About the book

''Black Butler'' is a popular manga series written by Yana Toboso. Its genres are supernatural/dark fantasy/dark comedy. It was first published in 2006, and is still an on-going series. The series has been made into an anime which premiered in 2008.

The story is set in Victorian Era England follows a 12-year old earl and orphan called Ciel Phantomhive who does underground work for Queen Victoria. Alongside him is his butler, Sebastian, who turns out to be a demon who wants to eat Ciel's soul. In each arc, the duo sets out on a mission to free the Queen from any worries she has

In this arc specificly,  Queen Victoria has noticed that in a family's hometown in Germany, citizens have been talking about a curse of a nearby forest. Not being able to sent over officials but being worried about the people that live there, the Queen sends Ciel and his servants to Germany to investigate. Upon arriving at said cursed forest, they discover that there is an actual curse that involves werewolves, and that there is a secluded town inside the forest, which is ruled by an 11-year old ''witch''.

My thoughts

This arc in the manga is by far my favourite one. I like that the country where this arc takes place in is different from usual, so it's a nice change and refreshing for people who read the whole manga.

The arc also has an interesting story with  quite a sad twist at the end. It included characters that are already familiar with readers and readers got to see different sides of them. Readers also got introduced to new characters, one of them being Sieglinde, a girl who claims to be a witch. She is one of my favourite characters, because of how she interacts with the other character. She's also very smart and responsible for a lot of funny moments.

I would not recommend this to many people. For starters, it's a manga, which not many people like to read. I also wouldn't recommend it to readers who do not like the supernatural genre, as that is very present in the manga. It is also a manga that is targeted to teens and young adults, so older readers probably won't be able to enjoy it very much.

About the book

This biography by Linda Porter is about the most ruthless Queen ever known in British history, Mary I, also known as Bloody Mary. It's genres are biography and history and was first published in 2008. 

The book focuses on Mary Tudor, daughter of the nutorious King Henry VIII. Porter goes in depth on Mary's youth and family situation, which had terrible consequences on her reign as Queen.

She also was the first official Queen of Great Britain, and had a very strong disliking for Protestents. She would execute many of them during her reign of five years, and burn most of them at the stake, earning her the nickname ''Bloody Mary''.

About the song

The song ''Royals'' by Lorde was first released in 2013. It became a number one hit in many different countries, including her home country, New Zealand.

Of course, I immediatly thought of this song when I first started working on my own theme, so I had to include it, not only because of its name, but also because of its meaning.

Lorde has always been interested in different royal members from all over the world, so it is quite ironic that she wrote a song about royals. The song is about how many people crave a luxary live, like royal families do. However, she wants to stay close to her roots, saying that the royal luxary live is not intended for her.

About the piece

The Albert Memorial is a memorial/statue dedicated to Prince Albert, the wife of Queen Victoria. It was build by George Gilbert Scott after it was commisioned by Queen Victoria after Prince Albert passed away in 1861. The statue is 54 meters tall and can be found in Kensington Gardens in Londen, UK.

The memorial is built in a Gothic style. The statue of Prince Albert himself is made out of bronze. There are eight groups of statue surrounding the memorial, each representing a different group of people at that time. Four of the groups represent Victorian industrial arts, and the other four represent four continents: Africa, America, Asia and Europe. These statues are all made out of marble. Most of the decorations on the memorial are made out of bronze.

Royal family shares poem in tribute to the late Prince Philip by poet laureate

The Patriarchs - An Elegy shared via royal social media accounts on first anniversary of Duke of Edinburgh's death

The royal family have shared a poem in tribute to the late Prince Philip on the first anniversary of his death.

The elegy was written by the poet laureate Simon Armitage and shared via official royal social media accounts on Saturday. 

Entitled The Patriarchs - An Elegy, the poem is read by Armitage over piano music and accompanied by a video montage of photographs from the Duke of Edinburgh's life, including images of his wedding day and the birth of his four children.

First published on the day of his funeral last year, it pays particular tribute to his career in the Royal Navy. 

It reads: "On such an occasion / to presume to eulogise one man is to pipe up / for a whole generation - that crew whose survival / was always the stuff of minor miracle, / who came ashore in orange-crate coracles, / fought ingenious wars, finagled triumphs at sea / with flaming decoy boats, and side-stepped torpedoes."

Armitage describes the duke's generation as "husbands to duty", "great-grandfathers from birth", and "last of the great avuncular magicians" in the poem, before concluding in the final verse: "But for now, a cold April's closing moments / parachute slowly home, so by mid-afternoon / snow is recast as seed heads and thistledown."

The Queen - who described Philip as her "constant strength and guide" - is believed to be at Windsor Castle on Saturday and it is understood she will mark the first anniversary of the death of her husband privately. 

Philip died in his sleep at his Windsor Castle home on 9 April 2021. His death was announced by Buckingham Palace just after midday. It was marked by hundreds of tributes from world leaders and dignitaries, as well as the charities he supported. 

He became internationally recognised after marrying the Queen more than 70 years ago. He died just months before his 100th birthday. 

Philip's funeral at Saint George's Chapel at Windsor Castle was attended by just 30 mourners due to Covid restrictions. The Queen was famously pictured sitting alone in the pews wearing a face mask. 

The Dean of Windsor, Right Rev David Conner, paid tribute to the Duke's achievements, as well as his shortcomings, at a recent service of thanksgiving for his life. 

He described Philip as a man of "passionate commitment" who devoted his "intellectual and physical energy" to a "host of down to earth enterprises". 

However, Rev Conner said the Duke could also be "abrupt" in a "robust conversation, forgetting just how intimidating he could be". 

Source: www.theguardian.com