was illegal for them to have been given away in the first instance.

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The Queen did not need a license to drive on public roads.

The Queen was the only person in the UK who did not need to have a driver’s license in order to drive on public roads. Whilst boasting a car collection worth £10 million, the Queen has never been required to sit a driving test. This is because driving licenses are issued in her name, making it redundant for the Queen to issue herself a license. This perk only applies to the monarch however, as other members of the Royal family need to pass a driving test.

She studied constitutional history and law, French, German and music.

Elizabeth II and her sister Margaret were the last members of the royal family to be educated at home by tutors in the traditional manner. They were both home-schooled by governess Marion Crawford. She was introduced to constitutional history, whilst also learning to speak French fluently. She also participated in a Vehicle Maintenance Course during World War II.

She volunteered as a truck driver during World War II.

Before she became Queen Elizabeth, the princess volunteered as a truck driver and mechanic during the war. This made her the first female member of the royal family to serve in the military. It took years before her parents accepted her desire to contribute in this way, but the 19-year-old eldest daughter was finally given permission to join and, in February of 1945, she joined the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service. These members served as everything from anti-aircraft gunners to drivers to mechanics.

Queen Elizabeth II sat for over 200 official portraits.

Being Queen, her majesty sat for a whopping 200 official portraits over her lifetime. The first one ever taken of her was in 1933, when she was just seven years old and was painted by Anglo-Hungarian artist Philip Alexius de Laszlo. With images of her circulating the world for more than 7 decades, she became one of the most recognisable faces in history as a consequence.

She made her first radio broadcast at the age of 14.

The Queen might be known for her radio and television broadcasts, but she first spoke on the radio at the age of just 14. Speaking about children being evacuated, she said on BBC’s ‘Children’s Hour’: “I can truthfully say to you all that we children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage. We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war.”

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