The Lady Magazine

7 October 2016

Dear Readers, Next Friday, 950 years ago, the course of English history was changed in a day when the last Anglo-Saxon king was felled by his French enemy. The Battle of Hastings is arguably the most important historical date in our calendar and one that is being celebrated to full effect up and down the country, with the ruins of Battle Abbey the focal point of the celebrations. I went there recently to stand on King Harold’s grave (a beautifully crafted new stone laid on the site of his death) and was immediately transported to another time. History is what makes us, and binds our past with our future. For actors playing real people, this is doubly true when they have to transport themselves to another era, as Stephanie Beacham has done in order to portray Princess Margaret in her final decade. The princess appeared, Stephanie tells us, to be a mass of contradictions, with emotions that could ‘turn on a sixpence’. Stephanie’s aim, she hopes, is to get the audience to understand HM the Queen’s sister a little more. We are also making history ourselves this week on page 27 with the launch of our first-ever The Lady Pet of the Year award and its sister crown, The Lady Most Talented Pet of the Year. I’m very excited, I know that competition will be tough, but I cannot wait to start seeing the entries. Darcy our office dog was very put out when she discovered she couldn’t enter, but she recovered once she realised the winners would be coming to Bedford Street for tea and dog biscuits! Until next week, best wishes, Sam Taylor,