CATEGORIES

The Renaissance King

Few realise the breadth and depth of Charles III’s interests and influence, but, here, 10 friends of COUNTRY LIFE, who know and have worked with The King–including former Prime Minister Sir John Major–predict he will be a magnificent and much-loved monarch

A theatre of coronation

The setting of Charles III’s crowning in Westminster Abbey in London lends grandeur and history to this great ceremony. John Goodall considers the evolution of this remarkable building and its role in celebrating the authority and antiquity of the monarchy

Heavy lies the crown

It is to the Crown that we owe allegiance. Matthew Dennison considers the history of this most familiar attribute of royalty, which he finds as laden with the hopes of a nation as it is with glittering gold and precious jewels

Time for change

Known for his striking bronzes, sculptor Martin Jennings is the man behind the image on The King’s new coins. He tells Timothy Mowl how he captures the essence of his subjects and why this Royal Mint commission is so special

Let the power of the music carry you

Music has, for centuries, been key to the tone of a coronation. Charles III’s will be no exception, says Andrew Green, and will reflect the changes in British culture over the past seven decades

The King's gardens

Alan Titchmarsh considers the new monarch’s extraordinary contribution to British gardening, which is always underpinned by organic methods and a strong belief in husbandry and stewardship

Send him victorious, happy and glorious

From France’s rousing, fiercely Republican La Marseillaise to Switzerland’s bucolic ‘Psalm’ and the proud, stately God Save the King, national anthems are a rallying cry for us all, says Charles Harris

The face of Majesty

Ever since Alfred the Great’s likeness was stamped on coins, royal portraits have marked the might of our monarchs, although–as Michael Prodger discovers–some are excessively flattering

The bumblebee's knees

It may look a little sozzled and slow, but one bumblebee is all it takes to make a prairie and its buzz is the soundtrack of a thriving world, finds Harry Pearson

Once in a generation

Today's Property Market previews the launch onto the market, for the first time since 1985, of one of Kent's most important country houses

Colour counsel

The latest paints and wallpapers, selected

Return of the Mac

It might now be spelt differently, made of alternative fabrics and have even embraced colour, but-at heart-the Mackintosh remains the same classic waterproof coat conceived 200 years ago,

Totally foxed

The new Scottish legislation on hunting looks unworkable and will be to the detriment of wildlife

A future in the Arts

One of the most important historic houses in Surrey is enjoying a new lease of life as a centre for the Arts. John Goodall looks at the history of this remarkable building

Is the 'tourist tax' realistic?

Charging visitors to national parks such as the busy Lake District sounds an attractive idea, but it could easily backfire, says one local

Crowning glories

A Bristol exhibition contains riveting treasures from past coronations

Dressed to impress

Towering headdresses, 3ft-high feathers and a diamond-spangled skirt so heavy that a pulley was needed to raise the hem are only some of the extraordinary outfits that made Georgian Britain sartorially magnificent,

Fronds in high places

An obsession with palms has taken Martin Gibbons to some of the most inaccessible places around the world, says Tiffany Daneff, and to the founding of his remarkable nursery

That sounds just like you

Forget flashy plumage or intricate dances, being a great sound mimic is what really wins over womenat least for some birds,

'Painting horses is, to me, the breath of life'

Lucy Kemp-Welch was overlooked for RA election and refused to get involved with the feminist politics of her day, letting her powerful and empathetic animal paintings do the talking,

ALIVE AND WOOL

A yearly festival of wool sees drop spindles, peg looms, felted collars and yarns dyed in heavenly shades of old rose, hawthorn and hedgeberry fill a parallel world in which wool reigns supreme,

A place for everything

Why storage is more important than space

Protecting our own wild isles

The inspiring new Attenborough documentary should encourage us to look at–and protect–what we have on our own doorstep

Three times a legend

This year’s Grand National marks the 50th anniversary of Red Rum’s first win. Jack Watkins explains why we may never see his like again

As thick as thieves

From piracy to hijacking and mugging, Nature abounds with all sorts of bad and condemnable behaviour, but some species have a real knack for stealing, as Ian Morton discovers

Sense and sensibilities

Knoyle Place, East Knoyle, Wiltshire The home of the Comtesse de La Morinière | The more you look, says Charles Quest-Ritson, the more there is to admire in this magnificent garden, which has been subtly and beautifully enhanced in recent decades

Heavenly hepaticas

JOHN MASSEY is a happy man. His beaming face is familiar to plant lovers all over Britain and beyond. Plants have been the great love of his life—finding them, growing them, selecting them and selling the best

Hear the language of the birds

WE share with the birds 50 genes or more to do with sound-making, which leads to the lovely notion that early hominids perched in trees and sang like the feathered things.

A plum job

Once the mainstay of Cumbria’s Lyth and Winster valleys, damson orchards declined steeply after the Second World War. Tessa Waugh meets the farmers working hard to revive the fruit’s fortunes

Dreamy spires

Foxgloves, which can be planted now, provide the perfect link between the garden and the countryside, says John Hoyland