A couple of months ago I held the Monarchy awards for the Monarchs of England/Great Britain as a result of watching an episode of Pointless Celebrities. So I decided to answer the same questions for the monarch of Scotland from the year 1000 up until the merger of the thrones with King James VI (of Scotland I of England) in 1603. Monarchs not succeeded by their children: Scotland has had 14 monarchs who were not directly succeeded by their children. The first was King Malcolm II (1005 – 1034). He was succeeded by his grandson Duncan I. Malcolm had only daughters and Duncan was the son of his eldest daughter Bethoc and her husband Crinan the Thane. Duncan I himself was not immediately succeeded by his sons but they had to get rid of Macbeth first. The last of the Scottish monarchs not to be succeeded by a child was David II (1329 – 1371). Despite 2 marriages David never had any children so he was succeeded by his nephew Robert II. Monarchs succeeded by more than one child: Only 2 of the Scottish monarchs have this accolade. The first was Duncan I (1034 – 1040). Duncan died in battle against Macbeth who then became king followed briefly by his stepson Lulach. Lulach was killed and Duncan I eldest son became King Malcolm III (1058 – 1093). His brother Donald III later also became king (1093 – 1097) with a brief break when Malcolm III son Duncan was king. The second monarch was King Malcolm III. 4 of his sons became King of the Scots. They were Duncan II (1094), Edgar (1097 – 1107), Alexander I (1107 – 1124) and David I (1124 – 1153). Monarchs with no children: Of the 27 monarchs of Scotland from 100 to 1603 7 had no children. 3 were the children on Malcolm III. One was the famous Macbeth, although he did have a stepson who succeeded him. Then there was Malcolm II and finally Queen Margaret but she was only 3 when she came to the throne and 7 when she died. Monarchs with most children: The records with the Scottish monarchs goes to King Robert II (1371 – 1390). With his wife Elizabeth Mure they had 10 children. After Elizabeth died he married Euphemia de Ross and had a further 4 children. He is also alleged to have had at least 13 illegitimate children. Reign length: The longest Scottish reigning monarch was James VI. He was king of Scotland from 1567 until 1625. In total he was King for 57 years, 8 months and 4 days. The shortest reign was King Duncan II. He was king for 6 months in 1097 when he temporarily usurped his Uncle who assumed the throne when Duncan II’s father died. Age at Accession: In 1093 Donald III to the crown of Scotland when his brother died usurping the rightful heir Duncan II. Donald was approximately 61 years old. The youngest person to become monarch of Scotland was Mary Queen of Scots. She was just 6 days old when her father King James V died and she became Queen. Number of Marriages:
Well the winner in this category is Mary Queen of Scots. She was married 3 times and widowed twice. He first husband was the dauphin of France Francis who would become Francis II of France, thus making Mary Queen consort of France as well as Queen of Scotland. After Francis death aged 16 in 1560, 18 year old Mary returned to Scotland. In 1565 she married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. He died in an explosion in February 1567 (probably murdered on Mary’s order or by James Hepburn) leaving her widowed again with a young son. She next married (possibly by force) James Hepburn the Earl of Bothwell in May 1567. It was a combination of the murder of Lord Darnley and her marriage to James Hepburn that lead to her being forced to abdicate. What was it with those of Tudor descent? Mary was the great Granddaughter of Margaret Tudor, the sister of King Henry VIII of England. The pointless questions and their answers The names of the British monarchs since 1707 are: Anne, George, William, Victoria, Edward and Elizabeth. The decade in which a monarch died from 1000 to 2000 were: 1030’s, 1040’s, 1050’s, 1090’s, 1100’s, 1120’s, 1150’s, 1160’s, 1210’s, 1240’s, 1280’s, 1290’s, 1310’ , 1320’s, 1370’s, 1390’s, 1400’s, 1430’s, 1460’s, 1480’s, 1510’s, 1540’s, 1580’s, 1620’s, 1640’s, 1680’s, 1690’s, 1700’s, 1710’s, 1720’s, 1760’s, 1820’s, 1830’s, 1900’s, 1910’s, 1930’s, 1950’s, 1970’s. The monarchs who were never succeeded by their offspring since 1154 are: Malcolm IV (brother William I), Alexander III (granddaughter Margaret), Margaret (John Balliol chosen by nobility), Charles II (brother James II), Anne (cousin George I), George II (grandson George III), George VI (brother William IV), William IV (niece Victoria), Edward VIII (brother George VI). If you want to read the other blogs in the monarchy awards you can find them at: http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/monarchy-awards http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/monarch-award-consort-category Last week I hosted the monarch awards based around the statistics of the monarch of England/Great Britain. This week the focus turns to their royal consorts. Consorts whose children didn’t become monarch: Well it might surprise you that in total 17 (or 18) consorts did not have children who became monarch of these fair lands. The first could have been Queen Matilda of Scotland the wife of Henry I. Her daughter of the Empress Maude or Lady of the English. So if you believe she was queen then it was Matilda of Scotland. If you don’t believe this then the first monarch to not have a child become monarch was Queen Matilda of Boulogne the wife of King Stephen. They did have a son William, but to keep the peace in England Stephen made Maude’s son Henry his heir. The last consort not to have children become monarch was Queen Adelaide the consort of William IV. They had 4 children all of which died when they were young. Consorts who had more than on monarch/consort as children: In this category the winner is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine the wife of King Henry II. The couple had 8 children together and of these 3 were monarchs and 2 were consorts. There was Henry the Young King who reigned alongside his father, Richard I and John. Her daughter Eleanor was consort of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Joan was consort of King William II of Sicily. Consorts who had no children: In this category there were 7 consorts. Admittedly 3 were the wives of Henry VIII, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr. The others were Berengaria of Navarre the wife of Richard I, Anne of Bohemia the wife of Richard II, Lord Guildford Dudley the wife of Queen Jane and Catherine of Braganza the wife of Charles II. Consorts to have the most children: Well the winner here is Prince George of Denmark the consort of Queen Anne who had 17 children no of which survived childhood. The female consort who had the most children was Eleanor of Castile with 16 by her husband Edward I. Coming in a close second was Charlotte of Mecklenberg, the consort of George III who had 15 children. Reign length: Queen Charlotte the consort of King George III holds the record for the longest tenure of consort, she held the post for 57 years and 65 days. The shortest reign was Lord Guildford Dudley at just 9 days or if you doubt the credibility of Queen Jane then it was Anne of Cleves, 4th wife of Henry VIII at 186 days. Age at accession: The oldest consort to take up the post was Princess Alexandria, the wife of King Edward VII at 56 years and 53 days. The youngest woman to hold the position was the wife of Richard II, Isabella of Valois. She was just 6 years, 11 months and 24 days. So I suppose she was the youngest girl to hold the post. Her new husband was 29 and it is believed the marriage was never consummated. Number of Marriages:
Many consorts were either married before or after the monarch. The record does go to Katherine Parr who was married 4 times with King Henry VIII being her third husband. Her first 3 husband died and she finally married Thomas Seymour the uncle of her step son King Edward VI. She died in childbirth aged 36. Some other facts: Margaret of France the consort of Henry the Young King was a consort in 2 countries. After the death of Henry she went on to marry Bela III of Hungary. The consort of King Richard II and Henry V were sisters. They were Isabella of Valois and Catherine of Valois. They were the daughters of King Charles VI of France. After their monarch husbands died Isabella married Charles Duke of Orleans and died in childbirth aged 19. Catherine went on to marry Owen Tudor and have around 6 children including Edmund Tudor the father of King Henry VII. England/Great Britain has had 6 male consorts. The first was Geoffrey of Anjou in 1141 if you believe Maude was Queen, if not if was Lord Guildford Dudley the husband of Queen Jane in 1553 or if not it was Phillip of Spain who was known as Phillip of England and was monarch by right of his wife from 1554 to 1558. The other are Prince George of Denmark the consort of Queen Anne, Prince Albert the consort of Queen Victoria and our current consort Prince Philip the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. 15 of the consorts of England/Great Britain were the children of European monarchs. Now as in the previous blog on the monarchy awards (http://www.familyhistoryresearchengland.co.uk/blog/monarchy-awards ) I will answer the questions which were asked on pointless: The names of the British monarchs consorts since 1707 are: George, Caroline, Charlotte, Adelaide, Albert, Alexandria, Mary, Elizabeth and Philip. The decade in which a monarch died from 1000 to 2000 are: 1050’s, 1060’s, 1070’s, 1080’s, 1110’s, 1150’s, 1190’s, 1200’s, 1230’s, 1240’s, 1290’s, 1310’s, 1350’s, 1360’s, 1390’s, 1410’s, 1430’s, 1480’s, 1490’s, 1500’s, 1530’s (3 this decade all Henry VIII wives), 1540’s, 1550’s, 1590’s, 1610’s, 1660’s, 1700’s, 1720’s, 1730’s, 1810’s, 1820’s, 1840’s, 1860’s, 1920’s, 1950’s, 2000’s. The consorts whose children (if they had any some of these listed didn’t) were never Monarch since 1154 are: Berengaria of Navarre wife of Richard I. Margaret of France wife of Edward I. Philippa of Hainualt wife of Edward III. Richard II 2 wives Anne of Bohemia and Isabella of Valois. Joan of Navarre wife of Henry IV. Margaret of Anjou wife of Henry VI. Anne Neville wife of Richard III. Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr the wives of Henry VIII. Guildford Dudley the husband of Queen Jane. Phillip of Spain the husband of Mary I. Catherine of Braganza the wife of Charles II. Mary of Modena the wife of James VII (II). Prince George of Denmark the husband of Queen Anne. Caroline of Brunswick the wife of George II. Caroline of Brandenburg the wife of George IV and finally Adelaide Saxe-Meiningen the wife of William IV. Scottish Monarchs and Consorts coming soon. I was watching a repeat of Pointless Celebrities the other week and in the final the actor’s Neil Dudgeon and Annette Badland had questions in the final relating to the monarchy. The 3 questions were the names of the British monarchs since 1707, the decade in which a monarch died from 1000 to 2000 and the monarchs who were never succeeded by their offspring since 1154. Well I happy to say I got 3 pointless answers and the celebrities won the jackpot. It also got me thinking again about the statistics of the English/British monarch. So let me share them with you. Monarch who were not succeeded by their children: There have been 17 monarchs since 1066 that were not succeeded by their children. The first was the son of King William the Conqueror, King William II. He died under mysterious circumstances when he was shot by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest in 1100. He was unmarried and thus succeeded by his brother King Henry I. The most recent monarch to be succeeded by someone other than a child was King Edward VIII in 1936 when he abdicated and was succeeded by his brother King George VI. Monarchs succeeded by more than one child: It surprised me when I got looking that 7 monarchs have had more than one child become monarch. The first was King William the Conqueror. He was succeeded by 2 of his sons, William II and Henry I. Not surprisingly Henry VIII wins with 3 of his children becoming monarchs, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. The most recent monarch to have more than one child become king was King George V with Edward VIII and George VI. Monarchs with no children: Again this came as something of a surprise. 11 monarchs since 1066 have not had any issues. Of these 5 were married but just had no children for various reasons. Charles II was married but had no children with his wife. She suffered several miscarriages. He did have 12 acknowledged illegitimate children though. When you think about it 3 of the 11 of the monarch who didn’t have children were the children of Henry VIII. Monarchs with most children: The record is held by James VII (II) who had 20 children by his 2 wives. Coming a close second was Edward I who had 19 children by his 2 wives. Edward’s first wife was Eleanor of Castile and she gave birth to 16 children. George III and his wife Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz came in second place with her giving birth to 15 children. Reign length: Our current Queen Elizabeth II holds the record for the longest reigning monarch. Before her it was Queen Victoria at 63 years and 216 days and King George III at 59 years and 97 days. The shortest reign was Queen Jane at just 9 days. For those who don’t believe Jane was Queen (I do) then it was King Edward V at 78 days. Neither monarch was ever crowned. The shortest reign of a crowned monarch was King Edward VII at 326 days. Age at Accession: The oldest person to become monarch was William VI. When he became King in 1830 he was 64 years old. The youngest to become monarch was King Henry VI who was just 8 years old. Number of marriages:
Well of the winner in this category has to be Henry VIII at 6 marriages. That man either loved wedding cake or just wanted to collect lots of Mother’s in laws. He needed to take up knitting or something. Several other monarchs were married more than once but 2 is the most number of marriages besides Henry. It’s no wonder his 3 kids never got married. Nor did 3 other monarch. So to fully answer the pointless questions: The names of the British monarchs since 1707 are: Anne, George, William, Victoria, Edward and Elizabeth. The decade in which a monarch died from 1000 to 2000 are: 1010’s, 1030’s, 1040’s, 1060’s, 1080’s, 1100’s, 1130’s, 1150’s, 1160’s, 1180’s, 1190’s, 1210’s, 1270’s, 1300’s, 1320’s, 1370’s, 1400’s, 1410’s, 1420’s, 1470’s, 1480’s (3 this decade), 1510’s, 1540’s, 1550’s (3 this decade), 1600’s, 1620’s, 1640’s, 1680’s, 1690’s, 1700’s, 1710’s, 1720’s, 1760’s, 1820’s, 1830’s, 1900’s, 1910’s, 1930’s, 1950’s, 1970’s. The monarchs who were never succeeded by their offspring since 1154 are: Edward III (grandson), Richard II (cousin), Henry VI (usurped), Edward V (uncle), Richard III (usurped), Edward VI (cousin and half-sister), Mary I (half-sister), Elizabeth I (cousin), Charles II (brother), Anne (cousin), George II (grandson), George VI (brother), William IV (niece), Edward VIII (brother). On the 1st May 1707 Great Britain was born. Up until this point England (and Wales) and Scotland were separate entities sort of. England (and Wales) had a parliament in London and Scotland’s was in Edinburgh. We each had a separate monarch, sort of. It was the same person from 1603 they just had 2 crowns. From the act of union onwards that all changed. No more separate coronations for monarchs, although Charles II was the last to really have separate coronations. Queen Anne became the first monarch of Great Britain. Also no more separate parliament. Everything was now done from London as that was where the monarch lived. The most changes were probably seen in the border areas of England and Scotland. A lot of grey areas arose. For example the town of Berwick Upon Tweed has changed between England and Scotland loads of time. This meant that before the union they could swap sides to choose which parliament was best for them. After the union that would have changed. The union was not popular as the Scottish wanted to remain independent but many felt the extra money that Scotland could get from England would be hugely beneficial to the country. There had been attempts made before this. The Monarchies of England (and Wales) and Scotland had been marrying off their children to one another in order to try and exert some influence over their fellow monarchs as their grandchildren may have become monarch. In 1221 King John of England had married his daughter Joan to King Alexander II of Scotland. In this case no children were born so it didn’t work. John’s son King Henry III of England married his daughter Margaret to King Alexander III of Scotland but none of the couple’s son’s became King. Several other royal marriages between Scotland and England occurred but since 1066 the first union between the 2 royal families to produce a monarch who had an English monarch and a Scottish monarch as grandfathers was King James V of Scotland. He was the son of King James IV of Scotland and Princess Margaret Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VII of England. This was the connection that allowed James VI to take the English throne in 1603. So what did this mean for our ancestors? Well in reality nothing. Nothing changed other than they became British rather than English, Scottish or Welsh. Although most probably still used them and we still do today.
Our Scottish ancestors did cling firmly to their Scottishness. They continued to hold on to their clan heritage and their pride in their tartans and customs. They even revolted during the Glorious Revelation in an attempt to keep King James VII (or II) on the throne of both England and Scotland. He was a Catholic and Protestants wanted him gone and replaced with his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. After James was ousted and William III and Mary II took the throne jointly James VII grandson Charles Edward Stuart took up arms along with the Scottish Jacobite’s to put his father James Stuart,or himself on the throne. It failed. The English hung on to their traditions as well. So was there any impact on the Act of Union for us genealogists. Well not really when it happened. Birth, marriages and deaths were still only registered in the Church of either Scotland or England (and Wales). It wasn’t until 1837 in England and Wales and 1855 in Scotland that events had to be registered with the state. So the Act of Union had no impact on our genealogy research or probably our ancestors but it was an important date in the history of our great country. I was reading an article the other day about Joanna of Castile the sister of our Queen consort Catherine of Aragon. In the article was a picture of her husband Philip the Handsome who reigned as King Philip I of Castile and was also the Duke of Burgandy. Now the photo in my opinion didn’t do the poor man justice. This portrait was produced around 1500 when Philip was Duke of Burgundy and around 22 years old. This picture got me thinking how accurate were these portrait of their sitters? Well in truth we will never know. But is there a reason for the way the pictures look. Now I know nothing about art, I was useless at it at school and I only exceled at stickmen. But is a picture’s quality just down to the artist or does the tools they used have an influence on how good the picture was. Let me explain. In 1500 the quality of the canvas the artist used would not be the same as more modern artists would use. In fact the picture of Philip was painted on an oak board. Now surely this influenced how the paint flowed on the wood. There are natural cracks and marks on the wood. Would this mean the paint went to an extent where it wanted and so the picture was less accurate? The same is true of the quality of the paint. Oil based paints these days will be much better than the oil paints of 1500. With the development of manufacturing processes paints will be more consistent. Back in 1500 the paints would have been of a much lesser quality so did this mean that they didn’t flow as well and thus made a lesser quality painting. So did the development of the materials account for the increased quality of artwork or did the talent of the artist increase? This picture of King Henry VIII was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger around 1540, just 40 years after the picture of Philip the Handsome. The quality of the picture thought is so much better and it is well documented that this was a true likeness of the King. This is an oil painting but was done on a canvas rather than wood.
So comparing the 2 picture you could say that the artist of Philips picture was just not as good as Hans Holbein, but the since they are not on the same canvas then that could make a difference. The only true way to compare whether wood or canvas was best would have been for an artist to paint the same portrait on both wood and canvas. Also the cost of the painting would probably have an impact on the quality. Henry VIII wasn’t known for scrimping on his spending so the Holbein painting probably cost a great deal. Maybe Philip used a lesser known artist would didn’t charge as much and so you could speculate that he used lesser quality paints and this resulted in the above portrait. If you think about it the same is true for with the photographs of our ancestors. Early photos are of very stern looking people with absolutely no character to them. This was due to the quality of the camera and the long exposure needed. My camera can take a photo in 1/4000 of a second so I can catch the image instantly and so smiles and movement can be captured. So was Philip the Handsome portrait a true likeness of him or not, we may never know but we can say that the quality of the artists material may have had an impact on the final picture. Whether it was a true likeness or not his wife Queen Joanna of Castile loved him dearly. In the whole of the monarchy of England/Great Britain only 4 Kings have ever abdicated. These were Edward II in 1327, Richard II in 1399, James VII (II in England but you use the highest regnal number and he was James VII in Scotland) and finally Edward VII on the 11th December 1936. So most of us will have probably a living relative to either lived through this period or knew someone who did. Edward VIII was born on the 23rd of June 1894 at the White Lodge, Richmond Park, London. He was the first child born to the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary). He was the grandson of the King at the time Edward VII. Edward’s full name was Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David. Within the family he was known as David. On Edward’s 16th birthday in 1910 he was created the Prince of Wales after his father ascended to the throne of Great Britain. He was invested as the Prince of Wales at Caernafon Castle in Wales on the 13th July 1911. Edward attended Naval college (but never graduated) and during WW2 he joined the Grenadier Guards. He wanted to fight but as the heir to the throne this was not allowed. Edward eventually took to flying and became a qualified pilot. As Edward got older he became known for enjoying life shall we say. He had a string of mistresses, and it is through one of these mistresses, Lady Furness, he met the woman who would change his life and impact greatly on the country as a whole. In January 1931 Edward was introduced to an American woman by the name of Wallis Simpson. Wallis Simpson was born in 1894 in Pennsylvania, USA. She was named Bessie Wallis Warfield by her parents Teackle Wallis Warfield and Alice Montague. Wallis married her first husband Earl Winfield Spencer in 1916 in Baltimore, USA and the divorced in 1927. She married secondly in 1928 in Chelsea, London to Ernest Aldrich Simpson. It was while she was married to him she began the affair with Edward. In fact it wasn’t until 5 years after she began the affair with Edward that she divorced him. During this period the relationship between Edward and Wallis became somewhat of a scandal for the King and Queen. They had no fondness for Wallis at all and would not accept her as she was a divorcee and under Church of England law a divorcee could not marry in church, and since Edward was heir to the throne he would have needed to marry in church, as the monarch could not marry a divorcee (this has since changed).
The problems for Edward got worse in January 1936. On the 20th January his father King George V died thus making Edward King Edward VIII. When he was proclaimed King of the Realm Wallis was by his side. The couple were seen together a lot and even holidayed together. They famously, or infamously visited Germany and met with Adolf Hitler. In October 1936 Wallis divorced her second husband and Edward made it known he wished to marry her. Parliament at the time were against such as marriage as marrying after a divorce was against church laws, and as King Edward was head of the Church of England. Also they felt the people would never accept Wallis as Queen. The Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin gave Edward 3 choices. Not marry Wallis, marry her against parliament’s wishes or abdicate. Edward signed his abdication on the 11th December 1936. Those present were his 3 brother, Prince Albert, Duke of York, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Prince George, Duke of Kent. The next day Edward made a radio statement to the nation in which he stated “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love”. On the 13th December Edward and Wallis left England for Austria and he was now known as the Duke of Windsor. Edward and Wallis finally married in France in 1937 with Wallis then becoming the Duchess of Windsor. The couple stayed together until Edward died in France in 1972 just days after a private visit from his niece, Queen Elizabeth II. Edward was buried at Frogmore, Windsor where Wallis would join him in 1986. The couple never had any children. So in 1936 Great Britain had 3 monarchs in King George V, King Edward VIII and the newly crowned King George VI who was Edwards’s brother and had been known as Prince Albert, Duke of York. And all for the love of a divorced woman. Now it wouldn’t matter at all! Eleanor of Aquitaine was a powerful woman who had influence of much of France and England in her lifetime. She was the wife of 2 kings and the mother to 2 kings. She was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right. She participated in the Crusades in the Holy Land, was regent of England while her son was on the Crusades and in captivity and raised the ransom for him. But what of her genealogy? Bit of background first. Eleanor was born around 1122 in France (probably Aquitaine) to William X Duke of Aquitaine and Aenor de Chatelleraut. Her first marriage was to Louis the Younger of France, son of Louis VI of France. He became Louis VII of France a few days after the marriage. The couple married on the 25th July 1137 at Bordeaux Cathedral, France. The couple had their marriage annulled in 1152 due to consanguinity, most likely as Louis was desperate for a son but was also celibate (unless his doctors told him not to be) and Eleanor’s eye had be caught by another and was a strong woman and the King was not as strong, as well as many other factors. Eleanor secondly married Henry II, Duke of Normandy the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and the Empress Matilda of England (the daughter of King Henry I) in May 1152. Henry became King of England in 1154 after the death of his Uncle Stephen. During this marriage the couple had a love hate relationship with Eleanor and her sons fighting against the King. This lead to Eleanor spending 19 years imprisoned on and off until the King died. Eleanor had 10 children by her 2 husbands. By King Louis she had: 1. Marie of France born in 1145 in France. She married Henry I, Count of Champagne in 1164 and had 4 children. Marie was Countess of Champagne. She died in 1198 in Champagne, France. 2. Alix of France born in 1150 in France. She married Theobald V, Count of Blois in 1164 and had 7 children. She was Countess of Blois. She died in 1197/98 in France. By King Henry she had: 1. William IX, Count of Poitiers who was born in Normandy in 1153. He died in 1156 at Wallingford Castle and was buried in Reading Cathedral. 2. Henry the Young King. He was born in 1155 at Bermondsey Palace, London. In 1172 he married Margaret of France in Winchester Cathedral. She was the half-sister of his half-sisters Marie and Alix. They had 1 son who died when he was a few days old. Henry died in France in 1183 after a siege. He was buried in Rouen Cathedral. 3. Matilda of England was born in 1156 at Windsor Castle. In 1168 she married Henry Duke of Saxony at Minden Cathedral and the couple had 5 children. Matilda was Duchess of Saxony. She died in 1189 at Brunswick, Saxony. 4. Richard I King of England (3/9/1189 – 6/4/1199). Richard was born in 1157 at Beaumont Palace in Oxfordshire. He was King of England, Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine and Nantes (thank goodness he didn’t have all that on a business card). Richard married Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre in 1191 in Limassol, Cyprus. The couple had no children. Richard died from an arrow wound in 1199 in Chalus, Aquitaine and was buried at Fontevrault Abbey at his father’s feet, except his heart which is in Rouen Cathedral. 5. Geoffrey II Duke of Brittany was born in 1158 in England. In 1181 he married Constance of Brittany the daughter of Conan IV, Duke of Brittany and they had 3 children. Geoffrey died in 1186 in Paris. 6. Eleanor of England, Queen Consort of Castile was born in 1611 in Normandy. She married in 1170 or 1177 King Alfonso VIII of Castile in Burgos, Castile and they had 12 children. Eleanor died in Burgos in 1214 and was buried there. 7. Joan of England, Queen Consort of Sicily and Countess of Toulouse. Joan was born in 1165 in Anjou and married firstly King William II of Sicily in 1177. She married Raymond VI Count of Toulouse in 1196 and they had 3 children. Joan died in Rouen in 1199 and was buried in Fontevrault Abbey at her father’s head. 8. John, King of England (27/5/1199 – 19/10/1216). John was born in 1166 at Beaumont Palace, Oxfordshire. He married firstly in 1189 at Marlborough Castle, Wiltshire to Isabella Countess of Gloucester but the marriage was annulled in 1199 on the grounds of consanguinity. He then married in 1200 Isabella Countess of Angouleme in Angouleme and they had 5 children. John died at Newark Castle in Nottinghamshire in 1216. Eleanor died on the 1st April 1204 at Fontevraud Abbey where she had become a nun. She was buried alongside her husband Henry II and son Richard I. So Eleanor was the Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen Consort of France, Queen Consort of the Franks, Queen Consort of England and Regent of England. She was mother of Kings, Queens consorts, Dukes, Duchesses, Counts and Countesses. She had 10 children and 40 grandchildren. She is the 21 times great Grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II and thus 24 time great Grandmother of youngest members of the Royal Family.
It’s the year 1066 and England is in turmoil. In January the King Edward the Confessor died without leaving an heir. So what would happen to the country? Enter 3 men who felt they had a claim to the throne. By December 1066 England would have a new king and the other 2 men would be dead. So who were the contenders? Harald Hardrada was the King of Norway and claimed the English throne as he claimed Harthacnut who was a previous King of England and Edward the Confessors half-brother had left the throne to him if there was no heir to the throne. Edward had no heir. Harold Godwinson was the brother in law of Edward the Confessor and he claimed the Edward had claimed him his heir. William of Normandy was the illegitimate son of Edward the Confessors cousin Robert of Normandy and William claimed Edward had promised the throne to him as his heir. Let battle commence. Before the battles commenced Harold attempted to consolidate his position as King amongst the nobles of the land. He was in the best position as he was in England when Edward died. Harold was crowned the day after Edward died and spent the next month’s building on his claim, but this wasn’t to last as he faced challenges to his throne. The first battle was between Harald Hardrada and Harold Godwinson. This battle took place at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire on the 25th September 1066 with King Harold’s army beating the army of Harald Hardrada and killing Harald and King Harold’s brother who had sided against his brother. After this battle news came that William had landed in England and so King Harold and his troops marched south. William spent the months between the death of Edward and his arrival in England building up his army to launch an invasion. When William landed at Pevensey on the south coast on the 28th September 1066 he had a force of around 10000. Harold had an army of approximately 7000. The 2 sides eventually met at the battle site near Battle on the 14th October 1066. Just as a side note it’s not really known where the battle took place exactly but the town of Battle is the most likely perhaps where the Abbey stands now or a mini roundabout in the town. Harold and the English army were on the hill above William and his forces were in the valley below. The battle began around 9am and lasted until dusk, probably with a lunch break. Harold and William both fought in the battle alongside their men. Eventually for whatever reason Harold’s forces came down the hill and levelled out the playing field. During the fighting Harold’s brothers who were also commanders were killed and eventually Harold was killed sometime in the late afternoon thus leaving the English without a leader. There is much speculation as to how Harold died. The Bayeux Tapestry which tells the story of the battle would have us believe Harold was killed by an arrow in the eye, but whether this is true or not is unknown as the first recorded mention of this was in the 1080’s.
After the battle William and his troops marched on London to claim the throne. What he didn’t know was that a new King had been chosen. At this time there was a body of nobles called the Witenagemot who could choose the monarch if there was no obvious heir. They chose Edgar Ætheling who was Edward the Confessors great nephew. Needless to say Edgar was never crowned, but in the future he did try to get it back but eventually sided with William the Conqueror (William of Normandy) eldest son. William of Normandy faced several more battles on his way to London all of which he won and eventually all the Nobles in England declared fealty to William. William was crowned King of England on Christmas day 1066 and he reigned the country until his death in 1087 in Rouen, France. William was succeeded by his third son William II. So by Edward the Confessor taking a vow of chastity and not having any children England was thrown into chaos for a year. This left many dead on the battlefield and England coming under the rule of the Normans, instead of the Danes! You may remember a few weeks ago I considered that even if you don’t have an interest in the monarch the history of the Kings and Queens will give you an insight into the lives of your ancestors. I looked at the Monarchs of England and Scotland from 1066 until 1603 and now I’m going to look from 1603 to the present day with the monarchs of Great Britain which began after the death of Elizabeth I. James I of England VI of Scotland. Reigned 24th March 1603 – 27th March 1625. Successor: Charles I, son of James I. Charles I. Reigned 27th March 1625 – 30 January 1649 (executed for treason). Successor: Oliver Cromwell and the commonwealth. Charles II. Reigned 29th May 1660 – 6th February 1685. Successor: James II, son of Charles I. James II. Reigned 6th February 1685 – 23rd December 1688. Successor: William III, grandson of Charles II and Mary II, daughter of James II. William III and Mary II William III. Reigned 23rd December 1688 – 8th March 1702. Successor: Anne, daughter of James II. Mary II. Reigned 23rd December 1688 –28th December 1694. Successor: Anne, daughter of James II. Anne. Reigned 8th March 1702 – 1st August 1714. Successor: George I, great grandson of James I. George I. Reigned 1st August 1714 – 11th June 1727. Successor: George II, son of George I. George II. Reigned 11th June 1727 – 25th October 1760. Successor: George III, grandson of George II. George III. Reigned 25th October 1760 – 29th January 1820. Successor: George IV, son of George III. George IV. Reigned 29th January 1820 – 26th June 1830. Successor: William IV, son of George III. William IV. Reigned 26th June 1830 – 20th June 1837. Successor: Victoria, granddaughter of George III. Victoria. Reigned 20th June 1837 – 22 January 1901. Successor: Edward VII, son of Victoria. Edward VII. Reigned 22 January 1901 – 6th May 1910. Successor: George V, son of Edward VII. George V. Reigned 6th May 1910 – 20th January 1936. Successor: Edward VIII, son of George V. Edward VIII. Reigned 20th January 1836 – 11th December 1836 (abdicated). Successor: George VI, son of George V. George VI. Reigned 11th December 1836 – 6th February 1952. Successor: Elizabeth II, daughter of George VI. Elizabeth II. Reign 6th February 1952 to present. So now you have a comprehensive list of the monarchs from 1066 until the present. You can now use this information to gather more information about your ancestors.
So for example if your ancestor was alive in 1703 you now know Queen Anne was on the throne. From here you can find out more about the country they lived in. In 1703 England was struck by a storm which caused 100’s of boat to wash ashore on the south coast and 1000’s of sailors died, 1000’s of homes were damaged and many areas were severely flooded including parts of the West Midlands. From here if you know your ancestor was a sailor on the south coast you may find they were affected by the storm. They may have lost their boat or the boat they sailed on may have been lost. They may also have lost their relatives if they were at sea at the time of the storm. They could have lost fathers, brothers, husbands or sons. Entire male lines of families may have been wiped out as a family boat could have been lost. This could have left the women of the family destitute. It could also help you to understand why you can’t find the grave of a family member. They may have been lost at sea in the storm and their body was never found for burial. It could also mean you may be able to discover the grave for a female family member you couldn’t find. If a woman lost her husband in the storm she may have remarried and thus be buried under the name of her second husband. Hopefully this will relationship between the knowledge of when the monarchs were on the throne and what was going on in the country while your ancestors were alive. Last week I looked at the link between how knowing which monarch was on the throne and can help you discover more about the lives of your ancestors by showing you what was happening in the world around them. Even though the lives of your ancestors may have been completely different from the monarchs major events may have impacted upon them. This week I’m looking at the monarchs of Scotland from 1066 to 1603 (I’m starting at 1066 to be in line with the English). You need to remember that the succession in Scotland for the throne is different from England in that war and murder were often ways to trigger a change of monarch. Also the English sometimes influenced the succession with Edward I (1272-1307) placing pressure on the Scots. Malcolm III. Reigned 1058 – 13th November 1093. Successor: Donald III his brother. Donald III. Reigned 13th November 1093 – May 1094. Successor: Duncan II, son of Malcolm III. Duncan II. Reigned 1094 – 12th November 1094 (murdered). Successor: Donald III, son of Malcolm III. Donald III. Reigned 12th November 1094 – 1097. Successor: Edgar, son of Malcolm III. Edgar. Reigned 1097 – 8th January 1107 (Murdered?). Successor: Alexander I, son of Malcolm III. Alexander I. Reigned 8th January 1107 – 23rd April 1124. Successor: David I, son of Malcolm III. David I. Reigned 23rd April 1124 – 24th May 1153. Successor: Malcolm IV, grandson of David I. Malcolm IV. Reigned 24th May 1153 – 9th December 1165. Successor: William I, grandson of David I. William I. Reigned 9th December 1165 – 4th December 1214. Successor: Alexander II, son of William I. Alexander II. Reigned 4th December 1214 – 6th July 1249. Successor: Alexander III, son of Alexander II. Alexander III. Reigned 6th July 1249 – 19th March 1286. Successor: Margaret, granddaughter of Alexander III. Margaret. Reigned 25th November 1286 – 26th September 1290. Successor: John who was chosen by claim. John. Reigned 17th November 1292 – 10th July 1296 (abdicated). Successor: Robert I through battle and claim. Robert I (the Bruce). Reigned 25th March 1306 – 7th June 1329. Successor: David II, son of Robert I. David II. Reigned 7th June 1329 – 22 February 1371. Successor: Robert II, grandson of Robert I. Robert II. Reigned 22 February 1371 – 19th April 1390. Successor: Robert III, son of Robert II. Robert III. Reigned 19th April 1390 – 4th April 1406. Successor: James I, son of Robert III. James I. Reigned 4th April 1406 – 21st February 1437. Successor: James II, son of James I. James II. Reigned 21st February 1437 – 3rd August 1460. Successor: James III, son of James II. James III. Reigned 3rd August 1460 – 11th June 1488. Successor: James IV, son of James III. James IV. Reigned 11th June 1488 – 9th September 1513 (died in battle). Successor: James V, son of James IV. James V. Reigned 9th September 1513 – 14th December 1542. Successor: Mary, daughter of James V. Mary (Queen of Scots). Reigned 14th December 1542 – 24th July 1567 (abdicated. Executed by Queen Elizabeth I of England 8th February 1587). Successor: James VI, son of Queen Mary. James VI. Reigned 24th July 1567 – 27th March 1625. To Monarchy of Great Britain.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England the throne passed to her 1st cousin twice removed James VI of Scotland and he became James I of Great Britain. James VI was the great, great grandson of King Henry VII of England. Henry’s eldest daughter Margaret Tudor was married to James IV of Scotland thus combining the Stuart house of Scotland with the Tudor house of England and giving us the royal family we have today. |
Hello and thank you for taking the time to read my Family History Ramblings on genealogy and history in general. I hope you find it informative and hopefully funny!
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