Q: Olga Maiden - Middlesex, UK
What does Prince Harry's new coat of arms look like?
Prince Henry's coat of arms was given to him on his 18th birthday in September 2002. It is drawn from both the coat of arms of his grandmother, The Queen, and that of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The addition to the Royal Coat of Arms consists of a horizontal line across the upper portion of the shield with five tabs hanging from it. This is further applied to the necks of the unicorn and the lion and also to the lion in the crest above the shield. Within three of the five tabs are red escallops. These are derived from the Spencer coat of arms.
Prince Harry's coat of arms will change in the fullness of time to reflect a change of monarch.
Q: Victoria Adams - Oldham, UK
Who was the first British monarch to travel by train?
The first British monarch to travel by train was Queen Victoria in 1842. On 13 June that year, the young Queen travelled from Slough to Paddington - a 25-minute journey - in a specially built Royal carriage.
This was built by the Great Western Railway Company in 1840, with Chief Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel overseeing safety.
During Victoria's first journey Brunel travelled on the footplate to ensure all went well. Queen Victoria's journal records that the journey was 'delightful'.
Q: Jonathan Freeman - Sydney, Australia
On what date does The Queen's official birthday fall next year?
The Queen's official birthday (and hence Trooping the Colour) next year will be on 14 June 2003.
Q: Robert - Wiltshire, UK
What is the next Jubilee after the Golden Jubilee, and what is being planned, if anything?
The next Jubilee celebration would be the Diamond Jubilee, which marks 60 years on the throne.
Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901) and King George III (1760-1820) are the only British monarchs to have ruled for 60 years or more.
There are no plans as yet to celebrate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, as the event would take place in 2012.
Q: Henry Whiteside - Preston, UK
In last month's Mailbox you answered a question about the Black Prince's Ruby in the Imperial State Crown. What is the Stuart Sapphire, and where is it found?
The Stuart Sapphire is a 104-carat stone set in the back of the Imperial State Crown. It has had a long and interesting history.
The story of the Stuart Sapphire cannot be entirely authenticated much before 1685, but it was said to have been set in the crown of the Scottish King Alexander II at his coronation in 1214.
In 1296, Edward I of England claimed the sapphire along with the Stone of Scone during his attacks on Scotland. Edward III of England later gave the sapphire back to the Scots, when he gave it to his brother-in-law David II of Scotland. He in turn gave it to his sister Margery Bruce. She married Walter Steward and together they founded the Stuart dynasty.
The sapphire then appeared in the hands of Edward IV, who had it placed in his state crown. There it apparently remained until the Civil War of the seventeenth century. Cromwell sold the crown, but the sapphire was seemingly returned to the restored Charles II.
After the removal of James II from the throne in 1688, it remained with the Stuart family until Cardinal York, the last of the dynasty, died in 1807. It was then returned to the Prince Regent, later King George IV and has remained in the Royal Family ever since.
The sapphire was set in the front of the Imperial State Crown for Queen Victoria in 1838 but was moved to the back when it was replaced by the Second Star of Africa in 1909.
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