Volume 27 Issue 6 June 1977

The End of the Japanese Fleet, 1945

The last operation of the Japanese Naval Command, writes Albert Vulliez, was a deliberate act of suicide. It was received by the people with a ‘sombre bitterness’. Translated by Patrick Turnbull.

The Duchess of Kingston in Russia

Duchess by bigamy, but a Countess by marriage, Elizabeth Chudleigh found refuge from her marital troubles in St Petersburg, writes Anthony Cross.

The Death of Nell Gwynne

The preeminent Restoration actress and infamous Royal mistress died in 1687 at the age of 37. Jane Hoare describes how Charles II had left her well provided.

Royal Reviews at Spithead

Geoffrey Bennett takes the reader on a visit to Spithead - the deep water channel that leads into Portsmouth Dockyard - which has been the scene of naval reviews by British monarchs since Henry VIII.

Royal Favourites in Spain

Douglas Hilt describes how Privados - favoured courtiers in early modern Spain - often became figures of strength for the monarch and agents of stability in the peninsula.

Queen Victoria’s Jubilees

During the two Victorian Jubilees, writes Joanna Richardson, Britain enjoyed an imperial grandeur which was displayed in the Queen’s celebrations.

Charles I’s Dwarf

C. Northcote Parkinson describes the life and times of Jeffery Hudson of Oakham, Rutlandshire, a remarkable member of Charles I's court who nonetheless measured under three feet tall.