tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63624575241522566172024-03-14T01:42:01.010-04:00The Scarlet Letters: History Made Funa factual yet amusing trip through history that fell out of Scarlet's head!Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-55424192426163175202010-06-24T04:04:00.000-04:002010-06-24T04:04:08.597-04:00Enter the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong>Despite not being too fussed w/ Mummy, one of the very 1st things Drina did was to scratch her pen thru the "Alexandrina" portion of her name on the usual monarchial paperwork. So instead of being Queen Alexandrina, she became Queen Victoria instead & must needs thus be referred to as such for the rest of this stuff. She gave Mummy apartments in a remote corner of Buckingham Palace & rarely received her, & refused to truck w/ Mummy's pal Conroy at all. Then she had the usual nice Westminister Abbey coronation.</strong></span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLr5WwYgwI/AAAAAAAAA-o/eJA8R4ebSkU/s1600/Victoria-in-Her-Coronation-Robe-1838-xx-Charles-Robert-Leslie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" ru="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLr5WwYgwI/AAAAAAAAA-o/eJA8R4ebSkU/s320/Victoria-in-Her-Coronation-Robe-1838-xx-Charles-Robert-Leslie.jpg" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>portrait of Victoria in her coronation duds; there are several of these & they all look different</strong></span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Unks Ernest Augustus skipped over to Hanover for a nice coronation, as they had that pesky Salic Law & therefore Victoria could not become its Queen Regnant. EA was pretty fussed w/ the promotion, as the 5th son of a king generally gets squat to play w/ in the matter of dominions.</strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><strong>The Prime Minister, William Lamb, Viscount Melbourne, became Victoria's principal political adviser posthaste & to such an extent that peeps began to snigger behind the queen's back & refer to her as "Mrs Melbourne".</strong></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLsvJj0awI/AAAAAAAAA-w/aBJ-d7paTRU/s1600/2nd_V_Melbourne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" ru="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLsvJj0awI/AAAAAAAAA-w/aBJ-d7paTRU/s320/2nd_V_Melbourne.jpg" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne</strong></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Y'all should know by now what happens to royal favorites; generally peeps aren't amused & they don't last long, which is what happened to Lord Melbourne, who had to resign after some colonial fusses. Then Victoria turned to Mummy's bro, King Leopold I of Belgium, for advice.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLt8hi-5dI/AAAAAAAAA-4/c4Wh5xcJAcM/s1600/Leopold_I_family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="171" ru="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLt8hi-5dI/AAAAAAAAA-4/c4Wh5xcJAcM/s200/Leopold_I_family.jpg" width="200" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>Leopold I of Belgium w/ his 2nd wife, Queen Marie-Louise, & their kidlets; the little princess was called Charlotte after his demised Brit bride awww</strong></em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>This is the same peep who married the demised Princess Charlotte who would've been queen if she hadn't, well, demised 20 yrs hence.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>The 1st amusing thing in Victoria's reign was called the Bedchamber Crisis LOL See, twas customary for the PM to appoint his peeps' wives & daughters as the queen's ladies. Melbourne was of the Whig party but the dude who replaced him Sir Robert Peel, was of the Tory persuasion. Victoria liked the peeps Lord M had placed & didn't want them to depart for a passel of new peeps, so she said we are not amused & Peel sighed & resigned & Lord M came back.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLxZgnKauI/AAAAAAAAA_A/Tt0LadO5qSI/s1600/Robert_Peel_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_13103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLxZgnKauI/AAAAAAAAA_A/Tt0LadO5qSI/s200/Robert_Peel_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_13103.jpg" width="179" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>Sir Robert Peel</strong></em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Natch since she was a young chick & the heirs were mighty thin, peeps expected Victoria would get hitched ASAP & commence breeding. Prior to becoming queen, Victoria had developed a crush on her cuz, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (damn German principalities & their 11dy6 names), when he paid a visit to England. </strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLxoXLNTPI/AAAAAAAAA_I/amRg9m5hkTw/s1600/Albert-1842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCLxoXLNTPI/AAAAAAAAA_I/amRg9m5hkTw/s200/Albert-1842.jpg" width="142" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha</strong></span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Albert was the son of another of Mummy's bros. Victoria wrote lotsa swoony stuff in her diary about Albert as 17 yo girls are wont to do when they are crushing. </strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMNrXzMLGI/AAAAAAAAA_w/WPdoZ-P0E5s/s1600/Victoria_young.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMNrXzMLGI/AAAAAAAAA_w/WPdoZ-P0E5s/s200/Victoria_young.jpg" width="147" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>portrait of a teenaged Victoria</strong></span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>O those baby blues, those nice even teeth LOL stuff like that. Apparently she thunk he was hot. Albert played hard-to-get, trotting off on a lengthy trip to Italy once his cuz became queen. Victoria told Uncle Leopold she'd pretty much decided she was going to marry Albert, but she wanted details about his education & stuff to make sure he was "suited" for the role of king. Lord M was all no no, no king, Prince Consort is all he gets. Mayhap they still hadn't gotten over Philip of Spain ROFL Parliament also refused to grant him a nice British peerage. Albert was all pffft who needs it, I got my own stuff.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCL0x6NIJnI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/2xowAR21RVw/s1600/Victoria_Albert_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCL0x6NIJnI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/2xowAR21RVw/s200/Victoria_Albert_.jpg" width="197" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>photo of Albert & Victoria</strong></span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Albert finally presented himself at Buckingham Palace well over a yr after Victoria's accession. Her little heart began to go pitty-pat some more. Now this bit is a tad interesting b/c didja know one was not allowed to propose marriage to a queen? Wonder if that was Robert Dudley's whole prob LOL At any rate, twas up to the queen to do the proposing & jeez, are ya gonna say, um, NO? Only 5 days after his arrival at Windsor, Victoria poked him & said, hey, Al, how 'bout you & me get hitched & Albert was all OK.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>So they had a small wedding on February 10, 1840 in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCL3U0qdFXI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/aUcvmITSa2w/s1600/Victoria_Marriage01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="140" ru="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCL3U0qdFXI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/aUcvmITSa2w/s200/Victoria_Marriage01.jpg" width="200" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>portrait of Victoria & Albert's wedding; </strong></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>when you enlarge it, you'll see Mummy over on the right looking like a sourpuss LOL</strong></em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>It's Victoria's fault brides are stuck w/ white dresses, yknow. After it was learned that the queen chose to be married in a white gown, peeps began to copy it & the fad became the rule for brides ever since. Before that, they got hitched in any color dress they pleased b/c there was no rule. Lots of brides just yanked something nice out of the closet & didn't even bother w/ a new dress for it. But now everybody wanted yards of white satin for their wedding gowns. So tisn't really b/c white is supposed to symbolize purity & virginity.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>After the wedding, Albert not only became Victoria's principal adviser, edging the PMs out of the way, but he also got real busy on that breeding heirs thing. No one can say they didn't do their duty, as the royal couple produced 9 offspring. The eldest, named for her mother, was born 9 mos & 11 days after the ceremony, so A & V were REALLY gettin' busy, huh? Vicky, as she was called, would grow up to marry a prince of Prussia & become the grandmother of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. Poor Vicky only got to be the Empress of Prussia for 99 days b4 DH had the demises & her son Willy, whom she despised (Hanoverian echo), succeeded.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCL5_XFasfI/AAAAAAAAA_g/h3suuDASEr0/s1600/Victoria_Princess_Royal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCL5_XFasfI/AAAAAAAAA_g/h3suuDASEr0/s200/Victoria_Princess_Royal.jpg" width="148" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>Victoria, Princess Royal, in 1867</strong></span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>The Princess Royal was followed slightly less than a yr (see? BUSY!) later by a bro, Albert Edward, who bounced her back a step in the line of succession. He went by Eddy so as to avoid further confusion.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCL75zb-e2I/AAAAAAAAA_o/9uEbDYhRSBY/s1600/Edward_VII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCL75zb-e2I/AAAAAAAAA_o/9uEbDYhRSBY/s200/Edward_VII.jpg" width="128" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>Albert Edward, Prince of Wales</strong></em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Princess Alice (also named for Daddy) made her appearance a yr & a half later (when did A & V have time to rule?). She would grow up to marry a duke of Hesse & her youngest surviving child, Alix, would grow up to be the tragic Empress Alexandra of Russia. Her wedding was described as being more like a uneral b/c it took place shortly after Daddy demised. Alice herself demised rather young, age 35, in a diptheria epidemic, after succesfully nursing all her kidlets thru it. She was the great-grandma of Prince Philip.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMOapdXhkI/AAAAAAAAA_4/YfmGHYq6ULo/s1600/Alice_in_wedding_dress_cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMOapdXhkI/AAAAAAAAA_4/YfmGHYq6ULo/s200/Alice_in_wedding_dress_cropped.jpg" width="179" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>portrait of Princess Alice in her white wedding gown</strong></span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Then there was Alfred, who arrived 16 mos after Alice. He was created Duke of Edinburgh & grew up to be Admiral of the Fleet & succeed as Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha b/c Eddy was all meh who wants to go to Germany. He made a nice sailing jaunt round the British Empire on an official visit, hitting South Africa, India, Ceylon, Australia, Tasmania, & New Zealand. Alfred ran into a bit of bad luck in Sydney when a peep attempted to assassinate him. He was shot in the back & miraculously nothing important was hit, so he recovered to enjoy another 32 yrs b4 having the demises. The assassin was not so lucky & was hanged.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMOrR5rv1I/AAAAAAAABAA/ISkd70oTReU/s1600/Alfred%252C_Duke_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMOrR5rv1I/AAAAAAAABAA/ISkd70oTReU/s200/Alfred%252C_Duke_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha.png" width="150" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha</strong></em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Princess Helena was next, nigh on 2 whole yrs after. Victoria fretted that she would never find Helena a hubby b/c she was fat & had a double chin LOL She finally did, tho (a German duke, natch). Helena has the distinction of being the oldest-lived child of A & V, as she was 91 when she finally caught a fatal case of the demises.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMO99tMw2I/AAAAAAAABAI/A5XdeeS2_2U/s1600/HelenaSaxeCobourgGotha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMO99tMw2I/AAAAAAAABAI/A5XdeeS2_2U/s200/HelenaSaxeCobourgGotha.jpg" width="131" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>Princess Helena & her chins</strong></span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Princess Louise toddled along 4 yrs later (Albert only had so much stamina, I reckon). She was the only child who didn't marry a royal, instead wedding John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, Duke of Argyll, & Governor-General of Canada. This marriage was the 1st of a royal & not-royal in England to be given the official recognition & blessing of the reigning monarch since Mary Tudor married Charles Brandon in 1515. Louise was unfussed w/ Canada & nearly had the demises in a sleigh accident; she only had half an ear on one side when she came back b/c her earring got stuck in the jostling about & ripped part of it off YUCK. Other than that, she was considered the prettiest of Victoria's 5 daughters. Tho they had kids, twas rumored Lorne preferred to bat for the other team, & there were also rumors Louise was playing around w/ one of Mummy's secretaries, Arthur Bigge (wonder if he lived up to his surname LMFAO). Louise was also romantically linked to some artists (she herself was a sculptor) & her equerry. None of it was ever proved as apparently knocking boots w/ one's equerry was not discussed squidgily in public like Diana did LOL</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMPW0DzszI/AAAAAAAABAQ/tjecTrYfjBc/s1600/Louise_1860s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMPW0DzszI/AAAAAAAABAQ/tjecTrYfjBc/s200/Louise_1860s.jpg" width="156" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>Princess Louise</strong></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMPgo_XScI/AAAAAAAABAY/HAmBHQKLOTg/s1600/Victoria_statue_Kensington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="145" ru="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMPgo_XScI/AAAAAAAABAY/HAmBHQKLOTg/s200/Victoria_statue_Kensington.jpg" width="200" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>this statue of Queen Victoria in her coronation robes on the grounds of Kensington Palace </strong></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>was sculpted by Princess Louise</strong></em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>2 yrs later there was Arthur, Duke of Connaught, who was in the Army & Governor-General of Canada as well. He was supposedly the queen's fav. But he had a seecrud romance on the side (married a princess of Prussia) w/ Leonie Leslie, Jennie (Mum of Winston) Churchill's sister.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMP6MYpGaI/AAAAAAAABAg/XyI7NqsnMOw/s1600/ArthurDkCnnght.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMP6MYpGaI/AAAAAAAABAg/XyI7NqsnMOw/s200/ArthurDkCnnght.jpg" width="126" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>Arthur, Duke of Connaught</strong></em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>3 yrs after that was Leopold, Duke of Albany. He was an epileptic & he's also the 1st recorded royal case of hemophilia. It done kilt him good, a week shy of his 32nd BD. He was getting bad joint pain in the winter & so his drs said, hey, go someplace warmer than England, so he went to the south of France & tripped & banged his knee & before ya knew it there was internal bleeding like crazy & poor old Leopold was demised. His only son, Charles, was born posthumously.</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMQGvi50CI/AAAAAAAABAo/Y3zRMbRT96E/s1600/Leopoldalbany.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMQGvi50CI/AAAAAAAABAo/Y3zRMbRT96E/s200/Leopoldalbany.jpg" width="132" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>photo of Leopold, Duke of Albany</strong></span></em></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>The last royal brat was born 4 yrs later, Princess Beatrice. She was called Baby 4ever b/c she was the baby of the family. She wanted to marry Prince Henry of Battenburg (which family name in England would devolve into Mountbatten) after enjoying a flirtation at the wedding of one of her nieces to his younger bro. When Baby told Victoria this, the queen was not amused & refused to speak to her for 7 mos LOL Victoria didn't want any of her kidlets to do anything she hadn't thunk of for them to do 1st. She was a control freak like that even tho Baby was already 36. Finally peeps poked the queen a lot & she started talking to Baby again & agreed to let her marry Henry on the condition that he had to come & live in Buckingham Palace w/ the MIL ROFL</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMQUAR4OzI/AAAAAAAABAw/IHuKAt49w0Y/s1600/Beatrice_1868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/TCMQUAR4OzI/AAAAAAAABAw/IHuKAt49w0Y/s200/Beatrice_1868.jpg" width="110" /></strong></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em><strong>Princess Beatrice</strong></em></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>OK there was so much begatting going on here that the rest of Victoria's queenly doings are just going to have to wait......</strong></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="color: #660000;">PS> stupid Blogger has made some "upgrades" & I cannot seem to UNbold the text here! :(</span></strong></div>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-85902969944121995542010-05-23T00:53:00.000-04:002010-05-23T00:53:03.213-04:00Don Your Pointy Historical Thinking Caps, Peeps!<span style="color: #660000;">I am a mere 5 (methinks) monarchs away from being done & dusted. We don't want the historical fun to end, do we?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_i0Ca2gkfI/AAAAAAAAA-g/SKNDoc5YQCM/s1600/royals03.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_i0Ca2gkfI/AAAAAAAAA-g/SKNDoc5YQCM/s320/royals03.gif" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So use the comment thingy at the end of this post to pick new historical topics for the future! Prolly not any of the major royals as they've been rather exhaustively covered for the most part, but any other historical peeps, place, or things ya want Scarlet to discourse about? Do bear in mind that Scarlet knows the mostest about (in order) England, Scotland, Wales, USA, Ireland, & the Frenchies, tho twould mayhap be amusing to branch out. I can natter on for yonks about most anything LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Suggestions as to what should be featured after I finish the epic saga, please!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">OK so trying to organize Victoria is taking 4ever ROFL....don't want y'all to get bored.</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-53129663468638600462010-05-18T09:56:00.002-04:002010-05-18T10:04:38.763-04:00A Short Reign, Then a Short Queen<span style="color: #660000;">In case you're all a-flounder in that sea of hasty Hanoverian begatting, allow Scarlet to simplify a tad. The 4 eldest sons of George III were George, Frederick, William, & Edward. Prinny succeeded Pops as George IV, but w/ the demise of Princess Charlotte & her son, he had no legit descendents. By the time George IV had a fatal case of the demises, his next-in-line bro Frederick had predeceased him. Tho married, Frederick wasn't too fussed w/ his own wife & they had zero offspring. This meant upon George IVs death, the throne went to the bro after Frederick, William. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J2VfSBRXI/AAAAAAAAA9U/ijR5s_52ISM/s1600/William_IV_coronation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J2VfSBRXI/AAAAAAAAA9U/ijR5s_52ISM/s200/William_IV_coronation.jpg" width="130" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William IVs coronation portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">As noted, William IV & his queen Adelaide lost both their daughters in infancy, & she also had at least 2 miscarriages & gave birth to stillborn twin sons b4 William's little swimmers retired. Natch his 9 surviving bastards had no throne claims. The next bro, Edward, had demised right b4 George III. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J4F6HFgfI/AAAAAAAAA9c/jGC3waOAY4w/s1600/402px-Prince_William_and_Prince_Edward_1778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J4F6HFgfI/AAAAAAAAA9c/jGC3waOAY4w/s200/402px-Prince_William_and_Prince_Edward_1778.jpg" width="133" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William IV, aged 13, w/ bro Edward, aged 11</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So even though there were a pair of legit Georges to spring from the loins of Ernst Augustus & Adolphus, being the 5th & 7th sons put them & their ilks further down in the succession than DS #4, Edward. Edward demised not long into his late-life marriage, leaving behind just one child, a baby daughter, Princess Alexandrina Victoria. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J5JTKaGbI/AAAAAAAAA9k/w9hWeXroj6s/s1600/victoriabritain1819k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J5JTKaGbI/AAAAAAAAA9k/w9hWeXroj6s/s200/victoriabritain1819k.jpg" width="145" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Victoria, Duchess of Kent, & her young daughter Alexandrina Victoria</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Having gotten completely over that we won't have no steenking females on our throne thing via the later Tudors & Stuarts, thus 11 yo Drina, as she was nicknamed, was considered Uncle William's heir apparent. In the event of her demise prior to Unks's or sans offspring, only then would peeps look to Ernst &/or his son George. Caught up nicely now, are we? If they had followed it this way in medieval times, wouldn't that have saved a whole lot of trouble w/ those Wars of the Roses?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">At age 64, William still holds the record for oldest peep to ever succeed to the throne (tho if the current queen keeps breathing a bit longer, Chuckles may give him the boot to #2). W/ those 3 older bros, William was permitted by his parents to go on practically a lifetime of active naval service & in fact was hanging round New York City & very nearly kidnapped by the rebels during the American Revolution. He was Lord High Admiral during those pesky Napoleonic Wars, too, tho he didn't get into any actual battles there. When he 1st married Adelaide they lived in Hanover b/c he had all those bastards to support, Parliament wouldn't increase his allowance, & the cost of living was cheaper there. But when Frederick demised in 1827, William, George IVs heir, got a nice increase & they returned to London to take up residence in Clarence House. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J98BLMUNI/AAAAAAAAA9s/LpvG6M67X6U/s1600/Clarence_house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J98BLMUNI/AAAAAAAAA9s/LpvG6M67X6U/s200/Clarence_house.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Clarence House</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Today this is the official residence of Charles & Camilla, plus it was the Queen Mum's pad for yonks (she did live to be 101 yknow).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">William was liked by the British peeps simply b/c he wasn't his brother George LOL George was all about the rock star aspect of being king, whereas William knew how to economize & live a great deal less ostentatiously. Sans all the pomp & circumstance, William had the groats to polish up Buckingham Palace, which Prinny had ignored & let fall apart b/c meh, he didn't like it & never lived in it.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J_kke_5gI/AAAAAAAAA-A/QI-csm7UE1g/s1600/1910_Buckingham_Palace.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_J_kke_5gI/AAAAAAAAA-A/QI-csm7UE1g/s200/1910_Buckingham_Palace.gif" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Buckingham Palace</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Queen Adelaide was well-liked, too, b/c she refused to have court be as amoral as it was in her BILs day & that fashion for scandalously low-cut gowns went straight out. Betcha you thunk that was Victoria's fault, huh? Peeps also felt sorry for her b/c of her tragickal childbearing history & even tho she was pushing 40 when DH finally got to be king, there were periodic rumors saying the queen was preggers again. She was a nice chick & peeps wanted her to have a nice heir to the throne. Hardly no one ever got to see Drina & didn't no one like her Mummy, so twas a lot of wishful thinking.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">True to Hanoverian tradition, once the young FitzClarence lads were grown up, their father glared at them. They were greedy for titles & money & precedence, all of which they got, but then natch they thunk that as king's sons they could do better & wanted more. Parliament was all um NO you kids got enough stuff pfffft.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">William had never been known for exercising tact & thus had lots of feisty run-ins w/ Parliament & his ministers, at one pt muttering that he would rather have the devil to dinner than those peeps LOL They looked at him sideways when he insisted on making nice w/ those Americans & also when he gave more freedom of government to Canada & Hanover. They're gonna get swelled heads & rebel like those Americans did, he was warned, to which William was all pffft they will not, & they didn't. It was during his reign that the Abolition Act was passed, getting rid of slavery in all of the wide British Empire. He also revamped the Poor Laws so that peeps wouldn't starve & pushed thru the Factory Act prohibiting child labor in them. The politicians sneered & called him a reformer but the common peeps were rather fussed w/ William.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">He & Adelaide tried to make nice w/ their niece & heir Drina, but the princess's mother had airs above her station. W/o even asking she took over most of Kensington Palace & roundly snubbed not just all the bastard FitzClarences, but ignored the queen as much as she could manage. William was irked at her right there just for her disrespect to his wife. The duchess sniffed & whispered to her cronies that the king was just an oversexed oaf ROFL b/c of the whole Mrs Jordan affair w/ all those resultant kidlets. Ya gotta chortle at the alliteration there & wonder how long it took her to come up w/ it. Her secretary, Sir John Conroy, was said to be a bad influence & probably her BF (at one pt twas rumored he could be Drina's daddy), & the king & queen liked him not. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_KDEjaoHgI/AAAAAAAAA-I/1zcMRPGxc8o/s1600/John_Conroy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_KDEjaoHgI/AAAAAAAAA-I/1zcMRPGxc8o/s200/John_Conroy.jpg" width="155" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sir John Conroy</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">well, c'mon, he was a huge improvement over that bald, tubby Edward LOL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The duchess restricted their access to Drina as much as she could get away w/ doing whilst she & Conroy planned for a regency in which they would be the power behind the throne, figuring William would shuck off his mortal coil posthaste being already so old & leaving Drina as a minor monarch. William knew all about their scheming & he was determined to keep breathing until Drina was old enough to govern on her own LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Drina was raised under what Mummy termed the Kensington System, which was remarkably like what one can see abusers doing to this day. The girl was kept completely isolated from other children & was not allowed to do anything or go anywhere w/o Mummy &/or her governess, Baroness Louise Lehzen, helicoptering. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_KGDBXvRCI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/Rj-riuB0Vsg/s1600/Baroness_Louise_Lehzen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_KGDBXvRCI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/Rj-riuB0Vsg/s200/Baroness_Louise_Lehzen.jpg" width="130" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">sketch of Louise Lehzen, done by Queen Victoria</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The kid did not so much as get an hr a day to herself & her bed was right next to Mummy's. Where Mummy went to knock boots w/ Sir John I am sure I dunno ROFL Guessing she prolly had Lehzen hover whilst she went off for a quickie in his rooms. The kid didn't even speak English, as she was spoken to in German by her mother & governess, a further way to keep her isolated. Who'd wanna play w/ a kid ya couldn't talk to? Later on she was tutored in French & then English, & tis said her command of the English language was less than perfect, it not being her primary language. Drina was kept away from all her Hanoverian rellies as much as possible. The Kensington System was designed to make her weak & dependent upon Mummy & Mummy's ilks so that she would never be aught but a puppet queen. </span><span style="color: #660000;">It had the opposite of the desired effect & merely served to make Drina rebellious & really pissed off.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">William was so fed up w/ his SILs silly antics, he got aggravated & had a rant about it at his last BD party. This is how we know he vowed to keep breathing (he'd developed a bum ticker despite not being lardy like his bros) until Drina came of age, b/c when it came time for him to make the obligatory speech at the banquet, he actually said to the assemblage that he hope he survived 9 mos longer until his niece turned 18 so that the Duchess of Kent could never ever become Regent, terming her incompetent & growling that she was surrounded by evil advisors. 17 yo Drina was so mortified that she burst into tears & had to prevent Mummy from storming out in a regal fashion b4 the king was done speechifying. That just wasn't done no matter how rude the king was to ya. You sucked it up & sat nicely until you were dismissed & woe betide you if you didn't. Well, not really, as they'd pretty much stopped giving out those Tower Fun Passes by then, but it still didn't do to have the king & queen snub ya or mayhap tinker w/ your allowance.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Coming to the throne so late, William only got to be king for not quite 7 yrs & demised of heart failure at Windsor Castle 2 mos b4 his next BD, when he would've turned 71. The Hanoverian kings actually had some splendid genes b/c they all lived into their 70s, which was considered a pretty good age for the time. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">B/c Hanover still had that Salic Law thing going on, Princess Alexandrina couldn't become Queen of Hanover as well as Queen of the United Kingdom, so the next bro in line, Ernst, scampered over there to get a nice crown. Since William demised in the middle of the night, Drina was poked awake by Mummy at 6am & told she had company. Likely she whinged something along the lines of jeez Mummy 5 more minutes LOL but Mummy yanked off the covers, threw a robe at her, & pushed her thru the door into the sitting rm, where Drina was astonished to see the Archbishop of Canterbury & the chamberlain of the king's household awaiting her jammie'd, bed-head presence.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_KZphvy9ZI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/rXNs0_ikm8w/s1600/victoria-news-accession.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S_KZphvy9ZI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/rXNs0_ikm8w/s200/victoria-news-accession.gif" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Victoria Receiving the News of Her Accession</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">And that is how Drina learned she was now the big cheese.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-9071513964552213442010-05-15T04:28:00.003-04:002010-05-18T10:08:26.917-04:00Knocking Up Princesses<span style="color: #660000;">George IV gave Henry VIII some good competition in the lard dept, weighing at at round 17 stone (that's 245 lbs) & sporting a 50 in waist. This is how creaking corsets on men got to be popular b/c Prinny there kept trying to hide his girth. He invented high collars to hide his double chins & popularized trousers as opposed to breeches as those were looser & more flattering to one of bulkiness.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-4vXH7ZPWI/AAAAAAAAA6s/kYF2VGkcles/s1600/George_IVcoronation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-4vXH7ZPWI/AAAAAAAAA6s/kYF2VGkcles/s200/George_IVcoronation.jpg" width="136" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George IVs coronation portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Tho he was supposedly seecrudly married to Maria Fitzherbert, his parental units knew naught of such & frowned at him for yrs to find a nice princess & commence breeding heirs. Finally the POW agreed to do such in 1794, as he was heavily in debt from all that roistering & w/ a wife came an increase in his allowance. He was betrothed to a German cuz, Caroline of Brunswick.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-4wavo1jNI/AAAAAAAAA60/KBxuf_BlpMA/s1600/CarolineOfBrunswick1795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-4wavo1jNI/AAAAAAAAA60/KBxuf_BlpMA/s200/CarolineOfBrunswick1795.jpg" width="128" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>contemporary engagement announcement of Caroline of Brunswick to George, Prince of Wales</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">From the start this did not appear to be an auspiscious match. It was rumored George's current mistress, Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, approved of Caroline b/c she knew George would despise her & thus hang w/ the mistress more. Prinny had a thing for older women.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-4ybe-Q9MI/AAAAAAAAA68/xZksCYZkoBg/s1600/FrancesLadyJersey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-4ybe-Q9MI/AAAAAAAAA68/xZksCYZkoBg/s200/FrancesLadyJersey.jpg" width="171" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>miniature of Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">take a moment & imagine Prinny crushing this little stick girl in bed ROFL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Lady Jersey was appointed the chief lady of the bedchamber. This is not the same Lady Jersey who could getcha vouchers to Almack's in those Regency romances & ruin ya socially if she declined to do so; that was Frances's DIL, Sarah. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-4yrK-ko2I/AAAAAAAAA7E/pTa5eKXH1dw/s1600/Sarah_Villiers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-4yrK-ko2I/AAAAAAAAA7E/pTa5eKXH1dw/s200/Sarah_Villiers.jpg" width="158" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">the dragon of Almack's</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The British peeps who went to fetch the intended Princess of Wales on over were appalled at her slovenliness. Apparently Caroline washed infrequently & would wear the same dirty clothes for days on end. She also was said to be tactless, spouting off the 1st thing that came into her head w/ little regard for the consequences, & pretty much did as she pleased. I mean, what's the pt of being royalty if ya can't, huh? But this behavior, plus the poor hygiene, did not sit well w/ Prinny, who took one look at Caroline & pulled an I LIKE HER NOT!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Unlike Henry VIII, he really really meant it. He rocked up drunk for the wedding in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace. Caroline was neither amused w/ this, Lady Jersey, or the fact that Prinny was fat & no longer resembled his handsome portraits. Unlike Henry w/ Anne of Cleves, however, Prinny attempted to do his duty. He wrote a letter to one of his peeps whinging about it & stating the humungous amts of intestinal fortitude it took to overcome his "disgust & aversion of her person" & said they only did the deed 3x in their 1st 2 days of marriage. Then he had no more intestinal fortitude left for the job LOL The POW & his bride maintained separate households from Day 3 onwards. Luckily Caroline got pregnant from Prinny's paltry efforts & produced a royal infant 9 mos later, to much excitement.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-41tiYQ33I/AAAAAAAAA7M/EsS3ZIJXmUI/s1600/Charlotte_of_Wales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-41tiYQ33I/AAAAAAAAA7M/EsS3ZIJXmUI/s200/Charlotte_of_Wales.jpg" width="156" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Princess Charlotte</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Alas, twas a princess, christened Charlotte Augusta. Since the Brits had gotten over that whole being ruled over by a wench thing, she was regarded as next in line for the throne after her father. Peeps nudged Prinny & said aintcha gonna try for a son? Prinny was all um NO, I wouldn't bang my wife again if you pd me!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Caroline got lots of sympathy from the common peeps b/c Prinny was so publicly nasty to her. 3 days after their daughter was born, he made out a new will where he left Caroline the sum of one shilling & everything else to Mrs Fitzherbert. His mistress, being in charge of Caroline's household, spied on her for Prinny & was said to open her mail, even, & tell peeps what was in it. Charlotte was immediately given her own household & George insisted Caroline had to have supervised visitation & no more than an hr a day. He, however, rarely visited his daughter at all. Little Charlotte, being the sole legit grandchild, was a great fav natch of Queen Charlotte & King George, who had her over often. She was said to be very close to her grandfather & distraught when he went permanently whacko.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The POW was frowned at & Caroline regarded as a wronged wife. Prinny was aghast at how his popularity ratings plummeted merely for liking his wife not. He was glared at for his extravagant lifestyle during wartime, while Caroline was seen as a mother spitefully denied raising her only child (which was zackly the case) & cheered by the crowds when she went out, as the common folk liked how she'd wave & stop to have a natter w/ them. Picture Princess Diana, circa 1800 LOL Caroline was the original People's Princess & Prinny was furious.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-45IUqwPeI/AAAAAAAAA7U/k7xvUUekcKA/s1600/Caroline_of_Brunswick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-45IUqwPeI/AAAAAAAAA7U/k7xvUUekcKA/s200/Caroline_of_Brunswick.jpg" width="105" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Caroline of Brunswick, 1804</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">B/c access was restricted to her own child, Caroline made a habit of picking up stray kidlets & adopting them, having at one pt about 8 or 9 of em hanging round the house. Prinny's peeps started rumormongering that Caroline was a terrible slut & mayhap one or more of these orphan brats were really her bastards. So Prinny set up a seecrud commission to investigate, hoping he could prove it & get a nice divorce. Incompatibility hadn't been invented as grounds yet & while he himself was a notorious adulterer, his wife wasn't filing on it. Natch the seecrudness was leaked to the press, but it gained Prinny naught as all the kidlets had mums who were present & accounted for & could prove parentage of Caroline's growing brood. Even author Jane Austen stuck her nose in & said she would support the princess "because she is a woman & I hate her husband" ROFL That's the last time you'll hear Scarlet chortle over Jane Austen as methinks she's vastly overrated & I don't get this whole Darcy fascination thingy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Once George IIIs madness made his eldest son the Prince Regent, Caroline wasn't able to visit Charlotte, now 14, at all. After Waterloo, once the continent was a nice place to visit again, Caroline negotiated herself a nice allowance & left the country, traveling round & settling finally in Italy. There were rumors that the majordomo of her household was also her BF. George Gordon, Lord Byron, who hung out w/ her, certainly thunk they were lovers, but they were discreet if they were b/c again, no adultery score for Prinny.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, 19 yo Charlotte, who was also very popular w/ peeps & a patron of Byron & Mozart, was married to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg Saalfield.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-48yLhqx8I/AAAAAAAAA7c/8NJ7GUOE5l4/s1600/Charlotte_Augusta_of_Wales_and_Leopold_I_after_George_Dawe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-48yLhqx8I/AAAAAAAAA7c/8NJ7GUOE5l4/s200/Charlotte_Augusta_of_Wales_and_Leopold_I_after_George_Dawe.jpg" width="153" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Princess Charlotte & Prince Leopold</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This took place at her father's primary residence of Carlton House in May 1816.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-49GgOaAdI/AAAAAAAAA7k/P0_9sN9G1yU/s1600/carlton1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="78" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-49GgOaAdI/AAAAAAAAA7k/P0_9sN9G1yU/s200/carlton1.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>contemporary drawing of Carlton House</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">tres Palladian</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Within a yr it was announced the new royal couple were expecting HUZZAH! All eyes were on their residence of Claremont House awaiting the outcome. Charlotte's water broke & started FIFTY HOURS OF LABOR OW OW OW. Turned out the royal infant was a transverse lie. This is never good, not even in modern times where we got stuff. Kidlets generally pop out headfirst. Occasionally ya get the irritant like Scarlet's 2nd DS what decides to pop out arse over teakettle OW OW OW breech is NOT fun. But a transverse lie is impossible to pop out w/o a) a C-section or b) doctors greasing up, sticking their whole arm up in ya, & attempting to turn the kid around. This is b/c it's lying sideways in the uterus & therefore way too wide to slither into the birth canal. Finally they got it turned & it stayed turned this time (see, they dunno any better LOL & keep moving on ya sometimes) b/c by now twas demised & Charlotte's ginormous 9 lb son OW was stillborn. 5 hrs later Charlotte herself had the demises from a slow leak hemorrhage. You're bound to break sumfin after such an ordeal, I'm sure.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">This was a tragedy of Diana-like proportions for the House of Hanover, not only b/c Charlotte was much-loved, but b/c NONE of George IIIs lg family of kidlets had produced ANY legit offspring, save for poor demised Charlotte there. There weren't even any Stuarts left to call back & offer a throne. The Duke of York, the 2nd son, was sans offspring (not to mention estranged from his duchess as well), as were the married princesses. Prinny & Caroline weren't going to be copulating anytime soon & he had no grounds for divorce to get a fresh bride. </span><span style="color: #660000;">Ernst Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland & the 5th son, had married at age 44 a widowed cuz, 36 yo Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, about a yr b4 Charlotte & Leopold got hitched, but had no brats as of yet even tho she had 8 of em by her 1st DH. Eventually they had one son, George, but Ernst had allllll those brothers ahead of him in the throne queue.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5C7isxt4I/AAAAAAAAA7s/o_CaJnkn_48/s1600/Ernest_Augustus_I_of_Hanover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5C7isxt4I/AAAAAAAAA7s/o_CaJnkn_48/s200/Ernest_Augustus_I_of_Hanover.png" width="163" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Ernst Augustus, Duke of Cumberland & later King of Hanover</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5Da3_3UBI/AAAAAAAAA70/pZHNCwuDHAc/s1600/Friederike_von_Preussen_-_1796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5Da3_3UBI/AAAAAAAAA70/pZHNCwuDHAc/s200/Friederike_von_Preussen_-_1796.jpg" width="156" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duchess of Cumberland & later Queen of Hanover</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So Charlotte's demise was followed by a spate of royal weddings in a race to get an heir. 1st Princess Mary, tho she was already 40, married her cuz the Duke of Gloucester. Nuffin. Then 50 yo Edward, Duke of Kent, the 4th son, also married a widow w/ 2 kids, Prince Leopold's older sister, 31 yo Victoria. Reckon the bros had an eye out for proven breeders LOL They had one daughter, christened Alexandrina Victoria, b4 Edward demised of pneumonia a mere 6 days prior to George IIIs demise; the baby was just 9 mos old.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5GQXItfEI/AAAAAAAAA8E/iZpr5W02UhQ/s1600/Edward%252C_Duke_of_Kent_and_Strathearn_by_Sir_William_Beechey_QVsDad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5GQXItfEI/AAAAAAAAA8E/iZpr5W02UhQ/s200/Edward%252C_Duke_of_Kent_and_Strathearn_by_Sir_William_Beechey_QVsDad.jpg" width="164" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Edward, Duke of Kent</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5GhBjTffI/AAAAAAAAA8M/ViZUBk4lFMA/s1600/Victoria_Duchess_of_Kent_by_Sir_George_Hayter_1835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5GhBjTffI/AAAAAAAAA8M/ViZUBk4lFMA/s200/Victoria_Duchess_of_Kent_by_Sir_George_Hayter_1835.jpg" width="111" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield, Duchess of Kent</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Just 3 days after the Kent nuptials, Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the 7th son, married Augusta of Hesse-Cassel. He was 43 & she was 21, & they had 3 children, George, Augusta, & Mary Adelaide.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5FkC5-B1I/AAAAAAAAA78/V7GgdFxIjR0/s1600/Adolphus_Frederick_Duke_of_Cambridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5FkC5-B1I/AAAAAAAAA78/V7GgdFxIjR0/s200/Adolphus_Frederick_Duke_of_Cambridge.jpg" width="158" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5H3z9W3VI/AAAAAAAAA8U/Jxq1EMUAuJI/s1600/Augusta%252C_Duchess_of_Cambridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5H3z9W3VI/AAAAAAAAA8U/Jxq1EMUAuJI/s200/Augusta%252C_Duchess_of_Cambridge.jpg" width="123" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, Duchess of Cambridge</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The 6th son, Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, had married Lady Augusta Murray sans permission, which violated the Royal Marriages Act, so their pair of royal brats, also Augustus & Augusta, were out of the throne line b/c of that. I'd imagine there was a lot of "What? Who?" going on in that household w/ everyone's name being the same ROFL</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5ME1VP7-I/AAAAAAAAA8c/HIMKz_pZOWE/s1600/Augustus_Frederick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5ME1VP7-I/AAAAAAAAA8c/HIMKz_pZOWE/s200/Augustus_Frederick.jpg" width="146" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The 3rd son, William, Duke of Clarence & Lord High Admiral, had spent 20 happy yrs living in sin w/ his actress mistress, Dorothy Jordan, by whom he had 10 little FitzClarence bastards; a descendent would be the last British Governor-General of Australia. Certainly there was naught wrong w/ William's little swimmers even if he was 53.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5NP_H7GTI/AAAAAAAAA8k/xpLyyrrIF4A/s1600/William_IV_by_Sir_Martin_Archer_Shee_1800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5NP_H7GTI/AAAAAAAAA8k/xpLyyrrIF4A/s200/William_IV_by_Sir_Martin_Archer_Shee_1800.jpg" width="131" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William, Duke of Clarence, in naval dress uniform</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5OSorc3fI/AAAAAAAAA8s/3wjU1Kt0Ch8/s1600/Dorothy_Jordan00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5OSorc3fI/AAAAAAAAA8s/3wjU1Kt0Ch8/s200/Dorothy_Jordan00.jpg" width="145" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>actress Dorothy Jordan</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">After seeing all his sibs rush to the altar, William decided he needed to get in on this race for the heir, as barring a miracle he would succeed bro George as king if Mad Dad ever demised. Augusta of Hesse-Cassel spurned his proposal b/c he didn't come over in person but sent his bro Adolphus instead, & as ya saw, she apparently liked him better & married the Duke of Cambridge. Undaunted, William finally got an OK out of 25 yo Adelaide of Saxe-Meningen, being the last of the Hanoverian tribe to get hitched.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5QJ3lqHYI/AAAAAAAAA80/l5iq08-jLe8/s1600/Adelaide_Amelia_Louisa_Theresa_Caroline_of_Saxe-Coburg_Meiningen_by_Sir_William_Beechey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5QJ3lqHYI/AAAAAAAAA80/l5iq08-jLe8/s200/Adelaide_Amelia_Louisa_Theresa_Caroline_of_Saxe-Coburg_Meiningen_by_Sir_William_Beechey.jpg" width="153" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Adelaide of Saxe-Meningen, Duchess of Clarence</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Adelaide was unfussed w/ his passel of bastards underfoot, always a plus in a wife LOL Their 1st child, Charlotte Augusta for her deceased cuz, only lived a day, & their 2nd, Elizabeth Georgiana, demised at barely 3 mos old. Apparently William's little swimmers ceased firing after that b/c that was a mere 4 yrs into the marriage. Despite the lack of legit brats & the age difference (plus the ginormous fortune it cost to pension off Mrs Jordan), the Clarences were said to have an affectionate marriage.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Lest we forget Prinny in all this wedding & bedding LOL, now king, he was all about the pomp & pageantry, throwing himself the bestest coronation ever & spending lots of groats to do it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Caroline came dashing back to GB to assume her place as queen, but George said pffft & had all the Westminster Abbey doors guarded w/ strict orders not to let her in & ruin his speshul moment. Banging on the doors didn't help none & at one pt Caroline was threatened by a member of the king's bodyguard w/ his bayonet. Caroline was publicly humiliated & peeps were outraged on her behalf. There were riots, even, & DH decided ENOUGH OF HER SHITE! & that he was gonna get a divorce posthaste.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5Sv3NZPAI/AAAAAAAAA9E/_N9GmBjQupU/s1600/Caroline1820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5Sv3NZPAI/AAAAAAAAA9E/_N9GmBjQupU/s200/Caroline1820.jpg" width="166" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Queen Caroline, 1820</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This was known as the Trial of Queen Caroline & Parliament had to hear DHs evidence of DWs alleged adultery w/ her Italian BF. Caroline joked that she'd committed adultery once, w/ Mrs Fitzherbert's husband LOL The House of Lords approved of the evidence & said OK you can get divorced, but Caroline had so much support from the lower classes that the divorce bill failed to pass the House of Commons. George was apoplectic when he heard. And you thunk Charles & Diana had a rough marriage ROFL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">He didn't have to wait long to be rid of her, as Caroline got the sicks & began chugging milk of magnesia like it was going out of style. Historians think she may have had stomach cancer or an intestinal obstruction. Natch the usual poison rumors began to circulate. Whatever twas Caroline had, she was demised in less than 2 mos after the 1st symptom hit. Sounds more like pancreatic or liver cancer to me b/c those are sometimes right quick even nowadays, but I ain't no doctor, I just like to speculate on demises LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">George gave order that her funeral procession was NOT to go thru London, but there was more rioting & more outraged peeps & pretty soon there was brick-throwing & namecalling & shots fired & the dude in charge of it all said SCREW THIS & let the common folk steer Caroline's cortege wherever they pleased. The king fired him after but meh he was prolly happy not to get kilt by the pissed-off Londoners.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">George IV only got to be king for 10 yrs & didn't do much of anything save eat, drink, & be merry once he no longer had a wife he loathed. He got even fatter & was mocked in the press. By then political cartoons had been invented & he was the subject of many unflattering ones b/c of his personal habits. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5XjZJC7TI/AAAAAAAAA9M/xhSLYECb-UU/s1600/A-voluptuary_GIV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-5XjZJC7TI/AAAAAAAAA9M/xhSLYECb-UU/s200/A-voluptuary_GIV.jpg" width="153" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>contemporary cartoon giving George IV the mocks</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">note the knife & fork as his family crest PMSL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There were rumors he was an opium-eater; this would be a peep addicted to laudanum, which is that stuff they're always dosing peeps w/ in novels as a pain-killer or sleep aid. That whole India & China trade thing was booming, no thanks to the king. He suffered from gout, cataracts, hardening of the arteries, & towards the end he spent entire days lollygagging in bed trying to catch his breath. I'm gonna diagnose him w/ congestive heart failure, whatcha think?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">George demised at Windsor in the middle of the night of June 26, 1830, after a spectacular career of having fun & doing nothing much of importance.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-43535247059250947382010-05-12T22:47:00.002-04:002010-05-15T04:52:42.095-04:00The Madness of King George<span style="color: #660000;">George III was rather a dull fellow but inexplicably popular w/ the British peeps nonetheless. He was admired for his faithfulness to Queen Charlotte, his piety, & his strong moral code. He attempted to shove it all down his sons' throats & they all promptly rebelled against it as soon as they were able, drinking, gambling, consorting w/ actresses & other low wenches, & just generally carousing & having a good time.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tbp-jB4MI/AAAAAAAAA6M/GMcXIGAlPDE/s1600/George_III_by_Sir_William_Beechey_%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tbp-jB4MI/AAAAAAAAA6M/GMcXIGAlPDE/s200/George_III_by_Sir_William_Beechey_%25282%2529.jpg" width="122" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George III</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">George's idea of a good time was hanging out w/ the wife & kidlets, at least until they got too old to mind him LOL</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tcTlsbIVI/AAAAAAAAA6U/rN89h8IIluA/s1600/Charlotte_Queen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tcTlsbIVI/AAAAAAAAA6U/rN89h8IIluA/s200/Charlotte_Queen.jpg" width="121" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Queen Charlotte</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But shortly after that whole colonial debacle, it became apparent George might not be all there. In 1788 he suffered from a bout of madness, attributed by some historians to porphyria. He would ramble on quickly & endlessly for hours, until he would lose his voice & start foaming at the mouth, & then he would ramble some more LOL He was EZ-ily agitated & thunk he was in love w/ one of the queen's ladies, most shocking considering he'd never had a mistress. Nobody knew what to do w/ him when this dragged on & so a Dr Francis Willis was recommended to the queen as having made great strides in the infant medical specialty of psychiatry.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Poor old George got slipped into a straitjacket & gagged when he started his incessant discourses, & plasters hot enough to blister his skin were applied to draw out the evil humours. Willis made him get plenty of fresh air, sunshine, & even being king was no exception to the proscribed programme of physical labor. Every time it seemed George had a grip on reality he would go bonkers again. When this had gone on for several months, the POW decided meh the old man's nuts & went to Parliament & said I WANNA BE THE KING NOW!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-teuOPcZXI/AAAAAAAAA6c/7yxyA1ZwWUY/s1600/George_IV__of_the_United_Kingdom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-teuOPcZXI/AAAAAAAAA6c/7yxyA1ZwWUY/s200/George_IV__of_the_United_Kingdom.jpg" width="158" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George, Prince of Wales</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Parliament decided that wouldn't do, but they did introduce a Regency Bill that would make young George just as good as king. He sighed & said OK I'll take it, & can ya throw in an increase in my allowance, BTW, b/c I wanna build me a nice <em>chinoiserie</em> pavilion at Brighton. Alas for Junior, just like w/ Richard of York, the king suddenly made a miraculous recovery & didn't remember a thing about being a whack job. Prinny went & sulked, tho he perked up some in 1801 & 1804 when his father had more madness, only to have his hopes dashed once again when the old man recovered.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Even crazy, peeps still liked George. There were 3 assassination attempts on him btwn the 1st & 2nd bouts of madness by, ironically, insane peeps, & George acted mercifully toward em & didn't yell OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! There was a final Act of Union passed in 1800 that added Ireland into the mix. George used the op to drop that pesky King of France thing from his titles that had been hanging there since Edward IIIs day, b/c even a nutty king knew he didn't wanna be no steenking king of the Frenchies what w/ all that guillotining & stuff that was going on there lately. He did hang onto Henry VIIIs silly Defender of the Faith thingy, tho. They made loads of fun of his sons in the political cartoons of the day, but peeps were always nice to George. Well, OK, except for the Americans, who called him "Farmer George" (for his interest in agriculture) & branded him a "tyrant".</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The youngest princess, Amelia, grew sickly in her teens, prolly w/ some lingering Tudor gene of tuberculosis. She was Daddy's fav & he was quite upset as her health continued to deteriorate. Amelia put a huge bummer on Christmas by demising, aged 27, near the end of 1810. George had developed a bad case of the rheumatiz, was half-blinded w/ cataracts as well as getting increasingly deaf, & he himself took to his bed, overcome w/ mourning for his daughter. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">This turned into his last & final bout of madness & a Regency Bill was passed thru Parliament in 1811, giving Prinny's ever-widening rump the powers of kingship if not the title. The queen was named the guardian of the king's person. George was kept in seclusion at Windsor & no one even told him when Charlotte demised in 1818, as he didn't seem to notice she'd gone missing. By Christmas of 1819 he started yammering again & wouldn't shut up, but no one had to worry about him becoming violent anymore b/c his arthritis was so bad he couldn't walk & by then he was totally blind & just about deaf. Kinda pathetic, really.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Finally he demised at age 81 in January 1820, having set the bar for longest-lived monarch & longest-ruling monarch, as he was on the throne for not quite 60 yrs. Elizabeth II & Victoria have since smashed his records FYI. George III was the 1st of the Hanoverian monarchs to be born in England, speak English as his primary language, & never once toddle over to Hanover to check it out. He was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-toGmur67I/AAAAAAAAA6k/euhzXTxvZHE/s1600/Prince_Regent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-toGmur67I/AAAAAAAAA6k/euhzXTxvZHE/s200/Prince_Regent.jpg" width="138" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The Prince Regent, 1816, in his Garter robes</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Prinny was pushing 60 & prolly thinking the insane old man was gonna never demise & let him get his pudgy mitts on the crown, so he likely jumped up & down as much as his bulk would allow LOL when he got the news that the Regency was over & he could FINALLY have a nice coronation.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-71743069264232524882010-05-12T21:40:00.002-04:002010-05-15T04:58:06.461-04:00Look What Those Revolting Colonists Done!<span style="color: #660000;">Asides from all these royal scandals, George III had the usual kingly stuff to do. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tBwXBhbkI/AAAAAAAAA4c/mYDvxqMdU7U/s1600/George_III_Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tBwXBhbkI/AAAAAAAAA4c/mYDvxqMdU7U/s200/George_III_Family.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">George III w/ Queen Charlotte & some of the elder royal kidlets</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Bute no sooner got him out of all those pesky wars than he was tossed out by the Whigs & rebellion started brewing in the 13 American colonies b/c of incendiary legislation. The Navigation Acts taxed the heck out of imports to & exports from the colonies that didn't come from or go to GB, which sorta strangled free enterprise & trade & all that stuff. The Writs of Assistance meant crown govt-type peeps didn't have to bother getting search warrants on colonial peeps. The British Royal Proclamation said colonial peeps couldn't go settle on the other side of the Appalachian Mountains, which they were not amused w/ as twas getting mighty crowded on that whole Eastern Seaboard thing. This was actually done to designate that area as Indian Territory in an attempt to avoid those irksome Indian wars, but colonial peeps didn't pay it no nevermind & so there was some anyway. The colonial peeps were expected to assume part of the burden of their own defense & got taxed for that, so lots of em started muttering "No taxation w/o representation" b/c there were no colonials allowed in Parliament & they weren't fussed. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The Sugar Act taxed stuff like molasses, instrumental in making the rum sucked down by the vast British Navy. The Currency Act said the colonies couldn't make their own money. The Stamp Act taxed every little piece of paper. Twas sorta like those little excise stamps we got on the bottom of packs of smokes nowadays & if any piece of paper, even decks of cards, newspapers, magazines, books, etc., didn't have it, then twas considered smuggled goods just like tis today, & peeps could get in trouble. The colonials were all pffft & boycotted it. The British were not amused & then they passed the Townshend Acts, taxing glass & tea. Y'all may recall Catherine of Braganza brought that over & peeps slurped it up like gangbusters, so this was highly unpopular as well. There was a riot that became known as the Boston Massacre when British troops fired on civilian peeps, but twas rather an exaggerated name b/c only 8 peeps were kilt, so not much of a massacre. A group called the Sons of Liberty did the Boston Tea Party & dumped a whole shipment of tea into Boston Harbor rather than pay taxes on that nonsense. I'm guessing this is when Americans started slurping up coffee w/ no tea available.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tKnPjJzrI/AAAAAAAAA40/2S-vWKX1htA/s1600/Boston_tea_party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tKnPjJzrI/AAAAAAAAA40/2S-vWKX1htA/s200/Boston_tea_party.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>contemporary lithograph of the Boston Tea Party</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">George was all WTF is wrong w/ these peeps that they can't just play nicely? To punish the New Englanders, what they called the Intolerable Acts were passed. No more town meetings to discuss politics were allowed under the Massacushetts Governing Act, any British soldiers who got in trouble could no longer be tried in the colonies but had to go back to GB under the Administration of Justice Act, & the port of Boston was closed until someone coughed up repayment for all that wasted tea under the Boston Port Act. The Quartering Act really got peeps' knickers in a twist, b/c that one said peeps had to let British soldiers come live w/ em free of charge. Pretty soon the colonists were all pffft we don't need no steenking Mother Country & forming the Continental Congress & ignoring George's peeps entirely. Most peeps were whatcha call Patriots, whilst mayhap 20% of em were whatcha called Loyalists or Tories, who wanted no part of glaring sternly at GB.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Wasn't George shocked when he found out the 13 Colonies had gotten together & signed the Declaration of Independence.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tIfXoPsVI/AAAAAAAAA4k/ZUyNownUMzE/s1600/Declaration_independence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tIfXoPsVI/AAAAAAAAA4k/ZUyNownUMzE/s200/Declaration_independence.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Signing of the Declaration of Independece, 1776</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">George was all wot? wot? WTF? They can't do that! Send some peeps in red coats over there & show em who's boss! This led to "the shot heard round the world" when the British Army exchanged fire w/ rebellious colonials at the battles of Lexington & Concord, followed by the battle of Bunker Hill, all in Massachusetts. The colonials were all O SHITE & decided to send George what they called the Olive Branch Petition, basically saying oops our bad so sorry, what say ya just tinker w/ them taxes a little bit & we'll all put down our muskets & go home?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tJ3BpJIOI/AAAAAAAAA4s/5WIDs5X6CQg/s1600/George_III_%2528by_Allan_Ramsay%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tJ3BpJIOI/AAAAAAAAA4s/5WIDs5X6CQg/s200/George_III_%2528by_Allan_Ramsay%2529.jpg" width="173" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George III</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Pffft said George, firing back his Proclamation of Rebellion & sending over more peeps to crush those pesky colonials. Then he started to get a tad worried b/c the Frenchies, never one to lose a chance to irk the English, started funnelling over some aid to the rebels. There was a nice raid on Fort Ticonderoga & the cannon were dragged back to Boston & aimed at the British, who were all RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! when they seen that. They managed to occupy New York City & Philadelphia & it was starting to look as if George's peeps were going to be successful in putting down the rebellion, tho they were a trifle gobsmacked at how long it was taking em, what w/ some rebel victories here & there like when colonial commander George Washington crossed the Delaware River & trounced some roistering Hessians at Christmas.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tMGdr6a2I/AAAAAAAAA48/3ZTNPUMr2nI/s1600/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tMGdr6a2I/AAAAAAAAA48/3ZTNPUMr2nI/s200/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware.png" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Washington Crossing the Delaware</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then the British got creamed at the battle of Saratoga in New York. This made peeps in Europe sit up & take notice.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tMh4_86yI/AAAAAAAAA5E/c5l0buY8CbE/s1600/Surrender_of_General_Burgoyne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tMh4_86yI/AAAAAAAAA5E/c5l0buY8CbE/s200/Surrender_of_General_Burgoyne.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Surrender of General Burgoyne to General Gates at Saratoga</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Frenchies signed the Treaty of Alliance w/ the Americans & sent over some nice naval assistance after that, which trounced the British real good in the battle of the Chesapeake & was instrumental in ending the war there entirely. Both France & Spain decided to declare war on GB & sent troops to help the colonials in the southern campaign. George started banging his head on the palace wall going what the hell just happened here? Twas even worse than that 7 Yrs' War thing! The British couldn't possibly be fighting a war on 2 continents again & hope to win either one of em, & the Frenchies were a lot closer to London than the Americans were. There was fighting in the West Indies & sieging in Gibraltar & those damned Americans just didn't fight fair & the bright red British coats made splendid targets for snipers & the Dutch stuck in their noses & war had to be declared upon them, too.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">After the naval engagement in the Chesapeake, British troops were trounced splendidly at the battle of Yorktown.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tOxF3wAII/AAAAAAAAA5M/Vdcffpsz5O4/s1600/Yorktown80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tOxF3wAII/AAAAAAAAA5M/Vdcffpsz5O4/s200/Yorktown80.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Surrender of Cornwallis to Washington at Yorktown</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Parliament was all OK THIS SHITE NEEDS TO STOP! Twas mighty embarrassing to keep getting trounced every time the Brits turned round, esp by a passel of upstart Americans. So after Yorktown they sighed & put together the Treaty of Paris & said pffft take your steenking independence, we're busy here. George was so humiliated he thunk about mayhap abdicating the throne, but he wasn't fussed w/ young George Jr as a successor & so he didn't.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tQNf1rPgI/AAAAAAAAA5U/1EcWSzKtFCo/s1600/GeorgeIV1792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tQNf1rPgI/AAAAAAAAA5U/1EcWSzKtFCo/s200/GeorgeIV1792.jpg" width="154" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>miniature of George, Prince of Wales</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">No sooner was all this mess mopped up then there was a revolution against the Frenchies. Much messier than that whole American one b/c there was lots of OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! & 2 of the peeps who lost theirs were Louis XVI & his queen, Marie Antoinette.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tSbTq52sI/AAAAAAAAA5c/9gxBUjV7Teg/s1600/Ludvig_XVI_av_Frankrike_portr%25C3%25A4tterad_av_AF_Callet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tSbTq52sI/AAAAAAAAA5c/9gxBUjV7Teg/s200/Ludvig_XVI_av_Frankrike_portr%25C3%25A4tterad_av_AF_Callet.jpg" width="143" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Louis XVI, King of France</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tSlfBRiQI/AAAAAAAAA5k/D6Aijvser1E/s1600/Marie-Antoinette%253B_koningin_der_Fransen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tSlfBRiQI/AAAAAAAAA5k/D6Aijvser1E/s200/Marie-Antoinette%253B_koningin_der_Fransen.jpg" width="173" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Marie Antoinette, Queen of France</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So there had to be another Frenchie war posthaste. It wasn't long b4 Napoleon Bonaparte was calling himself Emperor & trouncing European peeps left & right & soon there was just GB left to oppose what they called "the wily Corsican".</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tS_xWt2SI/AAAAAAAAA5s/WaJTA60sxek/s1600/Napoleon_on_his_Imperial_throne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tS_xWt2SI/AAAAAAAAA5s/WaJTA60sxek/s200/Napoleon_on_his_Imperial_throne.jpg" width="123" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Napoleon on his Imperial throne</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This is known as the Napoleonic Wars b/c there were lots of em. The Americans got the Louisiana Territory for a song b/c Napoleon, like George, realized the impossibility of fighting so far away. Napoleon was too busy trying to conquer Europe, Africa, & Asia to bother w/ colonial North America. There were 11dy6 battles & alliances & Scarlet would be stuck on this subject alone until Christmas if she decided to do it justice, so she ain't LOL The bestest battle for the British in this mess was the naval battle of Trafalgar.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tUqx0qNCI/AAAAAAAAA50/zOdgTLJZ430/s1600/HoratioNelson1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tUqx0qNCI/AAAAAAAAA50/zOdgTLJZ430/s200/HoratioNelson1.jpg" width="164" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lord Nelson, hero of Trafalgar</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">British Vice-Admiral Horatio, Lord Nelson, would get a nice square for his efforts at Trafalgar, despite his scandalous relationship w/ Emma Hamilton.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tWUjhCD5I/AAAAAAAAA58/cttavBySqx8/s1600/Emma_Hart_in_a_Straw_Hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tWUjhCD5I/AAAAAAAAA58/cttavBySqx8/s200/Emma_Hart_in_a_Straw_Hat.jpg" width="166" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Emma, Lady Hamilton</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Twas scandalous b/c not only were both of them married, Emma's DH, Sir William Hamilton, & her mum both lived w/ her & Lord Nelson until the naval hero's demise. During this period Emma's daughter, Horatia Nelson, was born, w/ none of that trying to pass it off as DHs kid going on at all.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Napoleon was finally superbly trounced once & for all at the battle of Waterloo following his daring escape from imprisonment of the isle of Elba & the British peeps were all YA NO MORE WARS TODAY! when they found out.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tXonCncwI/AAAAAAAAA6E/4b_33P9ladw/s1600/Duke_of_Wellington_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-tXonCncwI/AAAAAAAAA6E/4b_33P9ladw/s200/Duke_of_Wellington_2.jpg" width="161" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lord Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, hero of the battle of Waterloo</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Alas, by this point in time, George didn't much care about such things.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-68612186888139668372010-05-05T17:15:00.003-04:002010-05-15T05:03:21.012-04:00Royal Family Fun<span style="color: #660000;">War, war, everywhere was what George III had to contend w/ after his usual nice Westminster Abbey coronation.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-GuPO-79WI/AAAAAAAAA0U/SjnPDYtVhzk/s1600/George_III_in_Coronation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-GuPO-79WI/AAAAAAAAA0U/SjnPDYtVhzk/s200/George_III_in_Coronation.jpg" tt="true" width="137" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George III in his coronation robes</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There was fighting going on in India; that was going rather well for the British, who'd taken it into their heads to conquer the subcontinent. The battle of Pondicherry was the turning pt & the start of the creation of the British Raj there.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">There was still fighting going on in Europe b/c that Frederick the Great kept invading peeps & "Sweet William" was roundly booed as his forces lost a portion of Hanover to the Frenchies. But then there were lots of HUZZAHS! when the British Navy demolished the Frenchie Navy in a battle off the coast of Portugal. And the Navy was as far afield as the Philippines, bombarding & capturing Manila from the Spanish. We're talking GB was King of the Seas here, & all b/c Henry VIII had a ship built named after his mistress LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The Prime Minister, William Pitt, decided it might be a good idea to attack Frenchie possessions in the West Indies AKA the Carribean, & the islands of Martinique, Guadaloupe, St Lucia, St Vincent, & Grenada were wrested from French control, while in Cuba, Havana was taken from the Spanish. He also sent British troops to poke round in Africa & they captured Senegal.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-GvOxLqdlI/AAAAAAAAA0c/9bmNWWVGG8E/s1600/Elderpitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-GvOxLqdlI/AAAAAAAAA0c/9bmNWWVGG8E/s200/Elderpitt.jpg" tt="true" width="161" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William Pitt the Elder</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then natch there was that whole Frenchie thing going on in North America. After the stunning victory at Quebec the French were trounced in Newfoundland at the battle of Signal Hill & were all RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Mummy's pal Lord Bute replaced Pitt as George IIIs PM & he was all pffft there are too many bloody wars going on here, kiddo, we need to get out of some of these. Peeps were all but, we got MORE STUFF! Bute was all, we sure do, & looky how much all that stuff is costing us! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">So there was the Treaty of Paris whereby GB got most of the North American continental possessions of France in exchange for handing back a couple of the islands. Good deal, eh? All of Canada was now a GB colony, plus they got that Ohio Territory so the 13 colonies could expand all the way to the Mississippi. The Louisiana Territory the Frenchies ceded to Spain, so there went all their hopes of ever having a nice colonial empire in the New World. Bute decided we don't need no steenking Prussian alliance, so they got out of the continental European fray as well. Frederick didn't need no steenking British anyway, as he was now allied w/ Peter the Great of Russia & together they forced Austria to the negotiating table as well. The balance of power in Europe was definitely shifting & France was getting the shite end of the stick. This is when peeps started bragging that the sun never set on the British Empire. George was all chuffed as ya would be, tho most everything accomplished in the Eastern Hemisphere was Grandpa's doing. But Grandpa, as noted, had pitched off his throne, so the young king got all the kudos.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">George was def of marriageable age so his peeps began scouting for a nice bride. They settled on Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, from one of those little Protestant German principalities like Mummy.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-Gz6fxUbzI/AAAAAAAAA0k/HiTYHyDoMwM/s1600/Charlotte_by_studio_of_Allan_Ramsay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-Gz6fxUbzI/AAAAAAAAA0k/HiTYHyDoMwM/s200/Charlotte_by_studio_of_Allan_Ramsay.jpg" tt="true" width="143" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charlotte was 17 when she was collected by George's peeps & brought over to England on a royal yacht that had been renamed just for her. Just like Freddy & Augusta, her wedding to George was held in the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G0WHY6v_I/AAAAAAAAA0s/TT7YXZvuVuY/s1600/StJamessPalace_ChapelRoyal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G0WHY6v_I/AAAAAAAAA0s/TT7YXZvuVuY/s200/StJamessPalace_ChapelRoyal.jpg" tt="true" width="141" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Chapel Royal, St James's Palace</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Prime Directive of Queenship is breed up heirs & Charlotte excelled at this even better than her MIL, as she & George had 15 kidlets, 13 of whom lived to adulthood. Right out of the gate she gave birth to the male heir, George, followed by a pair of spares, Frederick & William, b4 getting a girl.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Their 1st daughter was named after the queen & given the title of the Princess Royal. This hadn't been used much in the past after Edward III invented it for his eldest daughter Isabel, but the Hanoverians were bringing it back into vogue. B/c she shared her name w/ Mum, the infant was called Royal all her life, instead of Charlotte.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G1Y2qAMbI/AAAAAAAAA00/3lYC5jBGSAE/s1600/Charlotte1767Cotes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G1Y2qAMbI/AAAAAAAAA00/3lYC5jBGSAE/s200/Charlotte1767Cotes.jpg" tt="true" width="138" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Queen Charlotte & her daughter Charlotte, Princess Royal</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">I'm amazed Augusta didn't have a huge tantrum over the kid's name. Charlotte did not get along well w/ her MIL, Augusta, whose fav Bute controlled the govt. Deprived of being queen herself by Freddy's untimely demise, Augusta was determined to act like it & George was rather too much of a Mummy's boy to put his foot down on her neck. Augusta redefined Margaret Beaufort's antiquated ideas of court etiquette to the pt where Charlotte didn't get to do much of anything unless her MIL said twas OK. The ladies of her household were not even allowed to approach her sans beckoning & only if Charlotte wanted something; intimate conversation was deemed <em>verboten</em>. Augusta even banned card playing when she found out Charlotte liked it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">After Royal, the kidlets just kept coming in a steady stream for the next 17 yrs; you can just picture Parliament groaning at all these royal allowances to dole out LOL There was a 4th son, Edward, then the Princesses Augusta & Elizabeth, Ernest Augustus (named for George Is dad), Augustus Frederick, Adolphus, Mary, Sophia, Octavius (he was the 8th boy so betcha they was fresh outta names LOL), Alfred, & Amelia. All the royal brats were healthy so twas a shock when little Alfred was born sickly & stayed that way, demising at not quite 2 yrs old. Octavius was said to be George's fav (by this time the older lads were grown up & irksome as that many princes jockeying for power would be). The 8th little prince suddenly became ill w/ that catch-all "fever" thing 6 mos after little bro Alfred died, & was demised in 2 days, aged 4. George was said to be crushed w/ grief at the lad's death.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G6h8m3rPI/AAAAAAAAA08/D65Wd2dIzi0/s1600/Octavius_of_Great_Britain_GIII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G6h8m3rPI/AAAAAAAAA08/D65Wd2dIzi0/s200/Octavius_of_Great_Britain_GIII.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Octavius</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">by Thomas Gainsborough</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Darling Billy, who may have batted for the other team as he was sans wife & never expressed interest in getting one or was known to have any mistresses, was generally given the stink eye as royal uncles get, peeps thinking he meant to be the power behind the throne. Good luck w/ that w/ Augusta in the way LOL Billy had gotten ginormous despite being a career Army peep & just 4 yrs into his nevvy's reign he demised of a heart attack on Halloween, aged 44. He got a nice funeral & was hurled under the floor of Henry VIIs Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Scandal rocked the royal house b/c of George's littlest sister, Caroline Matilda. Grandpa had betrothed her to Christian VII of Denmark & so at age 15 off to be wed CM went. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G7rCnoMHI/AAAAAAAAA1E/PbYccPKXjog/s1600/Christianviidenmark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G7rCnoMHI/AAAAAAAAA1E/PbYccPKXjog/s200/Christianviidenmark.jpg" tt="true" width="130" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Christian VII, King of Denmark</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Christian made the Madness of King George look like a nap & tis agreed upon that he was most likely schizophrenic, suffering from hallucinations, bouts of self-mutilation, extreme paranoia, violent actions, & more interested in debauchery than in kingship or married life. In fact, he made a public statement that he couldn't love CM b/c twas "unfashionable" LOL Certainly in a court where the king lowered the standards to consorting openly w/ low-born whores & expecting his peeps to follow suit, twas indeed not moot to express sentiment toward one's bride. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HDvImi4II/AAAAAAAAA1k/F6J4BeSULSk/s1600/Caroline_Mathilde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HDvImi4II/AAAAAAAAA1k/F6J4BeSULSk/s200/Caroline_Mathilde.jpg" tt="true" width="154" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">is it just moi, or does she look like a freakin' Easter egg? ROFL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Christian's stepmother, the Dowager Queen Juliana, was the real power behind the throne, & she was disappointed when CM quickly did her queenly duty & presented DH w/ the heir, Frederick, just over a yr after the wedding. This is b/c Juliana's son Frederick, who was born w/ something wrong w/ him & couldn't walk sans lurching, tho his brains appeared to be unscrambled (mild cerebral palsy, mayhap?), was the heir-presumptive, so she despised CM just on general principles.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G934a-Y9I/AAAAAAAAA1M/75hbWdx0NIo/s1600/Juliane_Marie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G934a-Y9I/AAAAAAAAA1M/75hbWdx0NIo/s200/Juliane_Marie.jpg" tt="true" width="146" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Queen Juliana of Denmark, holding a portrait of</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>her son, Prince Frederick</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">I so want that red crown chair!</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Twas soon apparent to all that Christian's mental condition was really going downhill. He returned to his wife & son after a lengthy European tour & the usual dive into Copenhagen's brothels en route home, bringing w/ him a peep he'd picked up in the course of his travels, Johann Friedrich Struensee, who was named his royal physician & soon became his chief minister. Juliana was not amused, but CM was a tad relieved as Struensee's treatments of her DH seemed to calm him down some & Struensee made Christian behave nicely to his DW. Soon twas Struensee & not Juliana who was running the joint, w/ CMs full approval, as Christian was kept nicely medicated & fell into a stupor.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G_ugr4qII/AAAAAAAAA1U/mF5-pKuDcmY/s1600/Struensee_by_Juel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-G_ugr4qII/AAAAAAAAA1U/mF5-pKuDcmY/s200/Struensee_by_Juel.jpg" tt="true" width="146" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Johann Friedrich Struensee, de facto Regent of Denmark</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Danish peeps looked askance at CM, who said pffft to their traditional way of doing stuff & not only liked to take daily walks instead of being trundled round in a carriage everywhere she went as the rest of the Danish ladies did, but liked to ride & did it astride dressed as a man (those irksome sidesaddles had come into vogue). But at least she was merely eccentric, not a whack job, & so the Queen's Party, w/ Struensee behind the scenes, became popular....until twas bruited about that CM & the PM were having a torrid affair. When CM gave birth to a daughter, Louise Augusta, no one believed it was Christian's kid & the infant was mocked in the press as <em>la petite Struensee</em>.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HChO1334I/AAAAAAAAA1c/sNI0iI1OxFQ/s1600/Louise_Augusta_by_Sturz_1771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HChO1334I/AAAAAAAAA1c/sNI0iI1OxFQ/s200/Louise_Augusta_by_Sturz_1771.jpg" tt="true" width="160" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Louise Augusta of Denmark as an infant</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Juliana & her boy Freddy, tired of being shoved to the sidelines, decided enough was enough here. Freddy's place in the succession was not going to be usurped b/c CM was going to pass of Struensee's bastard brats as Christian's heirs. CM & her BF were arrested.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HD8E5N2RI/AAAAAAAAA1s/2ZnoZdaNRT4/s1600/Struensees_arrestation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HD8E5N2RI/AAAAAAAAA1s/2ZnoZdaNRT4/s200/Struensees_arrestation.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>contemporary woodcarving of the Arrest of Struensee</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">CM, w/ her daughter, were taken to isolated Kronberg Castle, where she eventually confessed to the affair w/ Struensee.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HESTuxMSI/AAAAAAAAA10/SjWdwh7UZsw/s1600/KronborgCastle_HCS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HESTuxMSI/AAAAAAAAA10/SjWdwh7UZsw/s200/KronborgCastle_HCS.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Kronborg Castle</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">After barely 5 yrs of marriage, CM & Christian were divorced, Struensee executed, & Juliana's boy Freddy installed as Regent for his insane half-brother. A nice palace coup if I ever saw one. CM lost her kidlets & was banished to Celle Castle in Hanover, where she demised 3 yrs later of scarlet fever, aged 23. Kingly bro George was appalled at her admission of adultery & refused to let her return to England.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">OK so that wasn't strictly British history, but once upon a time Scarlet read a bionovel of Caroline Matilda called <em>The Lost Queen</em> by Norah Lofts, so deal w/ it LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">In the meantime, the Old Pretender demised in Italy. Had he been permitted to succeed Daddy in 1701, his reign would've been longer than Queen Victoria's, as he didn't shuck off his mortal coil until 1766. He was buried at the Vatican in St Peter's Basilica. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Tho his claim as James III, rightful king of England, Scotland, & Ireland, had been approved by the papacy, Bonnie Prince Charlie was not given the same courtesy as Charles III, despite having a cardinal bro. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HH8BNiRgI/AAAAAAAAA18/qwTe5Ww0Z04/s1600/Henry_Benedict_Marie_Clement_Edward_Stuart%252C_cardinale_York.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HH8BNiRgI/AAAAAAAAA18/qwTe5Ww0Z04/s200/Henry_Benedict_Marie_Clement_Edward_Stuart%252C_cardinale_York.jpg" tt="true" width="165" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Cardinal Henry Stuart</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">BPC did not have as good a rep as Daddy. The Frenchies had decided to mount a full-scale invasion of England during the 7 Yrs' War & thunk meh, we'll put those Stuarts back on the throne while we're there. James, who was mighty old by then, sent BPC as his representative to the mtg, & BPC turned up drunk & belligerent. The Frenchies were not amused & decided meh, who needs this shite, & withdrew the idea entirely. The British Navy repulsed the invasion, anyway, & so it wouldn't have worked.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">After Daddy's demise, BPC thunk meh I should get me some legit heirs, mayhap, & married at age 52 to 20 yo Louise of Stolberg-Gedern.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HJaZyl9UI/AAAAAAAAA2E/_C7ngZVak4Q/s1600/Louise%252C_Countess_d%2527Albany.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HJaZyl9UI/AAAAAAAAA2E/_C7ngZVak4Q/s200/Louise%252C_Countess_d%2527Albany.jpg" tt="true" width="156" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Louise of Stolberg-Gedern</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Louise's sister had married the Marquess of Jamaica & Duke of Berwick, of James IIs bastard Fitzjames line, & that was when her rellies decided to throw her at BPC. BPC thunk if he settled down & produced an heir, he'd get papal recognition & some invasion assistance, while Louise was led to think she was going to live the life of a queen. Neither's expectations were met. After half a dozen yrs of living w/ a drunken old fart who prolly couldn't get it up anyway, Louise indulged in a very discreet affair w/ an Italian dude, & 2 yrs later left BPC, claiming he'd been physically abusive to her. This was supported by BPCs bro & the pope, so likely true he was a drunken wife-beater, b/c the pope agreed to a legal separation, even (still no Catholic divorce alas). Louise remained shacked up w/ the poet Vittorio Alfieri until his demise in 1803 (tho when BIL Henry found out, he was not amused & never bothered w/ her again), & then shacked up in Florence w/ a Frenchie artist until her own demise in 1824.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HMp9gQX4I/AAAAAAAAA2M/tXH-cG153os/s1600/Charles_Edward_Stuart_%25281775%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HMp9gQX4I/AAAAAAAAA2M/tXH-cG153os/s200/Charles_Edward_Stuart_%25281775%2529.jpg" tt="true" width="161" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Bonnie Prince Charlie in his 60s</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">see what too much likker does to ya? LOL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps gave BPC the stink eye & w/ it went the last slim hopes of the Jacobite succession. He did get his bastard Charlotte legitimicized & bestowed upon her the meaningless title of Countess of Albany, but Charlotte was such a huge slut & had round 4 bastard brats of her own, so she was not considered a viable successor to Daddy. BPC demised in Rome in 1788 (prolly of cirrhosis LOL) at age 67 & was tumbled in w/ his parents at St Peter's. His bro styled himself as Henry IX, but as a cardinal of Holy Mother Church w/ no offspring, twas merely nose-thumbing at the firmly entrenched Hanoverians.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">George was having more woes w/ his own rellies. His bro Henry, Duke of Cumberland, was pilloried in the press for carrying on an adulterous relationship, & then to make matters worse, he seecrudly wed a commoner, Anne Horton.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HOZcep0BI/AAAAAAAAA2U/hTmXHX6ui4s/s1600/HenryDukeOfCumberland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HOZcep0BI/AAAAAAAAA2U/hTmXHX6ui4s/s200/HenryDukeOfCumberland.jpg" tt="true" width="118" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henry, Duke of Cumberland</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Anne was a widow & said to be of a rather slutty bent, so George was not amused, even tho she & Hank never bred. Then he about tore his wig out LOL when he found out another bro, William, Duke of Gloucester, was also seecrudly married.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HPccpSjQI/AAAAAAAAA2c/T5G_QyBQ_1A/s1600/William_Henry%252C_Duke_of_Gloucester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HPccpSjQI/AAAAAAAAA2c/T5G_QyBQ_1A/s200/William_Henry%252C_Duke_of_Gloucester.jpg" tt="true" width="162" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William, Duke of Gloucester</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Bill had wed Maria Walpole, who was a bastard granddaughter of the former PM Sir Robert Walpole, also a widow & the Dowager Countess of Waldegrave.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HQe99CuSI/AAAAAAAAA2k/JzpHafaj-Fc/s1600/Maria%252C_Duchess_of_Gloucester_%25281739-1807%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HQe99CuSI/AAAAAAAAA2k/JzpHafaj-Fc/s200/Maria%252C_Duchess_of_Gloucester_%25281739-1807%2529.jpg" tt="true" width="142" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Maria, Duchess of Gloucester</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This prompted George to cram thru Parliament the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, made retroactive to incl his bros' hi-jinks, what said absotively posilutely NO ONE remotely connected w/ the royal family could get hitched sans the king's permission. Yeah, the Tudors did that, too, but there was no real law against it, peeps were just afeared of Tudor wrath LOL Now there was & anyone who did so forfeited not just their own claim to the throne, but that of any offspring. Bill & Maria had 3 kidlets, 2 of whom lived, who were out of the running. These wives & kidlets were never received at court & George ignored their existence. Later on Bill would take an Irish mistress, Lady Almeria Carpenter, & sire a bastard daughter, Louisa, who was even more scandalous as she lived w/ her Scots DH for yonks b4 they were married & had 3 bastards of her own. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">As if this wasn't bad enough, then the Princes of Wales went & contracted a seecrud wedding w/ another widow, this one Catholic!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HSy5Q72OI/AAAAAAAAA2s/aT-Y1ci8y68/s1600/GeorgeIV1780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HSy5Q72OI/AAAAAAAAA2s/aT-Y1ci8y68/s200/GeorgeIV1780.jpg" tt="true" width="156" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>miniature of George, Prince of Wales, 1780</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">2 yrs b4 his seecrud wedding</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Maria Anne Smythe continued to be known by her 2nd DHs name & was called Mrs Fitzherbert & merely thunk of as the POWs mistress. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HT0IZTIiI/AAAAAAAAA20/LPWcT1eznTc/s1600/Maria_Anne_Fitzherbert1788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HT0IZTIiI/AAAAAAAAA20/LPWcT1eznTc/s200/Maria_Anne_Fitzherbert1788.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Maria Fitzherbert</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Under the Royal Marriages Act, their marriage was totally illegal & if the king got wind of it, the POW would be out of the succession, so twas kept all hush-hush. She was 6 yrs older than young George & they never had any kidlets w/ which to muddy up the succession & shacked up happily for over 20 yrs.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">George II & Charlotte for some reason were reluctant to let their 13 remaining brats get hitched, esp the girls. The 2 youngest princesses, Sophia & Amelia, as well as their older sister Augusta, never got married at all. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HXpQb3DWI/AAAAAAAAA3M/DyZstj7ds1Y/s1600/Augusta_in_1782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HXpQb3DWI/AAAAAAAAA3M/DyZstj7ds1Y/s200/Augusta_in_1782.jpg" tt="true" width="149" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>miniature of Princess Augusta</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HX0VEWzYI/AAAAAAAAA3U/gJDeyHCgvnk/s1600/Sophia_%25281777-1848%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HX0VEWzYI/AAAAAAAAA3U/gJDeyHCgvnk/s200/Sophia_%25281777-1848%2529.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Princess Sophia</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HYFPvf1LI/AAAAAAAAA3c/Hn6PFtKqsvk/s1600/Amelia_%25281783-1810%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HYFPvf1LI/AAAAAAAAA3c/Hn6PFtKqsvk/s200/Amelia_%25281783-1810%2529.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Princess Amelia</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Royal was 30 when she married King Frederick of Wurttemberg & never bred, while her poor sis Elizabeth was 47 when she married Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HWiCqd3eI/AAAAAAAAA28/UsmVqjzGebA/s1600/Charlotte_Mathilde_British_Princess_Royal_Queen_of_Wurttemberg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HWiCqd3eI/AAAAAAAAA28/UsmVqjzGebA/s200/Charlotte_Mathilde_British_Princess_Royal_Queen_of_Wurttemberg.jpg" tt="true" width="134" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charlotte, Queen of Wurttemburg</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HWuLU-N6I/AAAAAAAAA3E/AQkwxJFPx08/s1600/Elizabeth_%25281770-1840%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HWuLU-N6I/AAAAAAAAA3E/AQkwxJFPx08/s200/Elizabeth_%25281770-1840%2529.jpg" tt="true" width="154" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary was 40 when she married her cuz, Bill's son William, Duke of Gloucester. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HZj2AbjdI/AAAAAAAAA3k/mMaC_gclWzk/s1600/mary_duchess_of_gloucester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HZj2AbjdI/AAAAAAAAA3k/mMaC_gclWzk/s200/mary_duchess_of_gloucester.jpg" tt="true" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>engraving of Mary, Duchess of Gloucester</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HZwpddm1I/AAAAAAAAA3s/0Zw_S1j0-h8/s1600/William2ndDukeOfGloucester1826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HZwpddm1I/AAAAAAAAA3s/0Zw_S1j0-h8/s200/William2ndDukeOfGloucester1826.jpg" tt="true" width="153" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>engraving of William, Duke of Gloucester</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Only the king's fav son, Frederick, Duke of York, married relatively young & w/ parental approval, at age 28, to Princess Frederica of Prussia. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HawqmJ2II/AAAAAAAAA30/7F-v1BhxK-0/s1600/Frederick%252C_Duke_of_York_in_Garter_Robes_2ndGIII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HawqmJ2II/AAAAAAAAA30/7F-v1BhxK-0/s200/Frederick%252C_Duke_of_York_in_Garter_Robes_2ndGIII.jpg" tt="true" width="120" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Frederick, Duke of York</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HbFiodRDI/AAAAAAAAA38/VQ1D6acBpGA/s1600/Frederica_Duchess_of_York_by_Darbes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HbFiodRDI/AAAAAAAAA38/VQ1D6acBpGA/s200/Frederica_Duchess_of_York_by_Darbes.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Frederica, Duchess of York</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">None of these marriages produced any offspring, tho Frederick was a skirt-chaser from the word go & reportedly had at least 5 bastards by various GFs. One avaricious mistress, Mary Anne Clarke, used her position to illegally sell Army commissions, causing a scandal, & when Frederick dumped her he had to pay her a pretty penny to get his indiscreet love letters back. This is what happens when a guy's too cheap to keep a mistress in the style to which she'd like to become accustomed ROFL Even sluts gotta plan for retirement. Tho they had no kids together, Mary Anne's daughter by her DH is an ancestress of novelist Daphne du Maurier. Begats trivia LOL</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HcGArFd-I/AAAAAAAAA4E/_mHAfMpgF44/s1600/Mary_Anne_Clarke_%2528n%25C3%25A9e_Thompson%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S-HcGArFd-I/AAAAAAAAA4E/_mHAfMpgF44/s200/Mary_Anne_Clarke_%2528n%25C3%25A9e_Thompson%2529.jpg" tt="true" width="159" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mary Anne Clarke</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The rest of the boys didn't even bother getting hitched at all until they were in their 40s & 50s, b/c there was a fun race to see who could produce an heir to the throne....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-51860292659599887222010-05-03T19:19:00.001-04:002010-05-05T17:54:07.140-04:00Hammering the Scots Again & Stuff<span style="color: #660000;">Soon public opinion began to frown at the Dowager Princess of Wales. Freddy had been BFFs w/ John Stuart, Earl of Bute. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S988RHVK9gI/AAAAAAAAAyk/vuSDJ8sWt-8/s1600/John_Stuart_Earl_of_Bute_by_Sir_Joshua_Reynolds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S988RHVK9gI/AAAAAAAAAyk/vuSDJ8sWt-8/s200/John_Stuart_Earl_of_Bute_by_Sir_Joshua_Reynolds.jpg" tt="true" width="121" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>John Stuart, Earl of Bute</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Bute decided to take an interest in the education of Freddy's fatherless lads & Augusta engaged him as their tutor. It wasn't long b4 rumors were swirling that Augusta & John were knocking butes LOL I slay me. Bute was married & had 9 brats of his own, but he was spending an inordinate amt of time at Leicester House just the same. The <em>Hanoverian Hoochies</em> got wind of it & pretty soon twas in all the tabloids. They insisted they weren't, but no one believed em. Augusta sighed & eventually withdrew to Kew, where she was responsible for starting the ginormous tourist attraction gardens there.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S98-eOGWeqI/AAAAAAAAAys/eGm3D1zY9Fc/s1600/Kew_Palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S98-eOGWeqI/AAAAAAAAAys/eGm3D1zY9Fc/s200/Kew_Palace.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Kew Palace</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, George II was doing a lot more than just glaring at the late unlamented Freddy. He granted a charter to James Oglethorpe to start the colony of Georgia so that the Brits would have some place for transportation. This is when the jails got really full & they picked the peeps w/ the pettiest offenses for a free 1-way boat ride to the colonies to make room for the more felonious offenders.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then George got into the War of Jenkins' Ear. This silly name for a war came about when a British merchant ship captain, Robert Jenkins, came to Parliament to show off his severed ear, which had been removed by Spanish privateering peeps boarding his ship. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">At the same time the Holy Roman Emperor demised leaving no male heirs & peeps were all um NO Salic Law when his daughter Maria Theresa said MY THRONE. MT sighed & said FINE I get Daddy's other goodies & my DH Francis can be the emperor then. This was met w/ more um NOs b/c there were plenty of other peeps who wanted the job & the territory.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99ADZwMoHI/AAAAAAAAAy0/9oS_qunubzk/s1600/MariaTheresia_Maske.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99ADZwMoHI/AAAAAAAAAy0/9oS_qunubzk/s200/MariaTheresia_Maske.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Empress Maria Theresa</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The War of Jenkins' Ear soon merged into the War of the Austrian Succession. In the colonies it was called King George's War. This pitted Great Britain & Austria against Spain, France, & Prussia & dragged on for 8 yrs. Frederick the Great of Prussia started the whole thing by invading the Austrian province of Silesia.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99A-FxvOjI/AAAAAAAAAy8/r_mdPlUxLaA/s1600/Friedrich_Zweite_Jung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99A-FxvOjI/AAAAAAAAAy8/r_mdPlUxLaA/s200/Friedrich_Zweite_Jung.jpg" tt="true" width="135" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Frederick II "the Great" of Prussia</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There was lots of invading everywhere across Europe & mini-wars in it in Sweden, Russia, Silesia, & Italy, too. George II became the last English king to lead troops into battle & he trounced the Frenchies at the battle of Dettingen.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99COzRk6FI/AAAAAAAAAzE/-VUDXtD7mIw/s1600/George_II_at_Dettingen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99COzRk6FI/AAAAAAAAAzE/-VUDXtD7mIw/s200/George_II_at_Dettingen.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George II at the Battle of Dettingen</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Finally this got to be tedious after so many yrs & the war ended w/ the Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle, where Maria Theresa got exactly what she wanted. Imagine how peaceful it would've been if the rest of the peeps had just said OK at the start.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">In the midst of all this continental chaos, the Stuarts decided it might be a good time to give it another go. This was known as the '45 b/c this Jacobite rising occurred in 1745 & natch assisted by the Scots. Fav son Billy was now an Army peep & his role in putting down the rebellion earned him the nickname of "Butcher Cumberland". </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99ELUEibuI/AAAAAAAAAzM/SbmIEHIrx70/s1600/Cumberland-Reynolds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99ELUEibuI/AAAAAAAAAzM/SbmIEHIrx70/s200/Cumberland-Reynolds.jpg" tt="true" width="127" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William, Duke of Cumberland</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Old Pretender stayed in Italy whilst Bonnie Prince Charlie went off to Scotland to get Daddy his throne.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99E9tYmrPI/AAAAAAAAAzU/uDEl_4IP1bA/s1600/Bonnie_A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99E9tYmrPI/AAAAAAAAAzU/uDEl_4IP1bA/s200/Bonnie_A.jpg" tt="true" width="157" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Bonnie Prince Charlie, off to war</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">At 1st it seemed like they might indeed have a shot at it, as the Jacobite forces trounced the British at the battle of Prestonpans. Then Bonnie Prince Charlie had the brill notion of chasing em back across the border. The Jacobites got as far as Derbyshire w/ little resistance, but no rallying of support, either. George II heard what was going on & sent peeps back from France under Billy's command to deal w/ this nuisance. BPC wanted to press on to London, but his peeps were um NO there's way more of them than there are of us, & turned round to head back over the wall.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Billy followed not by land but by sea. Whilst the Jacobites were wearing themselves out marching all the way back to Glasgow, he took a leisurely sail to Aberdeen w/ a mix of British & Hessian troops. Hessians came from the Hanoverian province of Hesse FYI. B4 he got there, the Jacobites won another victory at the battle of Falkirk & were chuffed w/ themselves. But then Billy disembarked & began pushing em north. Most of the Jacobites were Highlanders & volunteers, not trained army peeps. There were, as always, some Frenchies in the mix to honor the Auld Alliance, in the form of the Royal Scots Regiment AKA <em>en francais Royale Ecossois</em>. They done good to do all that marching & win 2 battles, considering the shoddy, old-fashioned weaponry they had to use. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">In this midst of all this shoving the Jacobites back to Inverness, Billy celebrated his 25th BD by passing out rations of brandy to his peeps. BPC was all come over unnecessary when his spies got wind of this & was all for a surprise attack at night when all Cumberland's forces would be hammered. The Jacobite commander, Lord George Murray, was grinding his teeth at BPCs total lack of military common sense & said um NO the ground's too marshy round here, forget about it. BPC pouted & sulked. He was like that. Pity Murray didn't let him go on to London & get a Tower Fun Pass.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99I7gQVzTI/AAAAAAAAAzc/pzBkh7qgB4g/s1600/Lordgeorgemurray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99I7gQVzTI/AAAAAAAAAzc/pzBkh7qgB4g/s200/Lordgeorgemurray.jpg" tt="true" width="102" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lord George Murray, Scots Jacobite commander</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The next morn, sans hangovers apparently, Billy's forces were on the move & caught up w/ the Jacobites at Culloden Moor. Murray didn't like the ground there, either, & urged BPC to keep moving. BPC was all pffft we can take em MAKE IT HAPPEN.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Billy opened by bombarding the Jacobites w/ artillery rounds OW. BPC kinda stood there w/ his mouth open for a while & peeps nudged him & said well? Now what? So BPC gave the order to charge the British lines instead of going RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! & twas a disaster from the word CHARGE!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99Kfue8d0I/AAAAAAAAAzk/VgN8C9hKEZo/s1600/The_Battle_of_Culloden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99Kfue8d0I/AAAAAAAAAzk/VgN8C9hKEZo/s200/The_Battle_of_Culloden.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">The Battle of Culloden</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Murray was right about the soggy ground, an impediment for cavlary & foot soldiers alike, plus Billy's troops had the advantage of gravity due to the slope of the moor. The MacDonalds were insulted at the position they were put in & refused to play. The <em>Royale Ecossois</em> got caught up in "friendly fire" from the Campbells. Twas a mess & pretty soon the Jacobites were surrounded on 3 sides. The head of BPCs personal guard was all RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! & BPC didn't need to be told twice, galloping off. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">No quarter was given to the fleeing Highlanders, who were hemmed in by the British & massacred. Tis said (& don't you <em>Outlander</em> lovers hurt Scarlet, now) that Fraser of Lovat, whose clan had been holding a bridge over the river Ness that was the Highlanders' sole means of getting the hell outta there, turned his coat at the last second. Not only were the Highlanders chased until they dropped, Billy sent more troops into the Highlands on punitive expeditions to wipe out that nest of Jacobites once & for all.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99NKQo5ncI/AAAAAAAAAzs/2bGVsbGxxcY/s1600/After_Culloden-_Rebel_Hunting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99NKQo5ncI/AAAAAAAAAzs/2bGVsbGxxcY/s200/After_Culloden-_Rebel_Hunting.jpg" tt="true" width="186" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">After Culloden</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">British soldiers hunting down Scots rebels</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Houses were burned, livestock taken, kidlets left to starve, women raped, & any man bearing arms kilt on sight. Billy said twas b/c he'd found orders from Murray stating no quarter was to be given to the government troops, but it turned out he just made that up b/c such a paper has never been seen. The jails in Inverness were full to overflowing & peeps were taken to hulks on the Thames to await trial & execution. Hulks were old ships that were made into prisons when there were too many peeps for the regular prisons to hold. Tower Hill got lots of traffic, esp as Billy insisted there should be no pardons for the rebellious Scots nobles he'd coralled, & nigh on 1,000 peeps were transported to the colonies. By Act of Parliament, wearing of clan tartans was banned under penalty of death, & any lord or clan chief who'd supported the rebellion had their lands & properties seized & sold by the crown to Englishmen. All Highlanders had to swear oaths of allegiance to George II or else. The Hanoverians were going to make damn sure there was never a rising in Scotland in support of those pesky Stuarts again.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, BPC had to hie all the way to the Hebrides & there were STILL peeps after him. This is where the legend of Flora MacDonald comes from.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99PwIntQuI/AAAAAAAAAz0/RMos1hubHW4/s1600/Floramacdonald2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99PwIntQuI/AAAAAAAAAz0/RMos1hubHW4/s200/Floramacdonald2.jpg" tt="true" width="176" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Flora MacDonald</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She lived on the isle of Skye & supposedly hid BPC & helped him escape by dressing him up as a woman & passing him off as her Irish maid, Betty Burke, so that he could island-hop & eventually get away on a waiting Frenchie frigate. Flora got a nice Tower Fun Pass for it but was eventually released, married, & went to go live in North Carolina (mayhap next door to Jamie & Claire?).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Scots wanted naught to to w/ the Stuart cause ever again, what w/ the debacle of Culloden & its aftermath. There was never another rising to restore them to the throne. The 25 yo BPC did get a nice Scots GF out of it & lived w/ Clementina Walkinshaw in exile for yonks.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99R3QLZK4I/AAAAAAAAAz8/ZgSNu3a6WGI/s1600/Clementina_Walkinshaw_BPCmistress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99R3QLZK4I/AAAAAAAAAz8/ZgSNu3a6WGI/s200/Clementina_Walkinshaw_BPCmistress.jpg" tt="true" width="143" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Clementina Walkinshaw</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">They had a bastard daughter, Charlotte, who grew up to be a notorious slut & had a few bastards of her own.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99SclUmnOI/AAAAAAAAA0E/Uz5lX5nWEoA/s1600/CharlotteStuart_BPCdaughter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99SclUmnOI/AAAAAAAAA0E/Uz5lX5nWEoA/s200/CharlotteStuart_BPCdaughter.jpg" tt="true" width="153" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charlotte Stuart</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">BPC offered to convert to the Anglican faith if it would help him get the throne back, but peeps were all meh we don't care, Charlie, get over it already, ain't happening.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99TdYFPT9I/AAAAAAAAA0M/huprKY4XOug/s1600/Carlos_Eduardo_Stuart_Infante_de_Anglais.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S99TdYFPT9I/AAAAAAAAA0M/huprKY4XOug/s200/Carlos_Eduardo_Stuart_Infante_de_Anglais.jpg" tt="true" width="142" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Bonnie Prince Charlie</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">George II was quite fussed w/ Billy's grand military success in really trouncing those irksome Scots 4ever & went round calling him his "Sweet William". There were also some nice inroads being made in India from that jumping-off spot of Bombay that had come as Catherine of Braganza's dowry, w/ lots of coin to be made there. George had everyone scratching their heads going "What day is it?" when he decided to join in w/ the rest of Europe & switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian one. This meant peeps lost 11dy6 (meh really 11) days in September when the change took place. The English, tho they celebrated New Year's Day on January 1st, technically still had it in their calendar as Lady Day, which was March 25th & the Feast of the Annunciation. Lady Day was when the peasants got their yrly wages & such from the landowners. Twas confusing for a while & then peeps got used to it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then another war started, this one in the colonies. The Ohio Territory stood btwn the 13 British colonies & New France, & natch they both wanted it. In GB it was called the Seven Yrs' War but in the colonies twas known as the French & Indian War. This is b/c the British had a nice alliance w/ the Iroquois Confederation against the Frenchies. The Frenchies took Minorca away from the Brits in Europe, but then there was a smashing British victory at Quebec & things were looking peachy for trouncing those annoying Frenchies in the New World.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Alas, George II would never get to see how it all came out. He went to take his morning constitutional one fine October day & pitched forward off the terlet w/ a loud crash. His valet stuck his head in to find the king in a most undignified position on the floor. George gasped out that he wanted his fav daughter Amelia as the valet dragged him into bed, & then abruptly demised. Twas from an aortic anyeurism (that thing what kilt John Ritter). Those ain't fun b/c there are 4 layers to one's aortic wall & if all 4 of em rupture at the same time, one can bleed out in like 10 secs flat. Even 2 or 3 woulda kilt him eventually in those days b4 they had open-heart surgicals to fix such. Just farting coulda blown it if it was ready to rip. He got plonked into his puzzle box w/ Caroline at Westminster Abbey.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There was no need for the new Queen Mum, Augusta, to have a nice regency, as George II had demised at the age of 76 & so at age 22 his grandson George was old enough to be king sans Mummy's help....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-36789883313926939272010-05-03T12:06:00.001-04:002010-05-03T12:46:01.662-04:00By George, We Hate that Kid!<span style="color: #660000;">Frederick's little sisters, 5 yo Anne, 3 yo Amelia, & 2 yo Caroline, had accompanied their parents to Great Britain upon the accession of their grandfather to the throne. A brother, Augustus, was stillborn the previous yr, & shortly after arrival in London the new Princess of Wales had given birth to another son, George, who demised aged 3 mos. There was a brief hiatus in royal childbearing & then when Frederick was 14 his brother William, Duke of Cumberland, was born, folowed by 2 more princesses, Mary & Louise.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97Tzj-g0TI/AAAAAAAAAxc/aIk0wk4PoWQ/s1600/Frederick%252C_Prince_of_Wales%252C_and_his_sisters_by_Philip_Mercier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97Tzj-g0TI/AAAAAAAAAxc/aIk0wk4PoWQ/s200/Frederick%252C_Prince_of_Wales%252C_and_his_sisters_by_Philip_Mercier.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Frederick, Prince of Wales, & his 3 oldest sisters,</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Anne, Amelia, & Caroline</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">William was the apple of his parents' eye & could do no wrong. In fact, at one pt when George & Caroline were really disgusted w/ Freddy, they inquired if they could not just cut him out of the succession entirely & replace him w/ his baby bro! Freddy hadn't seen his parental units since the age of 7, tho he did hang out lots w/ Grandpa when the old man popped over on his frequent visits to Hanover. George I influenced the kid's political views & so when he was finally belatedly summoned to England to be invested as POW at age 21, twas like the fights of George & George Augustus all over again. Freddy's official residence was even Leicester House, where he emulated Dad & set up meetings of the opposition party HA HA. Deja vu for George & Caro, or what?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The king & queen failed to see the irony. They openly referred to their elder son as a "foundling" & criticized his party hearty lifestyle. Cricket had just begun to come into vogue & young Freddy was a passionate devotee of this new British sport, both attending matches & playing himself. One of his BFFs, who was also into cricket, was Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond, a grandson of Charles II thru his liaison w/ Louise de Kerouaille. However, Richmond had the money to toss away on this hobby, whereas Freddy was kept on a miserly allowance by his parents, on purpose, natch. They didn't approve of this newfangled sport thing one bit.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">His parents were also not amused w/ Freddy setting himself up as a patron of the arts. One of the 1st things he did was erect a rival to the King's Theatre in Drury Lane, run by Handel. Frederick's theatre was called the Opera of the Nobility & was built in Lincoln's Inn's Fields. You have Frederick to thank every time you hear <em>Rule Britannia</em>, as twas composed by Scots poet & playwright James Thomson as part of a masque presented to the POWs court (but not the king's). It was called <em>Alfred</em> & was a fun piece about Alfred the Great kicking out those Vikings. The song shot up the Top 40 charts way faster than anything Handel ever composed, irking the king & queen. As you can see by the pic of Freddy & his sibs, he also played the cello, which ain't an EZ instrument to master.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97Z1YXd5qI/AAAAAAAAAxk/yHZRENWOIjw/s1600/Fredericpriciwaly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97Z1YXd5qI/AAAAAAAAAxk/yHZRENWOIjw/s200/Fredericpriciwaly.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Frederick, Prince of Wales</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Freddy's interests extended beyond cricket & music to art & architecture as well. The king & queen rolled their eyes when they found out their errant offspring was encouraging the growth of the Rococo movement in buildings (alas, a fine house he had built at Kew for his wife has been demolished) & was tossing coin at foreign artists. Pffft, they snorted, we don't need no steenking Frenchie painters here! They cut off Freddy's allowance entirely & no amt of pouting, sulking, yelling, & screaming could move them.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">So Freddy was forced to bring the issue to Parliament. After all, a POW couldn't be kept penniless & borrowing from his mates all the time w/ no hope of reimbursing em until his old man cocked up his toes, now, could he? Parliament agreed & voted Freddy a nice allowance. The king & queen were furious at this public humiliation & hated Freddy even more.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Caro & George put their heads together & hmmm'd & decided what Freddy needed to settle down & cease being such a PITA was a nice wife to distract him & breed up heirs, since alas, he couldn't be set aside in favor of darling Billy. They'd already managed a nice match btwn Anne & William IV of Orange. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97h4QrNBMI/AAAAAAAAAx8/_Trs45Dp8sY/s1600/Anna_van_Hannover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97h4QrNBMI/AAAAAAAAAx8/_Trs45Dp8sY/s200/Anna_van_Hannover.jpg" tt="true" width="145" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Anne, Princess of Orange</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Surely there had to be some Protestant chick in some small backwater continental principality who hadn't heard what an arse their elder son had grown up to be? Caro worked her connections & triumphantly came up w/ 16 yo Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97dXDlsC7I/AAAAAAAAAxs/JalsKgy8ywI/s1600/Augusta_of_Saxe-Gotha%252C_Princess_of_Wales_by_Charles_Philips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97dXDlsC7I/AAAAAAAAAxs/JalsKgy8ywI/s200/Augusta_of_Saxe-Gotha%252C_Princess_of_Wales_by_Charles_Philips.jpg" tt="true" width="160" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Augusta of Saxe-Gotha</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Augusta was young, nubile, presumably malleable, & spoke no English. The engagement was presented to Freddy as a <em>fait accompli</em>. 29 yo Freddy was furious but not mad enough that he didn't see this as an opportunity to get a sizeable increase in his allowance. His parents glared at him & pried open the privy purse, not wanting him to cause a spectacle by dunning Parliament for groats again. They did not, however, extend any generosity to a huge public wedding. Augusta was whisked off the boat into the Chapel Royal at St James's Palace & quietly married to Freddy at once.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97euUEjvtI/AAAAAAAAAx0/JVjCP3syzEE/s1600/St_james_palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97euUEjvtI/AAAAAAAAAx0/JVjCP3syzEE/s200/St_james_palace.jpg" tt="true" width="130" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Tudor-era main entrance to St James's Palace</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Even tho marriage had the desired effect of settling Freddy down some, it wasn't as if Augusta's lack of English was a hindrance when he'd spent the 1st 21 yrs of his life in Hanover. B4 Caro & George could go WTF?, Augusta had become Freddy's firm ally against them LOL She was the queen of the Leicester House set & encouraged Freddy in his incessant arrested adolescent rebellion against his parental units. By this pt, Freddy just irked em b/c he could. If Mom & Dad said the sky was blue, Freddy would vehemently disagree & insist twas green. Dad's policies, governing, ideas, & all his peeps sucked on general principles. Billy just got the stink eye from Leicester House b/c he was the fav kidlet. And on & on it went. There wasn't a peep in all of Great Britain who didn't know the king & his heir cordially loathed each other.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">By their 1st anniversary, Augusta was breeding up the heir to the throne. C & G were at least delighted about this, as Anne's 1st pregnancy had sadly ended w/ a stillborn daughter & somebody had to start popping out grandchildren to secure the succession. Amelia & Caroline never married, dunno if it twas b/c they didn't want to or what, & the other 3 kidlets were still too young for such things. At least Freddy was good for SOMETHING. So they pasted on smiles & invited the expectant parents to come stay at Hampton Court for a nice celebration.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97jeQYSlgI/AAAAAAAAAyE/xXW-uy5mq6s/s1600/kingsstaircase-wmiii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97jeQYSlgI/AAAAAAAAAyE/xXW-uy5mq6s/s200/kingsstaircase-wmiii.jpg" tt="true" width="151" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The King's Staircase at Hampton Court;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>remodeled by William III</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Soon it became obvs that C & G fully expected F & A were going to stay put until Augusta spawned the heir & that they were going to manage the whole thing & stand there & watch as well. Royalty ain't got no privacy for such things, yknow. Margaret Beaufort made the roolz on it & for yonks peeps just followed em unquestioningly. That scary old broad haunted em from beyond the grave LOL </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">When Augusta whispered to Freddy on a hot summer night that she thunk she was in labor, Freddy said SHHHH! Augusta said um OW! Freddy shushed her again & hmmm'd a tad & then grabbed her by the hand & dragged her out of her lying-in chambers. OW OW OW protested Augusta WTF? <em>GOTT IN HIMMEL</em>, snarled Freddy, STFU ALREADY & COME ALONG!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">He dragged her right out of Hampton Court & over to the next closest palace, St James's, whilst she clutched her belly & OWd some more. My, weren't the servants there surprised when Freddy hastened in w/ poor Augusta about ready to drop the heir on its head! Peeps scrambled to get the princess in bed & delivered safely of the royal brat, a daughter who was called Augusta after her mother. Yup, Freddy dragged his laboring wife to a whole new palace just to piss his parents off & make them miss the birth LOL That's just HOW MUCH these peeps despised each other. C & G were furious.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">By next summer Freddy had gotten a little smarter & the male heir, inexplicably named George (tho I reckon it could've been for Freddy's grandpa), was born in London at Norfolk House w/ no interference. Little Augusta & George were barely 9 mos apart, her BD being Aug 31st & his June 4th. Um OW. Twas said George was a preemie & not expected to live, so mayhap that's why Freddy had him christened George. Reckon that backfired, huh, b/c the infant Hanover thrived.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Of course, at that time the smart one of the C & G pair had demised. Barely 3 mos after Freddy pulled that stunt at Hampton Court, Queen Caroline suffered what was noted as "a rupture of the womb". </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97oczYnT5I/AAAAAAAAAyM/PGdanfaQ6ms/s1600/Caroline_Wilhelmina_of_Brandenburg-Ansbach_by_Jacopo_Amigoni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97oczYnT5I/AAAAAAAAAyM/PGdanfaQ6ms/s200/Caroline_Wilhelmina_of_Brandenburg-Ansbach_by_Jacopo_Amigoni.jpg" tt="true" width="125" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Caroline of Ansbach</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">I cannot even begin to speculate on WTF that might be! She was 54 & hadn't bred in 13 yrs. Uteri just don't run amuck exploding like that! All I can think of is mayhap she had one of those gruesome things occur whereby after having 11dy6 kidlets one's uterus decides it's had enough & starts falling out. Nowadays that won't kill ya b/c they can either remove it if you're done using it or push it back in & sew it up if you're not, but perhaps back in the 1700s they just let it hang there in a repulsive fashion & permitted it to get infected....ick ugh GROSS! At any rate, sumfin in the poor woman's girly bits kilt her real good. O the irony considering how much she despised Freddy, huh?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Rumor has it she told George to go ahead & get married again & he said meh I'll just have mistresses LOL George already had 2. One was a Hanoverian chick named Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth, by whom he had a bastard son, Johann, & the other was one of Caro's bedchamber ladies, Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97qtPIofRI/AAAAAAAAAyU/fNwMdcfdUXM/s1600/Amalie_Sophie_von_Wallmoden_GIImistress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97qtPIofRI/AAAAAAAAAyU/fNwMdcfdUXM/s200/Amalie_Sophie_von_Wallmoden_GIImistress.jpg" tt="true" width="152" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Amalie von Wallmoden, Countess of Yarmouth</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97q7YN_f-I/AAAAAAAAAyc/i5lkMinG68M/s1600/HenriettaHoward_GIImistress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S97q7YN_f-I/AAAAAAAAAyc/i5lkMinG68M/s200/HenriettaHoward_GIImistress.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">At least spiting Dad kept Freddy a devoted DH to Augusta, as he was never known to have any GFs after marrying her. Despite his GFs, George was supposedly devastated at Caroline's demise as he knew she was the smart one & relied upon her for political advice & even made her Regent when he was out of the kingdom (another bone of contention for Freddy to gnaw upon). George had Handel create new music for the splendid funeral he threw the queen at Westminster Abbey & do you know George also demanded she get a puzzle coffin?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Pray, Scarlet, enlighten us on what such a faskinating device might entail, I betcher sayin'. Well, George decided that one side of Caroline's coffin would have the ability to pop off & then be attached to his own coffin, which would have the same ability on its opposite side. This way, they could lollygag together for all eternity AWWWW. Me, I'm thinkin' of the poor peeps who had to pop off Caroline's side 11dy6 yrs later & hook her up to George's fresh corpse.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Freddy no doubt groaned & said WRONG PARENT when he got word of Mum's demise, as he & his father continued their acrimony. Augusta was kept quite busy breeding, as little Augusta & George were quickly followed by Edward, Elizabeth, William, Henry, Louisa, & Frederick Jr. Augusta had not one sad pregnancy so she was a splendid breeder & did her job well, esp w/ 5 male heirs to her credit. Looked as if the Hanoverians were here to stay.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Augusta was 4 mos pregnant w/ her 9th child, Caroline Matilda (who was always called by both her names due to her unmarried Auntie Caroline still lollygagging round court) when 44 yo Freddy went out to indulge in the 1st cricket match of the spring. This is why middle-aged males should just give it up already when it comes to competitive sports & go pick up a golf club or something. Freddy took a cricket ball slammed hard into the chest wall & immediately had the swoons followed by a fast case of the demises. The post-mortem indicated he had an abcess in his lung that burst. So doubly stupid to go out & play b/c he must've been having the sicks b/c abcess=infection & they ain't fun in teeth so who knows how horrendous they gotta be in one's lung. Ya'd think he'd have been having some sort of symptoms. The whack from the ball must've loosened it up & released 11dy6 pints of pus into his lung & drownded him, I reckon. Disclaimer: Scarlet ain't no practitioner of medicine so tis all sheer speculation LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The king capered w/ glee & immediately invested 12 yo George as Duke of Edinburgh & Prince of Wales. Augusta, after yonks of listening to Freddy's rants, didn't trust her FIL as far as she could spit, & as the prospective Queen Mum she was able to gather even more peeps to the Leicester House set & there was a movement to make her Regent should George II, who was now 67, demise b4 the new POW was deemed old enough to govern.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-60508088535337080122010-05-02T16:19:00.001-04:002010-05-03T09:28:11.416-04:00Enter the Hanoverians<span style="color: #660000;">55 yo George, the Elector of Hanover, got the usual nice Westminster Abbey coronation in October 1714. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93GbXKra4I/AAAAAAAAAvk/Ex2xECjIick/s1600/George_I_Oval.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93GbXKra4I/AAAAAAAAAvk/Ex2xECjIick/s200/George_I_Oval.jpg" tt="true" width="160" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George Is coronation portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">He spoke not a word of English & didn't think it necessary to learn. The British peeps were gobsmacked at his personal life. Instead of bringing over a queen, he brought over his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, whom he created the Duchess of Kendal posthaste, as well as Duchess of Munster, Marchioness of Dungannon, Countess of Feversham, Baroness Dundalk, & Baroness Glastonbury.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93HOgLL3fI/AAAAAAAAAvs/AMuRG177TUw/s1600/Melusine_von_der_Schulenburg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93HOgLL3fI/AAAAAAAAAvs/AMuRG177TUw/s200/Melusine_von_der_Schulenburg.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Lots of titles were good for a mistress b/c she got the rents & profits off the lands of each one, so Mellie raked in a ton of groats. George had 3 daughters by Mellie, Anna, Melusina, & Margaret. The middle daughter married a Brit, Philip Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield, whilst the other 2 married German peeps. Mellie was known as "the Maypole" in England b/c she was thin & tall; the Hanoverians just sniggered & called her "the Scarecrow". Twas whispered that the king mayhap had married her seecrudly at some pt, but it cannot be proved w/ actual papers.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">George could've done so, as he kept his ex-wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, imprisoned in Hanover.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93IukMkP2I/AAAAAAAAAv0/hUZRLKsYu_I/s1600/Sophie_Dorothea_Prinzessin_von_Ahlden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93IukMkP2I/AAAAAAAAAv0/hUZRLKsYu_I/s200/Sophie_Dorothea_Prinzessin_von_Ahlden.jpg" tt="true" width="159" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Sophia Dorothea of Celle, w/ her 2 children,</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">George & Sophia</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">What's good for the goose is apparently not good for the gander there. George had been dangling after Mellie for yrs & sired 2 kidlets upon the mistress that he flaunted at his Hanoverian court, so his neglected DW decided twas past time to get in a little rec of her own. She began a torrid affair w/ Philip, Count von Konigsmarck. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93J_deaQlI/AAAAAAAAAv8/AAlfk1CmOf0/s1600/Philippe_Christophe_K%25C5%2593nigsmark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93J_deaQlI/AAAAAAAAAv8/AAlfk1CmOf0/s200/Philippe_Christophe_K%25C5%2593nigsmark.jpg" tt="true" width="146" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Philip, Count von Konigsmarck</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">George was not amused. He & the wife had a furious argument during which twas said he had to be pulled off her by their attendants, as they feared he was going to strangle her to death. Sophia decided she had enough of this double standard shite & was going to flee Hanover w/ her BF. </span><span style="color: #660000;">Rumor has it that George paid some peeps to murder Phil, weight him down w/ rocks, & toss him into the nearest river when he discovered DW was planning on running away w/ her lover. Tho he divorced her posthaste, he still had her immured in the Castle of Ahlden & nobody batted an eyelash.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93LSPhwYCI/AAAAAAAAAwE/Dt85WSgZHsc/s1600/Ahlden_Merian_Schloss.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93LSPhwYCI/AAAAAAAAAwE/Dt85WSgZHsc/s200/Ahlden_Merian_Schloss.png" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>mid-1600s engraving of Ahlden</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So George could've conceivably had a seecrud wedding w/ Mellie if he wanted, being all legally divorced, but not on adultery grounds; he filed for abandonment since Sophia was planning to leave him. Poor Sophia Dorothea, then just 28, never got to see her 2 children by George, 11 yo George Jr & 7 yo Sophia Jr, again, & when she demised of really bad gallstones 12 yrs after DH became king, he refused to have the court go into mourning & wrote a snarky letter to his daughter for permitting it in her own court (she was married to Frederick of Prussia). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Tho technically not the queen, Mellie acted like it. Peeps didn't know what to make of this nonsense. Kings had mistresses galore, but they certainly had never b4 allowed them to queen it over the court, except maybe in Anne Boleyn's case. To complicate the situation, George had a 2nd official mistress, Sophia von Kielmansegg, who was rumored to be his bastard half-sis! Her coat of arms boasted a <em>bar sinister</em>, which indeed confirmed she was born on the wrong side of someone's blanket; whether twas George's daddy Ernest Augustus, we dunno. In contrast to Mellie, Sophie was so short & fat that she was nicknamed "the Elephant". She only got to be Countess of Leinster, Countess of Darlington, & Baroness Brentford.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">One of the 1st things George had to deal w/ (besides translators & interpreters LOL) was those pesky wannabe Stuarts. This is known as the '15 b/c this Jacobite rising took place in 1715. Of course it was supported by the Scots. James III, as he now termed himself, landed there shortly after the battle of Sheriffmuir, which both sides claimed victory on....how does that happen? Trouncing is trouncing! Apparently one battle was enough for the Scots & they started melting away into the Highlands. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93PzGPLGXI/AAAAAAAAAwU/co0pkuOVBYM/s1600/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart_by_Alexis_Simon_Belle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93PzGPLGXI/AAAAAAAAAwU/co0pkuOVBYM/s200/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart_by_Alexis_Simon_Belle.jpg" tt="true" width="154" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James Francis Edward Stuart AKA James III</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">James was miffed at this draining of support & decided not to be crowned at Scone as he'd intended. He went back to France but whatever Louis it was had demised & the Frenchies glared at him & showed him the door, so off to Italy he went, having been offered a nice rent-free palace by the pope. 4 yrs later, at age 41, he married 17 yo Maria Clementina Sobieska, granddaughter of the King of Poland.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93PlZ6iH2I/AAAAAAAAAwM/1BD_g2APGFg/s1600/Maria_Clementina_Sobieska_from_NPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93PlZ6iH2I/AAAAAAAAAwM/1BD_g2APGFg/s200/Maria_Clementina_Sobieska_from_NPG.jpg" tt="true" width="161" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Maria Clementina Sobieska</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This is how James got to be known as "the Old Pretender" b/c his Polish bride presented him w/ 2 sons, Charles Edward, who would become "the Young Pretender", & Henry Benedict, who would become a cardinal of the Catholic Church.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93Qsm0od3I/AAAAAAAAAwc/AgMyyublaMc/s1600/Bonnie_Prince_Charlie_%25281729%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93Qsm0od3I/AAAAAAAAAwc/AgMyyublaMc/s200/Bonnie_Prince_Charlie_%25281729%2529.jpg" tt="true" width="147" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles Edward Stuart AKA Bonnie Prince Charlie, aged 10</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93Q5ksaZ6I/AAAAAAAAAwk/UWrm4CdI5mA/s1600/Henry_Benedict_Maria_Clement_Stuart%252C_Cardinal_York_by_Antonio_David.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93Q5ksaZ6I/AAAAAAAAAwk/UWrm4CdI5mA/s200/Henry_Benedict_Maria_Clement_Stuart%252C_Cardinal_York_by_Antonio_David.jpg" tt="true" width="149" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henry Benedict Stuart, aged 6</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">this is THE cutest little prince!</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Once those pesky Jacobites had settled down, George turned his attn to glaring at his son George Augustus, the new Prince of Wales. They had opposing political views & argued lots. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93Xc2vC4ZI/AAAAAAAAAw8/NRD5FDtZhgo/s1600/GEORGE_II_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93Xc2vC4ZI/AAAAAAAAAw8/NRD5FDtZhgo/s200/GEORGE_II_.jpg" tt="true" width="165" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George Augustus, Prince of Wales</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">At one pt George was so aggravated w/ Junior that he threw him out of St James's Palace. The POWs new residence of Leicester House became a gathering place for Tory peeps who were unfussed w/ the king's Whig bent. None of the Hanoverians seemed too fussed w/ their heirs.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93ST7So0TI/AAAAAAAAAws/XD_lRZqweqI/s1600/Leicester_Square_in_1750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93ST7So0TI/AAAAAAAAAws/XD_lRZqweqI/s200/Leicester_Square_in_1750.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Leicester House (tis now merely Leicester Square, sans the house)</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Junior's wife, Caroline of Ansbach, was said to be way smarter than her DH & she snuggled up to the king's peeps in order to effect a reconciliation after the argument they'd had at the christening of one of their kidlets. Caroline was the 1st Princess of Wales since Catherine of Aragon.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93Y7WfFV9I/AAAAAAAAAxE/VvSjU6Z4v7s/s1600/Caroline_Wilhelmina_of_Brandenburg-Ansbach_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kneller%252C_Bt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93Y7WfFV9I/AAAAAAAAAxE/VvSjU6Z4v7s/s200/Caroline_Wilhelmina_of_Brandenburg-Ansbach_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kneller%252C_Bt.jpg" tt="true" width="124" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Caroline of Ansbach, Princess of Wales</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">George decided to embrace the anti-Spanish sentiment & formed the Triple Alliance, consisting of Great Britain, France, & what was termed the United Provinces, formerly the Low Countries. This became the Quadruple Alliance w/ the addition of the Holy Roman Empire to it & they started up that War of the Spanish Succession that Queen Anne had put an end to all over again. Spain said pffft & started funneling coin to the Scots Jacobites & there was another battle at Glen Shiel, where the Jacobites were trounced. The British had nice artillery & they didn't. OUCH.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then there was the South Sea Bubble. Not as much fun as it sounds LOL Twas merely a lot of stock speculation in an attempt to reduce the national debt & rake groats into the treasury, & as it oft occurs w/ such, the "bubble" happened when the whole thing burst & went kerflooey & lots of peeps lost lots of money. Think like a stock market crash thingy. Lots of nobles were ruint & they glared at George for letting it happen & he became quite unpopular. His main Parliament peep, Sir Robert Walpole, had to do some fancy dancing to keep the king himself from being indicted.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93VJ2f-E0I/AAAAAAAAAw0/5CpT7Ahp2m8/s1600/George-I_lafontaine2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93VJ2f-E0I/AAAAAAAAAw0/5CpT7Ahp2m8/s200/George-I_lafontaine2.jpg" tt="true" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George I</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">George decided to let Walpole handle his domestic policy whilst he concentrated on his foreign policy. This is the start of Prime Ministers getting to have a lot of power in Great Britain. No one much cared when he got some more territory for the growing Hanover out of his Great Northern War w/ Sweden & Russia, but peeps were OK w/ his Treaty of Hanover b/c it was supposed to protect British trade once the Spanish looked round, saw nobody liked em, & created an alliance w/ Austria, which was growing in size & power under the remaining Hapsburgs. Every few yrs George would toddle off to Hanover for a nice long visit & he demised en route there in 1727, having suffered a stroke on the road. Twas decided to leave him there & he was buried in Hanover.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The POW, already in his mid-40s, was likely jumping up & down at finally getting to be the king at last & no father yelling at him all the time. There was the usual nice coronation at Westminster Abbey. This is when Handel was famous & the new king got him to write some music pieces for the coronation, & they've been used for every coronation since.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93ah9AEvGI/AAAAAAAAAxM/BO1jjYRwowY/s1600/George_II_by_Thomas_Hudson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93ah9AEvGI/AAAAAAAAAxM/BO1jjYRwowY/s200/George_II_by_Thomas_Hudson.jpg" tt="true" width="121" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George IIs coronation portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">George & Caroline's eldest son, Frederick, was 20 & had never been to England, as his grandfather liked him to stay in Hanover & preside over official stuff there. Frederick drummed his fingers impatiently waiting to be called over & invested as Prince of Wales. This took about 2 yrs, so he was not amused. His parents hadn't hardly been in Hanover at all, so they had to get reacquainted.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93bbs_O5RI/AAAAAAAAAxU/PdcE4812O_E/s1600/FrederickPrinceOfWales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S93bbs_O5RI/AAAAAAAAAxU/PdcE4812O_E/s200/FrederickPrinceOfWales.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Frederick, Prince of Wales</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">They heartily despised each other....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-16283890523580844402010-05-01T03:09:00.001-04:002010-05-01T03:21:19.181-04:00It Came Wi' a Lass & Will Pass Wi' a Lass<span style="color: #660000;">In 1707 England & Scotland were deemed to be one kingdom under an Act of Union. This had been previously proposed by Jemmy & met w/ a resounding um NO 100 yrs prior. Since Wales had already been sucked into England's orbit w/ a similar act in Henry VIIIs time, this meant the entire island (plus all its little islands) became Great Britain. Twas done mostly b/c the Scots hadn't been consulted about the Act of Settlement, were miffed, & threatening to restore that pesky Jacobite branch as well as the Auld Alliance.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">My, ain't Scarlet timely, b/c this occurred on May Day, & tis! Well, Happy Act of Union Day to you Brits! Grab a streamer & don't sit right on that Maypole ROFL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">So Anne has the distinction of being the last Queen of England, the last Queen of Scots, & the 1st monarch of Great Britain. In addition to having that bitchin' line of furniture & Victorian houses LOL</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9u2yM0UyjI/AAAAAAAAAt4/kydlZDDCHGg/s1600/anne_england.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9u2yM0UyjI/AAAAAAAAAt4/kydlZDDCHGg/s200/anne_england.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Anne, painted after W & Ms accession, after producing the heir</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Rumor had it that b4 Willie demised, Anne had written her father in an effort at reconciliation, asking his permission to succeed to the throne & stating she would consider making her half-bro her heir instead of that German branch of the family if Pops would send 10 yo James Jr on over to be raised at her court as a good little Protestant. This was an ideal solution to the problem, esp w/ how rabidly Jacobite the Scots were, as religion was the main objection to the continuation of the male Stuart line. James rolled his eyes & said um NO. Then he demised of a brain hemorrhage from all that ranting about ungrateful daughters. O, during the French Revolution some <em>sans-culottes</em> tore up the Paris church in which he was buried & you know by now what revolutionaries (& fat greedy kings dissolving monasteries) do w/ old royal bones. So you can see his tomb, but he ain't in it anymore. Why do peeps gotta destroy history like that?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Twas 5 yrs b4 the Act of Union that the gentleman in the little black velvet jacket did his work & Anne, whose succession was deferred in favor of her BIL even tho she was ahead of him, finally became queen. Her 1st act was to appoint her BFF Sarah Churchill as Mistress of the Robes, the highest court position a chick could get (sans queen or princess, natch).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9u7pNBQJAI/AAAAAAAAAuA/3o2I75tu1gQ/s1600/Sarah_Ds_of_M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9u7pNBQJAI/AAAAAAAAAuA/3o2I75tu1gQ/s200/Sarah_Ds_of_M.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Anne enjoyed the usual nice coronation at Westminster Abbey.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9u8BrwivdI/AAAAAAAAAuI/BkJC28ec0vE/s1600/Anne1702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9u8BrwivdI/AAAAAAAAAuI/BkJC28ec0vE/s200/Anne1702.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Anne's coronation portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">As you can see, my, didn't she get tubby in those 14 yrs sitting round waiting for her shot at the throne! And she would get tubbier still. She would give Unks the VIII a run for his money in the end. Forensic historians mucking about in her medical history think that w/ all her childbearing difficulties (only 6 of her 18 pregnancies resulted in breathing offspring, & 3 of those, George, Charles, & another Mary, barely lived a day), her perpetually rosy cheeks (a butterfly rash?), & her sudden ballooning, she might have suffered from lupus. Interesting, huh? There's also peeps that are in the porphyria crowd as well, tho that don't necessarily make one the size of Kansas. Or mayhap she had that RH factor thing, like Anne Boleyn possibly did. Whatever, she definitely had something very medically wrong w/ her when one considers all those demised infants & how sickly were the kidlets that lived. I seriously wonder if James II didn't catch the Frenchie pox at some pt. DH George was never known to have any mistresses, but meh, he could've caught it at some pt as well as he was 11 yrs older than his DW.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">George was apptd Lord High Admiral of England & whilst he was no Tom Seymour LOL, he seemed to be fairly competent in his position. This was good as there would shortly be a nice war where naval support was necessary.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Immediately after Anne was crowned, the English got embroiled in what is called the War of the Spanish Succession. In the colonies this was known as Queen Anne's War. Even tho the drooling idiot king willed Spain to the Bourbons, there was a Hapsburg rellie or 2 out there still who were all indignant about it & twas decided to be on their side just to irk the Frenchies. Marlborough won a huge victory at the battle of Blenheim & became a great hero & came home & started building himself a fabby palace called Blenheim to commemorate his good self. Eventually this would be the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vAS-we5qI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/qT9puEmhNQY/s1600/blenheim_165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vAS-we5qI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/qT9puEmhNQY/s200/blenheim_165.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Blenheim Palace</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Y'all have Anne to thank for all that online © nonsense. Prior to her reign, you could write books all you pleased, but as soon as you had them published, you lost all rights to em & the printer made all the profits after grudgingly shelling out a sm fee to the writer. Anne's Statute, as tis called, gave © to the authors & not the publishers. This was when novel-writing really began to explode b/c there were finally groats to be made off it for the peeps who did it. A pair of classic English novels were published during her reign, <em>Gulliver's Travels</em> & <em>The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe</em>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Under Anne's reign is where that incomprehensible British political system really starts. The 2 major parties at the time were the Tories & the Whigs. Anne was a Tory at heart, & put up w/ those pesky Whigs. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Anne & Sarah started to have a falling out over politics, as Sarah leaned more to the Whig persuasion. Sarah was further infuriated that her cuz, Abigail Masham, a stereotypical poor rellie whom Sarah had taken into her household, then began cozying up to the queen. The handwriting was kinda on the wall for Sarah when Anne's DH George demised aged 55 of a series of strokes. Sarah flew to Kensington Palace to comfort the queen & Anne glared at her & said go away & get me Abby!</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Sarah had a nice rant about ungrateful rellies when Anne apptd Abby as Keeper of the Privy Purse. This meant she was in charge of the queen's money. Then Sarah herself was dismissed kicking & screaming from her own lucrative court position. Anne never did allow her to return to court & Abby remained her BFF.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span> <br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then Anne's baby half-sister, Louisa, demised at the age of 20 from that pesky smallpox.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vMDQO0t_I/AAAAAAAAAuo/SNgQTftEiWA/s1600/louisastuart-jamesiimarymodena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vMDQO0t_I/AAAAAAAAAuo/SNgQTftEiWA/s200/louisastuart-jamesiimarymodena.jpg" tt="true" width="161" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Louisa, youngest child of James II & Mary of Modena</em></span></div><span style="color: #660000;"></span> <br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps sighed & were all wrong one, as James Francis Edward was still in disgustingly good health & eyeing the British throne now that he was a grownup. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vOHmV-A4I/AAAAAAAAAuw/rkGwHaFhSjE/s1600/james_stuart_the_old_pretender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vOHmV-A4I/AAAAAAAAAuw/rkGwHaFhSjE/s200/james_stuart_the_old_pretender.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James Francis Edward Stuart</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #660000;">Mary Beatrice sighed & went into a Frenchie convent.</span> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vOZmyRQcI/AAAAAAAAAu4/wMBwt3-04WY/s1600/mary_mod_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vOZmyRQcI/AAAAAAAAAu4/wMBwt3-04WY/s200/mary_mod_2.jpg" tt="true" width="163" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Mary of Modena</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #660000;">That pesky war was dragging on & becoming increasingly unpopular, so Anne wanted to get out of it. Alas, w/ this whole new 2-party system thingy, she did not have a majority in Parliament to vote in the proposed Treaty of Utrecht that recognized the Bourbon Philip as the new king of Spain as per the drooling idiot king's will. So she hmmm'd some & went, I know, I know! I shall pack the House of Lords! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vIMvz4QXI/AAAAAAAAAuY/kWZ9vYGeBx8/s1600/anne_engraving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vIMvz4QXI/AAAAAAAAAuY/kWZ9vYGeBx8/s200/anne_engraving.jpg" tt="true" width="149" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">contemporary colored engraving of Anne</span></em></div><span style="color: #660000;"></span> <br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She looked em over & created 12 Tory supporters of the treaty peers of the realm all in the same day, incl Abby's DH Samuel, who was raised to a baron & made her Lady Masham instead of plain Mrs Masham. Peeps was all gobsmacked at this audacity b/c no monarch had ever handed out so many peerages like candy b4 all at once. This gave her the votes needed in the House of Lords to get out of the war & let the Frenchies & Hapsburgs fight amongst themselves. This is how Great Britain got possession of Gibraltar, Minorca, St Kitts, & a humungous chunk of Canada, incl Newfoundland & godforsaken cold places near the North Pole in the Hudson Bay area like Rupert's Land (named for the smokin' hot rellie).</span> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vJzQT_YFI/AAAAAAAAAug/MiChlqMqpWA/s1600/Rupert_(Verelst).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9vJzQT_YFI/AAAAAAAAAug/MiChlqMqpWA/s200/Rupert_(Verelst).jpg" tt="true" width="162" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Rupert of the Rhine</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">just b/c I can LOL</span></em></div><span style="color: #660000;"></span> <br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Anne was getting ginormous & having the same toddling issues as Unks the VIII, as she was riddled w/ gout & rather whingy as you might imagine. News came from Germany that her cuz Sophia, who had attained the prodigious age of 73 as queen in waiting, had demised. Wouldn't that tick you off? This meant by the Act of Settlement, Anne's heir was now Sophia's eldest son George, Elector of Hanover. Her little bro, now 26, was not amused & waited avidly for reports on Queen Anne's failing health.</span> <br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span> <br />
<span style="color: #660000;">It seems Anne's gouty toes developed some sort of nasty red skin infection, prolly strep-related b/c that'll kill ya sans antibiotics, which still hadn't been invented. Twasn't reported to be gangrene, at any rate, b/c that's black & yucky. She had the demises aged 49 on the 1st of August 1714, fulfilling James Vs gloomy prophecy at the birth of MQOS. The Stewart line had originated w/ the heirs of Marjorie Stewart during one of those periods where the Scots ran out of boys, & it was ending w/ Queen Anne b/c of stubborn Catholic males.</span> <br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span> <br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Anne was SO ginormous that there was no way she could be stuffed into a regular coffin & one had to be made specially for her great girth. The thing was reportedly almost SQUARE, so that gives you an idea of how much she surpassed Henry VIII in size at the end. She just swelled up like a whale. I'm amazed there wasn't an autopsy done just to see why b/c that ain't normal. Even w/ all those pregnancies she stayed relatively slim & then twas Bloat City all of a sudden. She was hefted into Westminster Abbey for burial whilst peeps awaited the arrival of the 1st King of Great Britain.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-89169770804840230982010-04-30T13:29:00.002-04:002010-05-01T03:17:43.418-04:00Not an Heir to Spare<span style="color: #660000;">From his berth of safety in France, James published diatribes snarling at his ungrateful daughters, Mary in particular, & tried to get peeps to help him get his throne back. The Frenchies rolled their eyes & were all BTDT deja vu, didn't we just do this for your bro? Is it our fault you Stuarts can't grip the arms of your thrones & keep sliding off? Pffft. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9r8ivJL6oI/AAAAAAAAAsg/ruMjNYCPdd0/s1600/james-ii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9r8ivJL6oI/AAAAAAAAAsg/ruMjNYCPdd0/s200/james-ii.jpg" tt="true" width="165" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James II</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">It was cheaper to keep him (he was a son of a Frenchie princess, after all), his wife, the baby in the warming pan, & soon Mary Beatrice produced another child, Louisa Maria Theresa (twas prolly Louise-Marie-Therese in Frenchieland), that also survived the perils of infancy. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9r-C-NkXTI/AAAAAAAAAso/MqgmTvCFCpQ/s1600/Le_Prince_de_Galles_et_la_Princesse_sa_Soeur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9r-C-NkXTI/AAAAAAAAAso/MqgmTvCFCpQ/s200/Le_Prince_de_Galles_et_la_Princesse_sa_Soeur.jpg" tt="true" width="151" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>contemporary engraving of the last Stuart prince & princess</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">James was 54 & would live to be 67, a prodigious age, & in disgruntled exile just like he'd been prior to the Restoration. Apparently he was too old & stupid to get it. Paris had been worth a Mass for Henry of Navarre, who cheerfully changed religions to get his crown, but I reckon London wasn't worth treating w/ those renegade Anglicans anymore than it had been worth treating w/ those pocky Roundhead Puritans for his father. I blame Henry VIII for this mess LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">William & Mary were crowned at Westminster Abbey in April 1689 whilst James was busy scribbling, with her sister Anne as heir-presumptive. Anne had been married to Prince George of Denmark, a younger bro of King Christian V, & had been breeding like a rabbit w/ little success. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sASH3n_XI/AAAAAAAAAsw/7cGX7qypb5o/s1600/georgedenmark1653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sASH3n_XI/AAAAAAAAAsw/7cGX7qypb5o/s200/georgedenmark1653.jpg" tt="true" width="143" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George, Prince of Denmark</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">At the time of the coronation, 23 yo Anne already had 6 pregnancies in as many yrs of marriage, broken down into 2 miscarriages, 2 stillbirths, & 2 daughters, Mary, who died shortly b4 her 2nd BD, & Anne Sophia, who died shortly b4 her 1st BD. Peeps shrugged & said hey, if Mary Beatrice can pull it off after all this time, mayhap so can Anne & George. Ya can't say the newly created Duke & Duchess of Cumberland didn't try, as poor Anne endured EIGHTEEN PREGNANCIES OW OW OW in an effort to produce the desired Protestant Stuart heir.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The orphaned 38 yo William had been jerked around during his regency period (as was normal) & if it hadn't been for the interference of Uncle Charles glaring at those greedy Dutch after his sis's demise, he might've still been in leading strings or just as deposed as Uncle James, his FIL (yknow for being against incest so much, the Catholic Church sure permitted lots of it in these royal marriages LOL). Willie was said to be mighty arrogant & confident he was destined for great things, so natch conducting what would be the last successful invasion of England & claiming its crown was just an average day's work to him. Mary was said to quietly defer to him in everything & twas Willie who would take on the kingly duties even tho his DW got a number after her name & was not merely a Queen Consort.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sDSEBl-2I/AAAAAAAAAs4/yt2t6XFyP6w/s1600/Queen_Mary_II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sDSEBl-2I/AAAAAAAAAs4/yt2t6XFyP6w/s200/Queen_Mary_II.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Mary II</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary was not amused by the influence of Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, on her sis Anne.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sD5dVl0GI/AAAAAAAAAtA/GhcS4ESYuMY/s1600/Sarah_Churchill_Duchess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sD5dVl0GI/AAAAAAAAAtA/GhcS4ESYuMY/s200/Sarah_Churchill_Duchess.jpg" tt="true" width="160" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Lots has been speculated about the sex lives of these last 3 Stuart monarchs. Tho Willie had an official mistress, Elizabeth Villiers, a cuz of Barbara's, he was also whispered about b/c he had some male favs as well & made a cpl Dutch peeps that he hung w/ a lot into English earls. Mary didn't seem to have any particular favs, but peeps said meh how come she ain't breeding, huh? Does she dig chicks? Anne, however, was so close to her lady in waiting Sarah that they called each other "Mrs Freeman" & "Mrs Morley", making peeps raise eyebrows at such nonsense as ya would. Despite the fact that Anne was perpetually pregnant, twas rumored she preferred to bat for the other team & Sarah was not just her BFF but her GF.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Natch there was the usual rumors about James's peeps plotting (James is Jacob in Latin & hence these peeps were called Jacobites) & Anne was furious when Mary dismissed Sarah's DH from his offices upon suspicion of such. The 2 sisters had a flaming row & never spoke to each other again. Mary didn't get to enjoy her queenship long, as she demised of that pesky smallpox thing at Kensington Palace during the Christimas celebrations of 1694. Anne was all weepy that she never made up her quarrel w/ her big sis.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sHYClsJSI/AAAAAAAAAtI/HNKB8K_YinI/s1600/kensington-palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sHYClsJSI/AAAAAAAAAtI/HNKB8K_YinI/s200/kensington-palace.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Kensington Palace</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Anne produced an heir at Hampton Court, William, Duke of Gloucester, not long after W & M were coronated.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sH_CproRI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/Rtp5CU-6ccI/s1600/gardens-hampton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sH_CproRI/AAAAAAAAAtQ/Rtp5CU-6ccI/s200/gardens-hampton.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>back end of Hampton Court, remodled by W & M</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">However, as an infant William suffered from bouts of convulsions & had an unusually lg head. He didn't speak a word until he was 3 yrs old, which natch had peeps looking at him sideways thinking o good another inbred idiot. Despite this, little Gloucester was set b4 a passel of tutors anyway & weren't peeps surprised when he suddenly started to catch up. Anne & Willie glared at each other lots b/c the king wanted complete charge over his heir's household & his mother was all um NO not my poor little delicate lad! Willie being king natch won HA HA. The sickly Gloucester was faskinated by military stuff & had peeps recruit lots of other kidlets to create a little troop that he could drill LOL The poor brat got the sicks on his 11th BD, coming down w/ a sore throat & a fever, & was demised within the wk, to universal Protestant dismay.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sKbA4Qr3I/AAAAAAAAAtY/KJ8Lyx17bDI/s1600/WilliamDukeOfGloucester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sKbA4Qr3I/AAAAAAAAAtY/KJ8Lyx17bDI/s200/WilliamDukeOfGloucester.jpg" tt="true" width="134" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William, Duke of Gloucester</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Twas obvs neither Anne nor the widowed Willie were going to spawn another heir by this pt & peeps were nervously wringing their hands as James's boy piped up & said I'M NEXT!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sK1Zum4-I/AAAAAAAAAtg/T1hnuF1z9HI/s1600/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart_c__1703_attributed_to_Alexis_Simon_Belle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sK1Zum4-I/AAAAAAAAAtg/T1hnuF1z9HI/s200/James_Francis_Edward_Stuart_c__1703_attributed_to_Alexis_Simon_Belle.jpg" tt="true" width="166" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James Francis Edward Stuart, aged 14</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">What to do, what to do? Parliament hmmm'd & then passed the Act of Settlement. This settled the succession upon the Winter Queen's youngest & only surviving child, Sophia, Electress of Hanover. Reckon they were getting used to queens regnant by now LOL</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sMGAnaTEI/AAAAAAAAAto/mI9_3pVjNP0/s1600/Sophie_von_der_Pfalz_als_Indianerin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sMGAnaTEI/AAAAAAAAAto/mI9_3pVjNP0/s200/Sophie_von_der_Pfalz_als_Indianerin.jpg" tt="true" width="168" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sophia, Electress of Hanover, circa 1644</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, Willie was rejected as king by the Irish Parliament & went over there to settle some Irish hash. This is why you never ever walk into a bar on St Patrick's Day wearing anything orange. The Irish have long memories & Willie wasn't particularly nice to them. Suffice to say the usual wartime atrocities & then some. James also went to Ireland b/c he could count on their support against the usurping Orangeman & his ungrateful daughters. The 2 armies clashed at the battle of the Boyne, which was a spectacular victory for Willie & sent James off screaming RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sNj3o9dzI/AAAAAAAAAtw/zMiosniJrKo/s1600/800px-Jan_van_Huchtenburg_-_De_slag_aan_de_Boyne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9sNj3o9dzI/AAAAAAAAAtw/zMiosniJrKo/s200/800px-Jan_van_Huchtenburg_-_De_slag_aan_de_Boyne.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">The Battle of the Boyne</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Once the Irish were suitably cowed, the Scots began uprising in favor of James as well. This is where we get Rob Roy from & this 1st Jacobite uprising led to the infamous Massacre of Glencoe, a big black blot on Willie's escutcheon as he signed off on it (really, they got his sig on the orders). Clan MacDonald was decimated by this unsportsmanlike sneak attack, made w/ the assistance of Clan Campbell, & the Scots were so unamused that the entire country became a breeding ground for Jacobite support & propaganda for the next 50 yrs or so. Them Scots can remember almost as good as the Irish. Methinks the Campbells & MacDonalds are still feuding about it to this day. If you are ever in Scotland do NOT make jokes about such things. Same deal at the St Patrick's Day thing w/ the wearing o' the orange. Sure way to lose some teeth once ya toss liquor into the equation.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">There was the usual Jacobite plotting to assassinate Willie & there was a tad of OFF WITH HIS HEAD once twas discovered. Really, the ratio of smart plotters v. dumb ones is quite lopsided when you consider just how many plots never came to fruition. Willie must've enjoyed being a warrior king b/c he joined the League of Augsburg & had a nice Frenchie war in addition to the domestic rebellions. This was called the 9 Yrs' War & ended when whatever Louis it was recognized Willie's kingship & agreed to not supply James w/ any more soldiers & stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">This is round the time when that drooling idiot king of Spain was on the throne & the rest of the European peeps were eyeing the kingdom & hmmm'ing about who should get it. Willie entered into a nice scheme where Spain would be partitioned up & he'd get a chunk of it. But despite the fact that Charles II wasn't all there, he had a lucid moment & willed his kingdom to his cousin Philip in France. This is how there got to be Bourbon kings of Spain & the mighty Hapsburg line w/ all its inbreeding mercifully came to an end. Ya just can't go round marrying your nieces like that! See what it gets ya?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Willie fell off his horse & broke his collarbone & b4 ya knew it, pneumonia set in & he was a goner, leaving his kingdom to his SIL Anne as agreed. This is hilarious b/c apparently the horse stepped into a burrow hole & so the Jacobites, who already were doing the sneaky toast to the king across the water, were then toasting "the gentleman in the little black velvet jacket", a reference to the mole what dug the hole ROFL Since Willie left no heirs, it meant the end of the despised House of Orange in Holland & a nice power-scramble there as well. Willie was also technically the last king of England b/c....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-43263281026953140092010-04-29T21:09:00.003-04:002010-04-29T23:26:06.392-04:00We Don't Need No Steenking Papists!<span style="color: #660000;">The Catholic Duke of York was now James II, King of England. Peeps muttered about him being a papist, but the transition from bro Charles to him went smoothly at first & James was crowned at Westminster Abbey a cpl mos after Charles had the demises. Parliament eyed him warily, but since he wasn't attempting to shove any religious tripe at em, they shrugged & dealt w/ him fairly enough. James & Mary Beatrice had entombed their last surviving child, Charlotte, 3 yrs ago, & the new queen's waistline showed no further signs of expansion, so peeps figured meh a few yrs of him & then we'll get a nice Protestant queen again.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oPel-ai4I/AAAAAAAAAq4/6zZhzVai2mQ/s1600/King_James_II_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oPel-ai4I/AAAAAAAAAq4/6zZhzVai2mQ/s200/King_James_II_.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James II</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There natch was a disaffected minority round James, Duke of Monmouth, the eldest of Charles's acknowledged bastards. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oQO-vd4ZI/AAAAAAAAArA/JZ1zTlJOHy0/s1600/monmouth3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oQO-vd4ZI/AAAAAAAAArA/JZ1zTlJOHy0/s200/monmouth3.jpg" tt="true" width="168" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James Scott, Duke of Monmouth</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">For yonks peeps had been urging Charles to legitimicize Jamie & make him the nice Protestant heir. Mayhap Charles didn't do so b/c those rumors about Lucy Walter's promiscuity were true & he wasn't sure if the kid was really his, just like w/ some of Barbara's brats. Anyhow, the muttering led to Monmouth's Rebellion. Jamie got into bed w/ the Scots so as to launch a 2-pronged attack. The Scots peeps were trounced b4 they ever got started b/c the leader of the rebellion, Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll, managed to get himself captured & executed. Jamie, however, went & declared himself as King James II & launched a sneaky nighttime attack on the royal troops, getting soundly whupped at the battle of Sedgemoor & handed a Tower Fun Pass. Unks was all OFF WITH HIS HEAD & twas accomplished within a month. Jamie was just 36. Tis the chance ya take when ya try to shove peeps off their thrones.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oRulzyR7I/AAAAAAAAArI/JSbhiYj0DQY/s1600/Duke_of_Monmouth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oRulzyR7I/AAAAAAAAArI/JSbhiYj0DQY/s200/Duke_of_Monmouth.jpg" tt="true" width="127" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>contemporary drawing of Monmouth's execution;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Scarlet is wondering if mayhap this 7 of spades</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">ain't part of a whole deck of Tower Fun Pass cards LOL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then followed what was known as the Bloody Assizes, presided over by Judge George Jeffreys, to deal w/ the multitude of captured rebels. 250 more executions took place b/c Judge Jeffreys was worse than Judge Judy LOL & took no prisoners & gave no quarter.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">James decided in order to protect his royal arse, he required a standing army. No more of this pesky running round trying to raise troops thing kings had to do when there was trouble. Natch peeps looked at him sideways b/c armed Catholics yadda yadda. Jeez, ya'd think they'd have gotten over this religious nonsense by now, huh? Nope. Back in Charles's reign the Test Act had been shoved through Parliament, which said Catholics couldn't hold public office; at the time James had to resign as Lord High Admiral b/c of that stuff. I reckon "king" didn't count as public office b/c they let him do that. Anyway, James waived that so that some Catholic peeps could be in charge in his army & muttering commenced. James said pffft & decided to send Parliament home, never to be called back. Did he learn nuffin from Pops's debacle?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oUacbSMQI/AAAAAAAAArQ/C1OJV-XqwRk/s1600/Charles_I_and_James_II.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oUacbSMQI/AAAAAAAAArQ/C1OJV-XqwRk/s200/Charles_I_and_James_II.png" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James as a lad w/ Charles I</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">James's longtime mistress, Arabella Churchill, the elder sister of the Duke of Marlborough (who was said to have fathered Barbara's youngest), had been retired after 4 royal Fitzjames bastards, Henrietta, James, Henry, & Arabella, & married off to some peep who didn't mind royal leavings.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oVJap_ZZI/AAAAAAAAArY/Rk7WFXArl08/s1600/Arabella_Churchill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oVJap_ZZI/AAAAAAAAArY/Rk7WFXArl08/s200/Arabella_Churchill.jpg" tt="true" width="166" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lady Arabella Churchill</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Even though James had a hot young trophy wife in the person of Mary Beatrice, his new mistress was Catherine Sedley, whom he created Countess of Dorchester, to more muttering. They had one daughter, called Lady Catherine Darnley, a nod to Great-Grandpa.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oV1jEY3OI/AAAAAAAAArg/6qgaWgYapIU/s1600/Catherine_Sedley_Countess_of_Dorchester_by_Sir_Peter_Lely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oV1jEY3OI/AAAAAAAAArg/6qgaWgYapIU/s200/Catherine_Sedley_Countess_of_Dorchester_by_Sir_Peter_Lely.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Catherine Sedley, Countess of Dorchester</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The queen hadn't conceived in yonks after spawning 5 doomed royal brats in 7 yrs & that was how peeps liked it, esp after James decided to dip his toe into religious matters. He thunk those radical Presbyterians of the Scots Kirk were getting out of control & wanted em to play nicely or get arrested. The Scots were all o yeah? What about those mouthy Catholics we got up here? How come you don't wanna arrest them, King Papist, huh? The official state religion was Anglican since the time of Elizabeth, so anyone who wasn't should be equally persecuted for their beliefs. James sighed & backed off some, as natch he wasn't gonna start rounding up rosaries, & decided to violate the Test Act some more by appting Catholics to plum govt positions. Ya gotta wonder if he was TRYING to get shoved off his throne at this pt, b/c of course the Anglican bishops & such were unamused w/ his whole religious stance to begin w/ & this was like rubbing Protestant noses in holy water LOL</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oaHEUV2_I/AAAAAAAAAro/rkgcy4Jj_gI/s1600/jamesii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9oaHEUV2_I/AAAAAAAAAro/rkgcy4Jj_gI/s200/jamesii.jpg" tt="true" width="161" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James II</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">James hmmm'd some & thunk meh, I'll just see if I can't pack Parliament w/ lots of my own peeps & get that whole pesky Test Act thing repealed entirely. Whilst he was busy attempting to drum up support for that, he was also getting busy w/ the queen, & for the 1st time in over 5 yrs Mary Beatrice had to let out her gowns again. Peeps were all w/ meh, w/ her track record, we got nuffin to worry about.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Weren't they all shocked when Mary Beatrice managed to produce another lad! Stories began to circulate that after that lengthy breeding pause she either hadn't been pregnant at all, or that the latest legit royal Stuart had been stillborn & this male infant had somehow been smuggled into the queen's lying-in chambers. Little James Francis Edward Stuart started life known as "the baby in the warming pan" b/c that was the rumor of just how he'd been smuggled into St James's Palace.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ob52khXXI/AAAAAAAAArw/ImbsYLykchc/s1600/James_III_and_Mary_of_Modena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ob52khXXI/AAAAAAAAArw/ImbsYLykchc/s200/James_III_and_Mary_of_Modena.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mary of Modena & her young son James</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Had he eventually succeeded his father as James III, he would've been king for a good long time as he didn't demise until the reign of George III & mayhap all you Brits would've been Catholics again. His birth was no cause for celebration in England, as after 6 yrs they were used to thinking James II was only going to be a temporary Catholic annoyance until he was succeeded by his elder legit Protestant daughter, Mary of Orange. Unlike the other unfortunate little Yorks, this one was plump & thriving & would undoubtedly be raised in the Roman Catholic Church by his doting parents & grow up to be another annoying Catholic king, cutting his half-sisters neatly out of the succession by virtue of gender.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, James was irking the Anglicans, b/c he had 7 bishops arrested for submitting a protest to him about his alarming Catholic-slanted religious policies. What w/ all this Catholic nonsense & now a male heir, peeps began sneaking across the Channel to Orange, whispering into the ears of Mary & her DH William.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ohbwcZUiI/AAAAAAAAAr4/HfCrGR2MsGw/s1600/Mary_II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ohbwcZUiI/AAAAAAAAAr4/HfCrGR2MsGw/s200/Mary_II.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mary II</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">William & Mary, as they're commonly termed, had already been wed 11 yrs by this time & Mary at age 26 had suffered 3 miscarriages, so she wasn't exactly whatcha'd call a good breeder, either. Despite the lack of little Protestant heirs appearing, peeps were beckoning just the same. Hey, guys, c'mon over! Yeah, you! We don't need no steenking papists in England! We need nice Protestants. Sure, we'll give Willie the Crown Matrimonial, even! Equal powers & all that. Whatcha say, kids? Are ya gonna let this brat smuggled into the palace in a warming pan steal the throne right out from under ya?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Um NO was the stern reply. Mary had been regarded as heir presumptive since the day she was born & her DH considered her crown potential as part of her dowry, plus as the son of that other Mary of Orange, Charles Is daughter, he had a splendid claim himself, right after his DW & her sis Anne. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9okPFWdOaI/AAAAAAAAAsA/tNWyfOMn5eQ/s1600/Anne%252C_Queen_of_Great_Britain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9okPFWdOaI/AAAAAAAAAsA/tNWyfOMn5eQ/s200/Anne%252C_Queen_of_Great_Britain.jpg" tt="true" width="128" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Anne of York, aged 17</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">William gleefully prepared an invasion force like it was 1066 & he was a bastard, cruising up the Strait of Dover & landing in England on Guy Fawkes' Day (remember remember the 5th of November). This is known as the Glorious Revolution.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9olSGotzOI/AAAAAAAAAsI/QFRYVXJBeBo/s1600/William_III_Landing_at_Brixham%252C_Torbay%252C_5_November_1688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9olSGotzOI/AAAAAAAAAsI/QFRYVXJBeBo/s200/William_III_Landing_at_Brixham%252C_Torbay%252C_5_November_1688.jpg" tt="true" width="164" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William III</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>commemoration portrait of his invasion</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">James was all gobsmacked....how he didn't see this coming I'm sure I dunno....& all come over unnecessary when peeps started declaring for William & Mary. There were violent anti-Catholic riots in several major English cities. Anne went over to her sister's side, as did one of James's BFFs, John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. Mayhap he was unamused w/ James's dalliance w/ sis Arabella & her 4 resulting bastards?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9omogqPHhI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/Djmn1A3mVyc/s1600/John_Churchill%252C_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough_by_John_Closterman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9omogqPHhI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/Djmn1A3mVyc/s200/John_Churchill%252C_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough_by_John_Closterman.jpg" tt="true" width="165" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Natch James was afeared that if William's peeps caught him, he'd be up on a scaffold just like Dad w/ his head falling off into a basket. William began advancing on London & trounced the royal army at the battle of Reading. O SHITE, James groaned, this ain't good at all, & sent Mary Beatrice & the infant Prince of Wales off to safety in France. The next day he deliberately dropped the Great Seal into the Thames, sneering HA! TAKE THAT, WILLIE! b/c sans such, Parliament couldn't be summoned. Like they just couldn't make a new one LOL He tried escaping his good self but was captured & brought back to London to treat w/ his SIL.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Willie was all jeez, I dunno as if I can guarantee your safety, old man MUWHAHAHA By now the English Navy had come over to his side as well & he could pretty much do as he pleased, but he was reluctant to arrest his DWs daddy, let alone holler OFF WITH HIS HEAD! He didn't think Mary would be amenable to attempting to create little Protestant heirs if he did that. Twas a touchy situtation but James was sufficiently scared out of his wits feeling the executioner's cold kiss on the back of his neck, so he gulped & agreed to leave town under Dutch guard. Willie had him sent to Rochester on the coast of Kent, tempting James w/ the broad expanse of the English Channel & prolly hoping like hell the old man would take the bait & decide twas time to RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!, thereby solving the issue of what to do w/ him.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9opzgIvdQI/AAAAAAAAAsY/nqQeh20lwUg/s1600/Rochester-Castle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9opzgIvdQI/AAAAAAAAAsY/nqQeh20lwUg/s200/Rochester-Castle2.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Rochester Castle</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Scamper off to France posthaste for Christmas is what James did. The fact that he was able to so quickly & EZ-ily give his guards the slip means twas likely he played right into his SILs hands. To Willie's disappointment, a sparkly crown was not immediately hurled at him by what was called the Convention Parliament. He got all huffy & said, well, if my FIL pops back over, I'm outta here & you peeps are stuck w/ a Catholic king, & dontcha come crying to me about it anymore. I didn't go to all this trouble just to be made a steenking Lord Protector of the Realm, yknow. Y'all best make my DW the queen & me the king or we're on the next boat to Orange!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So Parliament hmmm'd & decided that by running off to France, James had essentially left the throne vacant, requiring it be filled w/ a new occupant posthaste. The House of Commons put it to a vote & said OK William & Mary tis, but the House of Lords said um NO. Willie stamped his foot & said I AM TAKING MY TOY SOLDIERS HERE & GOING HOME IF I DON'T GET WHAT I WANT & Y'ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! If he departed, the field was clear for James to return & go nay, nay, my bad, didn't mean to abdicate, so sorry, now where were we about repealing that Test Act nonsense again & o yeah, don't forget to do homage to my Catholic son & heir on the way out.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary insisted she'd not be the queen if her DH was not also the king, & she poked Anne to pipe up & temporarily waive her own right to the throne should her sis pre-demise her BIL, since Willie had a decent claim of his own. There was more hmmm'ing & wheeler-dealing & the English Bill of Rights, sometimes called the Declaration of Right, was composed & passed thru Parliament whilst Willie tapped his spurs impatiently. Finally in February the English crown was offered to W & M by Parliament (tho it took till May for the Scots to do the same whilst the Irish thumbed their noses at the whole thing & stayed steadfast for James), who accepted & began planning a nice coronation.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-62166357517401428592010-04-25T23:51:00.000-04:002010-04-25T23:51:54.129-04:00Fever, Fire, Catholics, & C-C-Cold<span style="color: #660000;">W/ the Merry Monarch setting the tone, court was a hoppin' venue w/ lots of action to be had. His pal Rochester (he was an excellent poet, John Wilmot was BTW, but a lot of em ya gotta know the history to realize how funny & satirical they really are) said of him in verse:</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><em>God bless our good & gracious king</em></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><em>Whose promise none relies on</em></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><em>Who never said a foolish thing</em></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><em>Nor ever did a wise one</em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">To which Charles replied, too true, b/c my words are my own, but my actions are my councilors' LOL Anyhow, there was so much fun to be had in Restoration London that the Frenchie pox went around rather well & Rochester eventually demised of it. Twas quite sad as he had such a bad case of it that he was only in his mid-30s when he died, but he'd also given it to his wife, & she passed it along to their son, who was then born w/ birth defects & demised young whilst Rochester had to watch & know twas all his fault & he'd kilt his own son via his sexual excesses.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Rochester also once wrote a long & hugely amusing poem entitled <em>Satyr on Charles II</em>, & ended up being kicked out of court for a while when Charles found it going round, as it made fun of him, his mistresses, & his own licentious habits. An infamous couplet from it says:</span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: #660000;">Restless he rolls about from whore to whore, </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: #660000;">A merry monarch, scandalous and poor.</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">And that's the cleanest part of it ROFL The bit about Nelly striving to bring Charles to full attn is priceless.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T2Qi0zAxI/AAAAAAAAAoI/T8p3TTaO7Tk/s1600/charles+II+child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T2Qi0zAxI/AAAAAAAAAoI/T8p3TTaO7Tk/s200/charles+II+child.jpg" tt="true" width="171" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Charles II as a cute little innocent lad</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T2gp7JXII/AAAAAAAAAoQ/ARKzh1Hg1cA/s1600/Charles_II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T2gp7JXII/AAAAAAAAAoQ/ARKzh1Hg1cA/s200/Charles_II.jpg" tt="true" width="141" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Charles II as a dirty old man</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">2 major events kinda curtailed the fun for a while. The 1st was known as the Great Plague. Everyone was all RUN AWAY RUN AWAY when this started making the rounds. London turned into a ghost town. Carts went round each morning ringing bells & calling, "Bring out your dead!" & they would just hurl corpses into a huge pit. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T5mWqhJrI/AAAAAAAAAoY/hCbRziaNTJU/s1600/greatplague.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T5mWqhJrI/AAAAAAAAAoY/hCbRziaNTJU/s200/greatplague.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">"Bring out your dead!"</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">If there was a plague victim in your house then a red cross was painted on your door & sometimes, if the peep doing so was literate, they'd add "May God have mercy on us" to it. A nurse was sent, a guard was posted & wasn't no one allowed to come out, even if they weren't sick. Ya gotta wonder how many extra peeps either starved to death or mayhap kilt the guards to get out for food. The peeps who took the positions of nurse & guard were of the lowest classes & sometimes robbed & murdered the plague-stricken peeps so they could move on to the next place & collect more pay, esp if there were no rellies present to stop them. The nurses had no formal training whatsoever & not a clue what they were doing. This sucker was virulent & had a high contagion & mortality rate. Tis usually spread by flea bites from fleas off infected rats that came in on ships from places that had the plague. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So the 2nd thing cured the Great Plague....</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">....by crisping all the fleas. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T64GtaArI/AAAAAAAAAog/Tg776W8UhVQ/s1600/greatfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T64GtaArI/AAAAAAAAAog/Tg776W8UhVQ/s200/greatfire.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Great Fire of London</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This was the Great Fire of 1666, which started on a September Sunday morn in a street called Pudding Lane & spread like crazy. St Paul's Cathedral (where Cath & Art had been wed) went up in it along w/ close to 14,000 houses. The current domed St Paul's was designed by architect Sir Christopher Wren (he also designed the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg VA) to replace the burnt one. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T7Lai-VyI/AAAAAAAAAoo/I8DDyPIJX4U/s1600/stpaulsfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T7Lai-VyI/AAAAAAAAAoo/I8DDyPIJX4U/s200/stpaulsfire.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>contemporary drawing of St Paul's going up in flames</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles & James got right out there in the thick of it & fought the blaze along w/ the regular peeps, creating firebreaks in hopes of containing it. This is when you leave enough barren space btwn the fire & other buildings so that it has naught to burn but the ground & will eventually go out on its own. There was no fire dept, but there were peeps in neighborhoods that volunteered for sich things when they occurred & had things called firehooks to rip down building walls. Twas soon clear this & the usual bucket brigades were not good enough for this blaze. Peeps saw it was getting out of control & started going RUN AWAY RUN AWAY & pretty soon London's narrow lanes were clogged w/ refugees. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T91hTKyyI/AAAAAAAAAow/25Yfp8iETOM/s1600/Great_Fire_London.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T91hTKyyI/AAAAAAAAAow/25Yfp8iETOM/s200/Great_Fire_London.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>another view of the Great Fire;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>London Bridge to the L & the Tower to the R</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Lord Mayor of London stood there w/ his mouth open going O SHITE & wasn't much good at organizing, so Charles had to smack him out of the way & take over b/c the raging conflagration was going in the direction of his fav palace of Whitehall (formerly Wolsey's London palace of York Place, which he'd handed over to Henry VIII). Bro James went & got the militia peeps to help out & took charge of them. Twas quite windy, which didn't help matters. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T_fW4qasI/AAAAAAAAAo4/n4MWWwO1r5w/s1600/whitehall_palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9T_fW4qasI/AAAAAAAAAo4/n4MWWwO1r5w/s200/whitehall_palace.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>drawing of Whitehall Palace</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>all that's left of it today is the Banqueting House</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Whole blocks were dynamited for the firebreak attempt, using gunpowder stored in the Tower. Twas inching toward it & if it got there the Tower would've blown up in a spectacular fashion & the thing would've really gone out of control. Finally, after 3 days of this nonsense, the wind changed direction & started blowing the flames in the direction of the Thames until it had naught left to burn & then it rained some, which helped w/ all the smouldering. Cost a lot of groats to fix this mess lemmee tell ya; they estimate round a billion in today's currency.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Betcha w/ all tis pestilence & fire peeps thunk twas the start of the Apocalypse, huh? Of course not. They just blamed everything on those darn Catholics. Of course there was the usual mutterings about suspecting Catholics or foreigners of starting the fire on purpose, so in the midst of the fire there were some beatings & lynchings; anyone sans a proper English accent or carrying a rosary ran & hid posthaste. Afterwards some Catholic peep who was said to be not right in the head confessed to starting it & was hanged, but his story kept changing details & historians think twas merely just an accident in the bakery where it began.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Despite how much the Catholics were hated, James had decided to become one & he was Charles's heir-presumptive b/c the queen wasn't breeding. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UBzjOtFlI/AAAAAAAAApA/ArHervvVqvk/s1600/eng_jamestii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UBzjOtFlI/AAAAAAAAApA/ArHervvVqvk/s200/eng_jamestii.jpg" tt="true" width="138" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James, Duke of York</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles & Catherine tried harder, but there was just another cpl miscarriages. Peeps were getting antsy about the possibility of a Catholic king, plus James just had 2 legit girls. So his elder daughter Mary was betrothed to their sis Mary's son, William of Orange, who was Protestant, to stop the muttering.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UCERLkpoI/AAAAAAAAApI/iBSqIePhVhE/s1600/maryii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UCERLkpoI/AAAAAAAAApI/iBSqIePhVhE/s200/maryii.jpg" tt="true" width="161" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mary of York</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UCQW3fAHI/AAAAAAAAApQ/efwJToBHXdQ/s1600/william3england.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UCQW3fAHI/AAAAAAAAApQ/efwJToBHXdQ/s200/william3england.jpg" tt="true" width="131" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William III of Orange</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, Charles had a little war w/ the Dutch over trade stuff, established Carolina Colony & the Hudson's Bay Company in the New World, & the British East India Company was bringing in lots of goodies from Bombay, esp the tea peeps enjoyed so. Things would be going well were it not for that pesky succession thing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">And natch, those darn Catholics! There was a plot to poison the king headed by a peep named Titus Oates. He didn't even get his name on it like the MQOS plotting peeps did. Peeps just sneered & called it the Popish Plot LOL Charles was enraged when Parliament pulled the same thing on him that they'd threatened to pull on Daddy & called for a vote on if the Catholic queen should be banished forthwith after the Popish Plot. Luckily not enough peeps voted OK on it. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UCyued1xI/AAAAAAAAApY/ApaIF0kDryI/s1600/Catherine_of_Braganza_by_Gennari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UCyued1xI/AAAAAAAAApY/ApaIF0kDryI/s200/Catherine_of_Braganza_by_Gennari.jpg" tt="true" width="161" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Catherine of Braganza</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But they did start muttering that 4 miscarriages in 8 yrs was not a good thing when the queen was past 30 & when the heir-presumptive was Catholic & mayhap Charles should pull an Unks the VIII & get a nice divorce. The Anglican Church would sign off on it lickety-split, none of this bribing popes & waiting 11dy6 yrs anymore. Then Charles, who was pushing 40 already, could find a nice new fertile wench 1/2 his age & commence breeding legit heirs instead of all those illegit heirs they had to support along w/ all the mums. There was no time to lose w/ Catholic James standing btwn his Protestant girls as the next set of heirs. Ya gotta like Charles for his classiness in the matter b/c he said um NO. The queen stays. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">FINE, his peeps growled, tho nobody got why he wanted to stay married to a homely, unfertile Catholic wench. Charles didn't even have to be like Henry VIII & go HA HA tis Cath's fault not mine b/c he had brats galore every time he turned around. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UDIZqpL5I/AAAAAAAAApg/IrbLh-LgG40/s1600/barbarfitzroy-castlemaine-johnchurchill-marlboroughduke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UDIZqpL5I/AAAAAAAAApg/IrbLh-LgG40/s200/barbarfitzroy-castlemaine-johnchurchill-marlboroughduke.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Barbara Fitzroy, the Duchess of Cleveland's youngest;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>acknowledged by Charles as his bastard, but possibly the daughter</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UD31a_I_I/AAAAAAAAApo/GWisKBw4T1E/s1600/charlottefitzroy-countesslichfield-castlemaine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UD31a_I_I/AAAAAAAAApo/GWisKBw4T1E/s200/charlottefitzroy-countesslichfield-castlemaine.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charlotte Fitzroy, Countess of Litchfield;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>bastard daughter of Charles & Barbara Villiers</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UEHc8XORI/AAAAAAAAApw/A9nVnAMa89U/s1600/charleslennox-kerouaille-earlrichmond.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UEHc8XORI/AAAAAAAAApw/A9nVnAMa89U/s200/charleslennox-kerouaille-earlrichmond.jpg" tt="true" width="153" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond & Lennox;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>bastard son of Charles & Louise de Kerouaille</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UE2Ezh-hI/AAAAAAAAAp4/QgrmXZ2Z2d0/s1600/monmouth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UE2Ezh-hI/AAAAAAAAAp4/QgrmXZ2Z2d0/s200/monmouth.jpg" tt="true" width="164" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James Scott, Duke of Monmouth</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>bastard son of Charles & Lucy Walter</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">His peeps edged in closer & said well, just b/c he has cojones don't mean we necessarily require your bro, tisn't as if he done his legit breeding duty very well, either. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UF4MAW_bI/AAAAAAAAAqA/tFkHSLPsiR8/s1600/jamesfitzjames-jamesii-arabellachurchill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UF4MAW_bI/AAAAAAAAAqA/tFkHSLPsiR8/s200/jamesfitzjames-jamesii-arabellachurchill.jpg" tt="true" width="165" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James Fitzjames, Duke of Berwick;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>bastard son of James & Arabella Churchill</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Why dontcha just skip over James & pick your own successor peep, like Henry & Edward done? Charles rolled his eyes & said, yes, & THAT worked out so well, didn't it? Quit bugging me!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So Anthony Ashley Cooper (there's rivers in South Carolina named for him), the Earl of Shaftesbury, intro'd a bill into the House of Lords just banning James from the succession outright! It didn't pass, either, but Anne Hyde started hacking up a lung.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The youngest member of the royal family was little Minette. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UG0jm6xxI/AAAAAAAAAqI/BBw-pCrvWjk/s1600/minette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UG0jm6xxI/AAAAAAAAAqI/BBw-pCrvWjk/s200/minette.jpg" tt="true" width="148" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henrietta Anne AKA Minette, Duchess of Orleans</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She married Philip, Duke of Orleans (rumor had it he not only batted for the other team but also played dress-up, which had been applied to one of Elizabeth's former Frenchie suitors as well, her Frog's bro Henry). </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UHIJApwwI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/IU38Ioolgcs/s1600/philippedorleans-minette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UHIJApwwI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/IU38Ioolgcs/s200/philippedorleans-minette.jpg" tt="true" width="197" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Philip, Duke of Orleans</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Minette demised suddenly at Chateau St Cloud just a fortnight after assisting Charles w/ successfully negotiating the Treaty of Dover, a seecrud defensive alliance w/ France. At 1st twas rumored Minette was poisoned, as all sudden deaths were, but there was a post-mortem & YUCK, she died of peritonitis from a perforated stomach ulcer. OUCH. I reckon if your DH was stealing your bestest dresses & makeup to wear for his BFs, it might give ya an ulcer, huh? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Rumor had it Minette got back at DH tho by having some snuggle time w/ whatever Louis was on the throne HA HA & mayhap both her daughters, Marie Louise & Anne Marie, were the king's. Twas 10 days past her 26th BD. It was less than a yr since Henrietta Maria cocked up her toes, also in France & eeriely on the same day her son Henry of Gloucester had died, so not a good yr for the remaining Stuarts personally, alas. HM & Catherine of Braganza BTW had the same BD LOL Who wants their BD shared w/ the MIL? </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UHpmebifI/AAAAAAAAAqY/lWJ5ct-hPHc/s1600/CathBraganza.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UHpmebifI/AAAAAAAAAqY/lWJ5ct-hPHc/s200/CathBraganza.gif" tt="true" width="151" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Catherine of Braganza;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">have ya noticed NONE of this chick's portraits look alike? WTF?</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps were mighty irked when the Duchess of York then demised, groaning, WRONG ONE! If it had been Queen Catherine, then Charles could've gotten himself a fresh womb, but noooo, it had to be James's wife who demised! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">And of course he wanted a nice nubile Catholic princess to take Anne's place, settling on 15 yo Mary of Modena, even worse than imagined b/c she was not only Catholic but Italian. And over 20 yrs younger than James, putting him into dirty old man territory by modern standards. Charles was all jeez, can't ya just wed one of your GFs, like maybe that Churchill wench? She's a nice Protestant girl. Then he found out she was related to the d'Este banking family & had a fat dowry, so he shrugged & said OK bro, as long as I get my cut, but methinks ya'd best watch your back b/c peeps aren't gonna like this.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UIMsHisEI/AAAAAAAAAqg/QLU4dhIGP_o/s1600/mary_mod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UIMsHisEI/AAAAAAAAAqg/QLU4dhIGP_o/s200/mary_mod.jpg" tt="true" width="154" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mary of Modena</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">O just for politicial party trivia purposes, when Shaftesbury intro'd the bill to keep James out of the succession, those who didn't like it were termed "the abhorrers" & somehow this got mangled to Tories. They still got those anymore? Those who DID like it scanned the new Duchess of York's waistline anxiously whilst muttering that those darn Catholics gave their kids 11dy6 names b/c in all its glory hers was Maria Beatrice Eleanora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este. Yeah, & you thunk Charles Philip Arthur George on the current POW was a lot LOL Methinks b/c she already has a stepdaughter named Mary, I shall just call her by the 1st 2 to avoid further confoozledness so Mary Beatrice she is. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Mary Beatrice got pregnant right quick but produced another pair of York girls, (yawningly) Catherine & Isabella. Catherine demised right after Isabella was born, just shy of age 2, & twas written down as convulsions, which covers a wide range of pediatric ailments & is most unhelpful. But the next yr Mary Beatrice produced a healthy lad, Charles James, Duke of Cambridge. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps were O SHITE WE'RE GOIN' TO THE CATHOLICS AFTER ALL! James was all chuffed & Charles whacked him on the back & said 'bout time, but the common peeps had a case of the mutters. It didn't last long b/c apparently CJ had none of that natural immunity from the mother thing going on & he caught smallpox & demised when he was just 5 wks old. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So Mary of Orange was still the Protestant heir, but her Daddy just kept breathing & breeding, tho Mary Beatrice's next cpl kids were stillborn & then another daughter, Charlotte, demised of that convulsions thing. Must've been something nasty in the collective gene pool. And then Isabella demised age 5 of that annoying smallpox thing (no wonder peeps worked to figure out a vaccination for it) & the Yorks had no kidlets left at all. I just thunk I'd mention all this tedious childbearing Mary Beatrice was up to for yonks b/c no one ever does & it makes it seem like what eventually happened was some kinda scam when she was sighing & pushing out kidlets for England all along.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Ya'd think w/ the sanitizing fire & just how cold it was in England in the 1600s woulda kilt some of the germs.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">There are not all that many occasions on which the River Thames has frozen solid b/c of how cold it was, but 4 of these occurred during Charles IIs reign so talk about your global freezing, huh? There's this adorable little book called <em>The Frozen Thames</em> where the author writes a brief short story for every yr the river froze, depiciting some of what went on when it did. Remember it froze when Matilda fought Stephen, & it also froze the last winter Anne Boleyn was alive & she went sleigh-riding w/ Henry (so you KNOW this ice was rock-solid LOL) on it b4 the unpleasantness began.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">By Charles's day & b/c it was happening so frequently in the 1600s, they had a system all worked out & held what they called a Frost Fair right on the ice. I mean these peeps ran out & set up bldgs & booths for groat-making purposes b/c natch everyone wanted to venture onto the thick frozen surface so they could brag about it, so there was actual taverns & meat-pie booths & picnic tables & sleigh rides & ice skating rentals, a nice boom for the common peeps' economy, except for the ferrymen, natch. Once a ship got stuck in it, so they anchored to the nearest tavern LOL & became a part of it for a while (unfortunately there was a sudden thaw & the tavern got yanked into the river when the boat started shifting in the middle of the night). Even Charles got suckered out of some pennies by a guy who dragged his printing press out on the ice & sold little souvenir cards what said stuff like "Charles II King of England procured this card on the ice of the frozen River Thames, January 25, 1678" or whatever (I don't recollect the exact yrs save that one of em was the winter Charles demised & bet he was ticked he never got to see spring b/c that was the coldest one so far). If ya Google this stuff there's a HUGE map that shows how the Frost Fair was laid out in Charles's time, which I did after I read the aforementioned book. Tis pretty chill stuff LOL but alas even the cold wasn't killing the germs as I said.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">When it was nice & warm, Charles & James enjoyed horse-racing & this is when the Newmarket tradition was established. </span><span style="color: #660000;">Everyone knew the bros Stuart would be at Newmarket for the races & there devolved the Rye House Plot, where some peeps decided it would be a splendid idea to ambush the royal party & assassinate both the king & the Catholic Duke of York. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Charles was shocked to discover one of the peeps involved was his 1stborn son Jamie, the Duke of Monmouth, who was supposed to replace Daddy as king. There was a bit of OFF WITH HIS HEAD (tho one of the dudes cheated the axe by slitting his own throat w/ a razor in his Tower cell), but Jamie was banished to the continent. Tis said he was always Daddy's fav. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Uncle James looked at him sideways & hmmm'd there's a peep I gotta watch out for, b/c Jamie, born when Daddy was just 19, was a grown man, married to a nice heiress & breeding up brats of his own, & he possessed Charles's charisma & somebody's good looks LOL Peeps liked him & there were some murmurings that if they couldn't get Charles to set aside the queen, them mayhap Monmouth could be legit'd & they could set aside James. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Charles said um NO. Peeps glared at him but public opinion had turned on Parliament since that bidness w/ trying to get rid of the queen...OK she didn't do her heir duty but she was a nice chick for a Catholic & the king was fond enough of her to keep her, so what bidness did Shaftesbury have trying to throw out bills to send her off on a slow boat to LIsbon? So Charles hardly had any issues w/ Parliament at all like his Daddy had HA HA & he pretty much ran the joint as he pleased & nobody objected.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Charles came back to Whitehall on what would become Scarlet's BD after checking out the latest Frost Fair & sighed & said yknow I ain't feelin' so perky atm.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UKJsEQoZI/AAAAAAAAAqw/QZwYcHQJfq8/s1600/Charles_II_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9UKJsEQoZI/AAAAAAAAAqw/QZwYcHQJfq8/s200/Charles_II_.jpg" tt="true" width="129" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles II in his early 50s</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The next day, Candlemas, Charles had what was noted as "an apoplexy". This could be ANYTHING b/c it was noted for things like heart attacks, strokes, & your general convulsive fits. I'm gonna guess stroke b/c he immediately developed what was noted as "uremic poisoning", a catch-all term for dude's got sumfin amiss w/ his kidneys, & my PCP thunk when my BP shot up for no reason (has since calmed down nicely so barring unforeseen calamity the royal fun can continue LOL) that twas from a kidney infection b/c one's ureters behave in a similar fashion to one's arteries & if they're having trouble functioning it can raise one's BP alarmingly & induce a stroke. Mine was asymptomatic, but the usual symptoms are back pain (& who in their 50s ain't got that?) & pain urinating (which Charles coulda just thunk, if he had such, o shite, did I get me a case of that Frenchie pox b/c Barbara was notorious for cheating on him).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So there was Charles all lollygagging in bed w/ the swells & chills & fever, hardly able to pee, & still cracking jokes even tho he must've felt like death warmed over b/c kidney infections ain't fun, telling his peeps it was taking him too long to demise his good self. Methinks the actual words were sumfin along the lines of sorry to be taking such a time a-dying here. He told bro James "Let not poor Nelly starve", so see, she prolly was his fav GF. He'd been about to create her Countess of Greenwich but alas for Nell, he demised b4 signing off on it, so she never did get a title or the castle to go w/ it. Rumor had it that at the last min, to cover all his bases, he converted to Catholicism & recvd the Last Rites on urging of James & Catherine, but some peeps think he wasn't conscious & they just had it done anyway b/c they were concerned he might be going to the hot place w/o Extreme Unction. Charles demised at age 54 on Feb 6th, 1685, & had one of the fastest royal funerals on record, as he was entombed in Westminister Abbey on Valentine's Day.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-28429187617070182842010-04-24T22:15:00.006-04:002010-04-24T22:55:25.366-04:00The Merry Monarch<span style="color: #660000;">The royal corpse was hauled back inside Whitehall & do you know Cromwell told peeps to sew Charles's head back ON? </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OSpKe2pkI/AAAAAAAAAlY/VVAXPCEWkPk/s1600/Cromwell_before_the_Coffin_of_Charles_I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OSpKe2pkI/AAAAAAAAAlY/VVAXPCEWkPk/s200/Cromwell_before_the_Coffin_of_Charles_I.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Cromwell Before the Coffin of Charles I</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then the regicides (tis whatcha properly call king-killers) waited until all the peeps had gone home & it got dark b4 trundling Charles onto a barge & poling down the Thames to Windsor, where he was dragged into St George's Chapel & tossed under the floor w/ Henry & Jane!</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">For about 5 min they debated crowning little Henry, Duke of Gloucester, as the new King of England, even tho he had 2 older bros, just b/c he was handy. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OTnGyW4WI/AAAAAAAAAlg/wGZ-sWoIePU/s1600/Henry%252C_Duke_of_Gloucester.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OTnGyW4WI/AAAAAAAAAlg/wGZ-sWoIePU/s200/Henry%252C_Duke_of_Gloucester.jpg" tt="true" width="165" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henry, Duke of Gloucester</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Nice regency & all that, since the kid was all of 8, goodies to be had for all. Then they hmmm'd & said yknow there'd be MORE goodies if there weren't any pesky royals to support.....yeah that's the ticket! We don't need no steenking Stuarts no more! So Oliver Cromwell was elected Lord Protector & Parliament decided there was gonna be no more kings, ever. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">This is known as the Interregnum (Latin for ooops there was a slight interruption in the cavalcade of royals). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Suffice to say that after a while peeps was remembering kings quite fondly (the Anglican Church even made St Charles the Martyr out of the last one) b/c tain't much fun to be ruled by a passel of religious fanatics. Them Puritans were no fun at all. Do you know they even outlawed CHRISTMAS? Not to mention good times like music, dancing, parties, gambling, dicing, horse-racing, the theater, houses of ill-repute, football, all the interesting stuff there was to do sans TV & internet, pretty much. Peeps got fined & put in the stocks if they missed church on Sundays or did any work on Sundays at all. Sunday dinner wasn't what it used to be b/c it had to be Saturday's leftovers b/c cooking was considered work. There was an inordinate amt of praying to be done & no one could dress up in bright colors & fine fabrics anymore. Merrie olde England wasn't. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OUcDuitEI/AAAAAAAAAlo/dQoEW_1gN9I/s1600/pillory_stocks.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OUcDuitEI/AAAAAAAAAlo/dQoEW_1gN9I/s200/pillory_stocks.png" tt="true" width="141" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>in the stocks</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Things got mighty dull, except over in Ireland where there was a massacre at Drogheda by Cromwellian troops. They went into all the churches & whitewashed over the murals & busted out the stained glass windows & melted down all the fancy gold stuff so that there wasn't even anything to look at when you were sitting there 1/2 the day on Sundays bored. In fact, in one church where all the Anglo-Saxon kings were buried, they busted open the crypts & used the bones for breaking the windows, so those royal peeps are now all mixed up b/c no one knows which bones go where. Like, what did Ethelred the Unready ever do to them, huh?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">They done that in a lot of churches (who knew 1,000 yr old bones were still sturdy enough to break glass?). Is it any wonder Jemmy'd kicked out the Pilgrims when this whole Puritan thing started? Who wants a religion that don't allow ya to have culture & nice things & dead kings properly arranged in their own tombs instead of being all jumbled together?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Just to be contrary, the Scots decided to declare Charles & HMs eldest kid Charles as King of Scots LOL </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OWZUCsMWI/AAAAAAAAAlw/9y34ViqDmRA/s1600/KingCharlesII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OWZUCsMWI/AAAAAAAAAlw/9y34ViqDmRA/s200/KingCharlesII.jpg" tt="true" width="156" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles II, King of Scots</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">he's got John of Gaunt's bedroom eyes LOL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">He scamped over there from The Hague to get crowned at Scone posthaste. The Scots suited up & high-stepped over the wall to kick Parliamentarian behind & restore the new king in England, too. Only they were trounced at the battle of Worcester. This is where the legend of Charles hiding in the Royal Oak to avoid capture comes from. He had to scurry back to the continent b/c he rather liked his own head exactly where it sat. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">He was only 21, but he'd already been making eyes at lotsa chicks & the 1st of his numerous bastards, James Scott, later Duke of Monmouth, was 2 yrs old. Jamie's mum, Lucy Walter, was supposed to be a loose chick & even tho Charles acknowledged paternity, twas joked that the kid couldn't possibly be his b/c Jamie was far too good-looking LOL </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OrZvAgLXI/AAAAAAAAAoA/5ecb-cfiOQM/s1600/LucyWalter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OrZvAgLXI/AAAAAAAAAoA/5ecb-cfiOQM/s200/LucyWalter.jpg" tt="true" width="147" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lucy Walter w/ portrait</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>of son James</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles was quite tall & buff, but he was universally considered ugly as sin. Despite that, he was said to have the kinda charm chicks dug & he continued to have lots of GFs & bastards. So did his bro James, who was said to have gotten the looks in the family. Ya think maybe twas all that long hair on the guys in those days? Got news for ya....wigs. They were mostly all shaved bald or buzzed under em. Imagine the lice infestation if they weren't. Now picture Charles w/ his little moustache bald as a billiard ball. Not attractive LOL In Elizabeth's day all the chicks wore wigs & now it was the guys' turn. See, fashion trends ain't new.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Charles spent the next 9 yrs in exile whilst those pocky Parliamentarians ran amuck.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Despite HM being a Frenchie & Princess Mary having wed William of Orange b4 all this Civil War stuff started, Charles couldn't get anyone to pony up enough groats to outfit a nice invasion force & oust the Parliamentarians. Their rellies were irked enough at the expense of maintaining the exiles' households. Then little Henry was shoved across the Channel to be one more mouth to feed.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OYTKXiCZI/AAAAAAAAAmA/YvFst0zGp3U/s1600/Mary_Princess_Royal_and_Willem_II_1647_Gerard_van_Honthorst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OYTKXiCZI/AAAAAAAAAmA/YvFst0zGp3U/s200/Mary_Princess_Royal_and_Willem_II_1647_Gerard_van_Honthorst.jpg" tt="true" width="126" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mary & William II of Orange</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">7 yrs after Worcester, Oliver Cromwell had the demises & Parliament decided to put his son Richard in Daddy's place. Which was kinda silly, if ya think about it, b/c wasn't this just as bad as hereditary monarchy? Charles was disappointed that peeps didn't invite him back over after the elder Cromwell's death. So were the rellies off whom he was sponging. They all sighed & slumped back in their seats as the Interregnum continued. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Charles was amusing himself w/ a rellie of Buckingham's, Barbara Villiers, Lady Palmer, who was a member of the underground Royalist network in England & popped over to deliver some seecrud msgs. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OXjMYhYfI/AAAAAAAAAl4/1SjhdVzZlGg/s1600/palmer_60s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OXjMYhYfI/AAAAAAAAAl4/1SjhdVzZlGg/s200/palmer_60s.jpg" tt="true" width="140" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Barbara Villiers, Lady Palmer</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Tho her eldest daughter Anne went by DH Roger Palmer's name & eventually inherited his goodies, she was acknowledged to be another bastard for Charles. The bros Stuart had to just be amused w/ chicks b/c wasn't nobody gonna marry em since they were penniless spongers, ysee. Royal blood counts for naught sans a fistful of credit cards.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Richie Cromwell proved not to be as ironfisted a ruler as Daddy so peeps began to hmmm. There's the prob w/ primogeniture, sometimes ya get saddled w/ an inbred idiot ROFL Everyone was mighty sick of no longer being merrie & started thinking Parliament had been a little hasty in slicing off old Charles's head. Richie quickly abdicated his position & there was chaos & anarchy w/ no one running the joint whatsoever. So the Govermor of Scotland, General George Monck, brought a passel of blue peeps over the wall to restore order & finally got that Long Parliament dissolved after 20 yrs. New parliamentary elections were held & lots of Royalists got into what was called the Convention Parliament. 1st order of bidness was OK who's gonna be in charge.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">They said meh this whole Protectorate thing ain't working out so well, we might as well have the royals back. Lots of em were doing this sneaky way of drinking to Charles's health anyway; they would silently pass their wine glass across a finger bowl at table b/c that was code for "to the health of the king across the water". Clever, huh? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">So they voted to invite Charles to come on over & be restored to the thrones of England, Scotland, & Ireland. There was YIPPEE all around as the Stuarts gussied up for the trip. Charles & rellies & pals arrived in London on his 30th BD, May 29, 1660. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Oa33GUvJI/AAAAAAAAAmI/4ETDMgHEuc8/s1600/charlesII-entering-london.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Oa33GUvJI/AAAAAAAAAmI/4ETDMgHEuc8/s200/charlesII-entering-london.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles II entering London</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Nice pressie! This is known as (duh) The Restoration (the period in which one of Scarlet's fav books, <em>Forever Amber</em>, is set).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OcF9x0uAI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/kaSba1vkgk4/s1600/charlcoronation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OcF9x0uAI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/kaSba1vkgk4/s200/charlcoronation.jpg" tt="true" width="142" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles IIs coronation portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">He wasn't coronated until the following April b/c there was important stuff to be done 1st. In exchange for a few concessions to Parliament regarding those medieval statutes his father revived to get more groats, Charles had 9 of the peeps involved in Daddy's execution executed, plus he had Cromwell & a cpl other peeps dug up to lose their dead heads, too. Fun times. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">That whole Parliament & executions thing didn't take a whole yr, tho. There were some other reasons why the coronation kept getting postponed. Tho twas a grand yr for the House of Stuart w/ the Restoration, alas, it turned out not to be a very good yr for em in the end.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">In Sept, after barely 3 mos back home, Henry came down w/ smallpox & had the demises posthaste at Whitehall. He was just 20. In yrs to come peeps would lament his untimely death when they were having yet more royals issues b/c Henry was a firm Protestant after all those yrs as a captive of the pocky Puritans & even argued religion w/ Mum after he was released (HM still Catholic). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then Christmas was a real bummer b/c on Christmas Eve Mary of Orange, aged 29, demised of the same thing, also at Whitehall. Guess they didn't clean up the germs from Henry's illness properly. Since her DH had demised (of the same thing!) just a cpl days b4 the birth of their only child, her 10 yo son William of Orange got to have a nice regency. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">So Charles got his set of crowns, but coming back to England for em kilt 2 of his 4 remaining sibs. It slightly lessened the crush in Westminister Abbey for the coronation. Charles was for some reason the last king who made the traditional progress from the Tower to Westminister to be crowned.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">He had to give out some goodies to his peeps. Barbara's DH was created Earl of Castlemaine. This was an Irish title & twas bestowed on Roger b/c everyone knew Charles just wanted to elevate his GF to the peerage & Parliament refused to approve settling on English title on him. So Barbara had to be content w/ what she got & she queened it round the court as my Lady Castlemaine for yonks, already expecting her 2nd kid w/ Charles. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">His BFF John Wilmot got his title of Earl of Rochester restored </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Oc5edfVGI/AAAAAAAAAmY/r7XHB9tP-e8/s1600/john_wilmot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Oc5edfVGI/AAAAAAAAAmY/r7XHB9tP-e8/s200/john_wilmot.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">& there was lots of tiresome squabbling over Royalist estates that had been confiscated by Parliamentarians that those who'd run off in exile w/ Charles wanted back. And what are goodies if ya got no fun? So all that borrrring Puritan stuff was repealed & peeps had something to do besides pray & they could dress snappy again & go out to the theatre.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">And there was lots of tittle-tattle printed in the <em>Stuart Scandler</em>, too, b/c wouldja believe there was another seecrud wedding? Charles's Lord Chancellor was a peep called Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, & his daughter Anne was seduced by bro James & ooops there was breeding, so they got hitched on the sly. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OdNU9ZgWI/AAAAAAAAAmg/V2SJ61oSib4/s1600/Anne_Hyde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OdNU9ZgWI/AAAAAAAAAmg/V2SJ61oSib4/s200/Anne_Hyde.jpg" tt="true" width="143" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Anne Hyde, Duchess of York</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles was vastly amused w/ this when James 'fessed up so there were no Tower Fun Passes written out. Meh it saved the expense of all that negotiating for foreign brides & a huge wedding. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There was seriously sumfin wrong w/ James's little swimmers b/c he got chicks pregnant left & right but there were copious amts of miscarriages, stillbirths, & demised in infancy. Out of the 11dy6 kidlets he sired upon Anne Hyde, only 2, Mary & Anne, would live to grow up, & his track record was just as bad w/ DW#2 later on. Tis rumored he had the Frenchie pox, which can do such.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OdmvyzKSI/AAAAAAAAAmo/j7AbLon0sXE/s1600/james_roman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OdmvyzKSI/AAAAAAAAAmo/j7AbLon0sXE/s200/james_roman.jpg" tt="true" width="139" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James, Duke of York</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>OK Rupert can carry off the faux Roman thing</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>.....cuz James, not so much LOL</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Since Charles was already in his 30s there was no time to waste in getting him hitched, either. He settled upon a princess from Portugal called Catherine of Braganza b/c she had a humungous dowry that incl the prosperous ports of Bombay (this is how England started getting into India) & Tangiers. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Od9Qk3GCI/AAAAAAAAAmw/Sw50hjTGuuQ/s1600/Catherine_of_Braganza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Od9Qk3GCI/AAAAAAAAAmw/Sw50hjTGuuQ/s200/Catherine_of_Braganza.jpg" tt="true" width="183" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Catherine of Braganza, Charles IIs queen</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The treasury was pretty low so he had to get value for the bride. Catherine is credited w/ introducing tea into England, which peeps sucked down like there was no tomorrow. Peeps muttered b/c she was Catholic, but the public wedding was Anglican. However, Charles covered all his bases & had a seecrud one done in Catholic as well. Peeps figured there'd be 11dy6 heirs in no time, given how fast Castlemaine was popping em out (her son Charles was born same yr).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OeM-P8iaI/AAAAAAAAAm4/01C6GUFHM9k/s1600/castlemaine-soncharles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OeM-P8iaI/AAAAAAAAAm4/01C6GUFHM9k/s200/castlemaine-soncharles.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine,</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>posing as Madonna & Child w/ son</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles Fitzroy</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Even in Portugal they'd heard of the notorious Castlemaine, so Catherine was appalled to see her name on the list of her new English ladies-in-waiting. She picked up a quill, dipped it in ink, scratched it out, & said um NO. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Barbara threw a fit so Charles sighed & asked Catherine could she just let her stay on the list & then Catherine threw a fit so Charles sighed some more & asked Barbara if maybe she could be reasonable b/c twas tacky to shove one's GF under one's wife's nose like that & Barbara threw a bigger tantrum & threatened to dump him so Charles groaned & went back to Catherine & said SHE STAYS & THAT'S THE END OF IT! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Oetcmx7EI/AAAAAAAAAnA/IbEZFlH4nrA/s1600/c+and+bc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Oetcmx7EI/AAAAAAAAAnA/IbEZFlH4nrA/s200/c+and+bc.jpg" tt="true" width="133" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles losing a fight w/ Barbara LOL</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Castlemaine was all HA HA I WON & promptly got pregnant again. The 23 yo queen alas did not.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles must've had the stamina of a bull b/c in addition to wife & official GF, he often had peeps collect chicks he liked the look of & sneak em up the backstairs at Whitehall to come play w/ him. He & James set up rival theatres & had their pick of the actresses. This is when chicks were finally allowed to go on the stage instead of having girl parts played by dudes in drag. One called Moll Davis became a 2nd official GF of the king's for a while & she had a daughter by him who was inexplicably named Lady Mary Tudor. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OfDZjUAyI/AAAAAAAAAnI/J5etYm4QY44/s1600/molldavies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OfDZjUAyI/AAAAAAAAAnI/J5etYm4QY44/s200/molldavies.jpg" tt="true" width="173" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Moll Davis</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then there was a 3rd official GF who was also an actress, Nell Gwyn. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OfVXvZ_LI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/jwNaKB9IYYA/s1600/NellGwyn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OfVXvZ_LI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/jwNaKB9IYYA/s200/NellGwyn.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Nell Gwyn</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Nell was a great comedian as well as a comedic actress, & tis said she snuck a laxative into Moll's drink on an evening she knew Moll was supposed to go see the king HA HA Charles had 2 sons by Nell, Charles & James Beauclerk. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OrDSLc7eI/AAAAAAAAAn4/JN9AzdmRO18/s1600/nelly-beauclerkkids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OrDSLc7eI/AAAAAAAAAn4/JN9AzdmRO18/s200/nelly-beauclerkkids.jpg" tt="true" width="131" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Nell Gwyn's sons w/ Charles,</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles & James Beauclerk;</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">how cute are they?</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Beauclerk was a pun b/c Stuart used to be Stewart used to be High Steward of Scotland & steward in French is beauclerc so there ya go. Poor little Jimmy died all alone at school in Paris aged 9 from a "pain in his leg", who knows what that was, but Charlie grew up & was a prolific breeder himself.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ohc4F52zI/AAAAAAAAAnY/-PH7UssqmRk/s1600/charlesbeauclerk-nellgywn-dukestalbans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ohc4F52zI/AAAAAAAAAnY/-PH7UssqmRk/s320/charlesbeauclerk-nellgywn-dukestalbans.jpg" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Charles Beauclerk, Earl of Burford & Duke of St Albans</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There's fun tales about how Charlie Beauclerk got his title.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Nelly was irked b/c Castlemaine's brats got nice titles & her kids didn't. The one story says she hung Charlie by his ankles off a balcony & threatened to drop him on his head if Charles didn't pony up a title. Charles cried, "God save the Earl of Burford!" in response & had the patent drawn up right quick. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The other story about it is that there was a party at Nell's w/ lots of Charles's peeps attending & she called her eldest over by yelling, "Charlie, you little bastard, come say hello to your father!" Charles frowned & said twasn't nice for her to be calling the kid a bad word esp in public. Nelly shrugged & said, "Well, he has no other title by which I may call him, does he?" Later on the kid also got to be the Duke of St Albans.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Oh_yuAYhI/AAAAAAAAAng/DtGbpvQHQQ4/s1600/kerouaille.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Oh_yuAYhI/AAAAAAAAAng/DtGbpvQHQQ4/s200/kerouaille.jpg" tt="true" width="145" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Louise de Kerouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then there was this Frenchie chick, Louise de Kerouaille, who came over in Charles's sister Minette's train when she came for a visit, & stuck around to be another official GF. She got to be the Duchess of Portsmouth & Castlemaine howled so then she got to be the Duchess of Cleveland, but then Charles retired her after 5 kids. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OiUH5laVI/AAAAAAAAAno/aN6YfN1K94o/s1600/nelly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OiUH5laVI/AAAAAAAAAno/aN6YfN1K94o/s200/nelly.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Nell Gwyn</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Nelly called Louise "Squintabella" LOL I reckon she needed glasses. Peeps weren't fussed w/ Louise b/c she was Catholic. Once Nelly was out in her carriage (which now were invented) & peeps thunk twas Louise's & started hurling rocks & insults, so Nell stuck her head out the window & said, "Good ppl, you are mistaken, I am the <em>Protestant</em> whore!" So they cheered & let her pass b/c they liked her the bestest of all Charles's GFs b/c she came from common peeps. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Twas said Charles liked her the bestest, too, b/c she was just so darn funny. Charles ended up w/ a grand total of 12 illegits & has lotsa descendents, incl Diana, Fergie, & Camilla! So Wills could be the 1st descendent of Charles II to sit on the throne some day.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then there was a chick who, like Anne Boleyn, was famous for telling a king um NO. This was Frances Stewart, who later became the Duchess of Richmond & Lennox w/ her marriage to Esme Stewart's grandson, Charles. Yes, both her married & maiden names were the same LOL, but the papacy made naught off any dispensation for it. Her dad was a distant cuz of the royals & had been HMs personal physician. Charles the king pursued her for yonks & all the other mistresses were united in their hatred of Frances. Barbara was mighty irked b/c Charles was about to mint a medal for his Dutch wars & he wanted an image of Britannia on em & natch she thunk she'd be the perfect model, but he selected Frances instead. If ya got any old Brit coins rolling round, Frances's Britannia head was used on em till the 1970s!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OlEVZCWwI/AAAAAAAAAnw/kXWsOT77Axc/s1600/Frances_Teresa_Stuart_by_Lely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OlEVZCWwI/AAAAAAAAAnw/kXWsOT77Axc/s200/Frances_Teresa_Stuart_by_Lely.jpg" tt="true" width="162" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond & Lennox</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">In fact, she had to get hitched b/c Barbara caught her in bed w/ Richmond & tattled triumphantly to Charles that whilst Frances was saying NO to him, she was all over that duke ROFL Alas Frances came down w/ a wretched case of the smallpox & was disfigured like Mary Sidney had been, all wreathed in veils so no one could see it, & when her DH demised young she never remarried, tho apparently Charles was still nice to her & rumor had it she may have reconsidered that NO once no other peeps could look at her face anymore.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Alas the queen tried to keep up w/ the mistresses in breeding little Stuarts, but all she could manage was a pair of miscarriages.....</span><span style="color: #660000;"><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"></span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-48265329186948309352010-04-24T20:36:00.002-04:002010-04-25T21:38:25.443-04:00I'M the King, Dammit!<span style="color: #660000;">There had been tentative negotiations w/ Spain for betrothing the late lamented Prince Henry to Philip's granddaughter, Maria Anna. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OD90FXaLI/AAAAAAAAAig/rOTEZY2ZJqw/s1600/MariaAnnaofSpain07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OD90FXaLI/AAAAAAAAAig/rOTEZY2ZJqw/s200/MariaAnnaofSpain07.jpg" tt="true" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Maria Anna of Spain</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>did she invent hedge clippers,</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>b/c her hair sure looks like it LOL</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Reckon the English woulda called her Mary Anne LOL Anyway, the English peeps were all um NO b/c of that whole we hate the Spanish thing & they were just as opposed when twas suggested Charles fill in as the bridegroom. Plus, after Jemmy let Raleigh out of the Tower (where he'd spent his imprisonment writing a grandiose tome called <em>The Historie of the World</em>), Raleigh said meh to England & trotted off to the New World w/ one of his sons (tediously) Walter & got into an altercation w/ the Spanish in which Walter Jr was kilt. Raleigh was meddling where he shouldn't have been & the Spanish were irked & poked Jemmy & said, hey, didn't you sentence this peep to the axe a good 15 yrs ago for that Main Plot? What's he still doing w/ a head? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">So Raleigh got another Tower Fun Pass & became a head shorter. Jemmy was trying to avoid getting into war w/ Spain b/c he was already ensnared in that whole mess his SIL & DD got into in Bohemia, so he gave up Raleigh's head to appease em. Buckingham, who was a bad influence on Charles, decided it would be fun times if he & Charles took a little incognito trip to Spain & settled the whole Princess Mary Anne matter in person. Peeps were vastly unamused when this came out, but Mary Anne & Charles ended up not getting hitched b/c the Spanish wouldn't have it unless Charles turned Catholic, to which he said um NO.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Instead, Charles had decided he fancied a Frenchie princess he'd met on his travels, Henrietta Maria. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OEkdx1sHI/AAAAAAAAAio/k4nCpaUilno/s1600/Henrietta_Maria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OEkdx1sHI/AAAAAAAAAio/k4nCpaUilno/s200/Henrietta_Maria.jpg" tt="true" width="156" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henrietta Maria of France</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She was the daughter of Henry of Navarre, now demised, so sis of the current Louis (there are 11dy6 of those & Scarlet gets their #s confoozled LOL so I disrecall which one). The Frenchies were OK w/ Charles staying Protestant as long as Henrietta Maria & her household could stay Catholic, so Parliament said OK & approved the match.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then there was a scandal involving one of Jemmy's favs, Robert Carr. Cecil Jr had demised & peeps was irked b/c that meant Jemmy's lads had their fingers in all the pies & were trying to run the joint. Jemmy pushed thru a divorce for one of the rich Howard chicks, Frances, so that Carr could wed her & get her goodies. Carr's asst (b/c he was too stupid to run the joint alone), Sir Thomas Overbury, ended up poisoned b/c he frowned publicly at the match, Frannie being a notorious loose chick, & it developed Robbie & Frannie did the deed & peeps was all :O </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Buckingham was pleased b/c this meant he was now the sole fav & running the joint all by himself, b/c Jemmy was getting old & sickly by now (he had arthritis, gout, kept swooning a lot, got a bad case of tertian fever, & started having strokes), the queen had demised (from what was said to be a bad case of gout but that don't kill ya, so twas prolly something else that caused the swells like bad arteries or kidneys), & Charles thunk Buckingham was the cat's pajamas.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OE_gt2TjI/AAAAAAAAAiw/wYP8_VXH_i0/s1600/mw03419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OE_gt2TjI/AAAAAAAAAiw/wYP8_VXH_i0/s200/mw03419.jpg" tt="true" width="135" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James I in old age</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Not long after that Jemmy was lollygagging at Theobalds (used to be Cecil Sr's fab country house but somehow Jemmy got his mitts on it) & ended up w/ a yucky case of dysentery atop all else & demised right quick w/ Buckingham hovering at his bedside, aged 59, just 3 days past Elizabeth's demise & his accession. He had a splendid funeral & even tho he was a little weird (there was a saying going round of "Elizabeth was King, & James is Queen" b/c of his male favs LOL), for the most part peeps genuinely mourned him.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Now little Charles, age 24, was planning for both his wedding & his coronation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">4 days after Jemmy's funeral, Charles was married by proxy (that's when some peep stands in for one of the parties & tis considered perfectly legal) to Henrietta Maria, who came over to England a month later & did it all over again at Canterbury Cathedral. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OFba80neI/AAAAAAAAAi4/DUdOJwDwP8Q/s1600/Mytens_Charles_and_Henrietta_Maria_1631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OFba80neI/AAAAAAAAAi4/DUdOJwDwP8Q/s200/Mytens_Charles_and_Henrietta_Maria_1631.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles I & Henrietta Maria</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">he's giving her bedroom eyes & she's all meh LOL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps were still muttering b/c she was Catholic & got special religious privileges that the seecrud English Catholics couldn't have b/c of all the legislation Jemmy shoved thru Parliament. Charles wasn't crowned until Candlemas (we call that Groundhog Day LOL), nigh on a yr after Jemmy's demise, & Henrietta Maria didn't get to play b/c there was so much muttering, so she never got crowned at all. She wasn't breeding yet, either, & at 21 was plenty old enough to commence it, so peeps was doubly unamused w/ her.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">These 2 peeps put Elizabeth to shame when it came to having their portraits done & there are about 11dy6,000 of em still extant to gawk at. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OFtZJGwXI/AAAAAAAAAjA/NmUJkZSLXDM/s1600/Charles_I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OFtZJGwXI/AAAAAAAAAjA/NmUJkZSLXDM/s200/Charles_I.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The Three Faces of Charles I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">betcha he had 11dy6 mirrors in which to preen LOL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles was rather shrimpy but he was a snappy dresser & brought giant hats & high heels into fashion for guys. Ruffs was finally out & lace collars was in, along w/ puffy sleeves instead of puffy pants. No chicks had to cram themselves into stomachers, busks, or bumrolls any more, so they were at least pleased w/ the Frenchie fashions. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OGHJRtGpI/AAAAAAAAAjI/bofSpORD-6Q/s1600/mw01219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OGHJRtGpI/AAAAAAAAAjI/bofSpORD-6Q/s200/mw01219.jpg" tt="true" width="122" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>lookin' stylin'</em></span></div><span style="color: #660000;">That whole 30 Yrs' War was still going on & Charles declared war on Spain b/c they'd come in & stolen his BILs goodies & occupied them. Parliament was not amused at the expense, nor at Charles putting Buckingham in charge of it; he didn't do such a hot job. This is where all the trouble w/ Parliament started. Jemmy had kicked out those pesky religious fanatic Pilgrims to the New World, but there were lots of peeps who began leaning drastically to the right on religious stuff & were even more unfussed than the average Englishman over that Catholic queen. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OGbeoxEvI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/WHI46ch_aok/s1600/Henrietta_Maria_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OGbeoxEvI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/WHI46ch_aok/s200/Henrietta_Maria_01.jpg" tt="true" width="165" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Queen Henrietta Maria</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles refused to pull Buckingham from being in charge, but pretty soon he had to find a new peep anyway.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Buckingham returned to England to have a nice war break & was toddling down the docks when a peep jumped out at him w/ a knife & assassinated him real good. Peeps was all YAY b/c no one liked him, but the king & queen did & they were appalled at the general rejoicing. Ya'd think that woulda made em hmmm some but um NO. Charles just kept glaring at most peeps & at Parliament, who were putting to screws to his personal income & the war efffort. The latter petered out & they had to make peace w/ Spain. Charles was so irked he sent Parliament home & didn't bother calling em back for 11 yrs.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">After 4 yrs of marriage the queen finally commenced w/ the breeding, but their 1st son, Charles James, was stillborn. A yr later there was the usual celebrations b/c this time it was another boy, Charles, & he lived & thrived. HM called him her "black boy" b/c he'd managed to get a hefty dose of Italian de Medici gene pool & was quite dark & swarthy. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OGvtX7-mI/AAAAAAAAAjY/EBPcglfP_x8/s1600/charles_family_31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OGvtX7-mI/AAAAAAAAAjY/EBPcglfP_x8/s200/charles_family_31.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henrietta Maria, baby Prince Charles, & Charles I</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then HM & Charles REALLY got busy. By the end of the next yr there was Princess Mary, 2 yrs later Prince James, 2 yrs later Princess Elizabeth, 2 yrs later Princess Anne (tho she died age 3), 2 yrs later another stillbirth, Princess Catherine, a yr after that Prince Henry, & 4 yrs after that Princess Henrietta Anne WHEW! 9 kids in 15 yrs! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OHBHQoEeI/AAAAAAAAAjg/hEJU2f_a6SU/s1600/Children_Charles_I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OHBHQoEeI/AAAAAAAAAjg/hEJU2f_a6SU/s200/Children_Charles_I.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The Children of Charles I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">(& a REALLY big dog)</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">L to R: Mary, James, Charles, Elizabeth, Henry</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So there was plenty of heirs & spares, at least. Charles was supposedly devoted to HM & never had any GFs awwww. Dunno where he'd have found the time what w/ all the marital breeding & portrait posing.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OHn5YeiZI/AAAAAAAAAjo/uz1yi65F0VM/s1600/CharlesI_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OHn5YeiZI/AAAAAAAAAjo/uz1yi65F0VM/s200/CharlesI_1.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles I</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">W/ all these kids & their extravagant tastes, Charles had to raise money somehow, so he began researching & re-introducing all sorts of obscure medieval laws where he could fine & tax peeps sans Parliament's consent, in Scotland as well as in England. Peeps began looking at him sideways. They liked their groats better. They also didn't like Charles's religious stance.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OIzMMsxkI/AAAAAAAAAjw/3Zo3aELLMUk/s1600/hm+and+c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OIzMMsxkI/AAAAAAAAAjw/3Zo3aELLMUk/s200/hm+and+c.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles I & a pregnant Henrietta Maria</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles was widely suspected of being a seecrud Catholic b/c his DW was, but he really wasn't. He was just looking askance at all the Puritan fanatics cropping up & wanting to shove stuff back over toward the middle where it was nice & non-confrontational. Some peeps wanted to reform English Protestantism into a more severe Calvinist type of church & Charles was all um NO! His Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, agreed, & started banning Puritan stuff left & right & getting rid of fanatic clergy. More Puritan peeps said meh went to the colonies. So did lots of Catholics. The Catholic colony of Maryland was named for the queen. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">But lots more Puritans stayed & muttered & grumbled. The Scots Presbyterians of the Kirk were ticked b/c they thunk Charles was trying to cram the Anglican Church down their throat when Laud revised Edward VIs <em>Book of Common Prayer</em> & decreed USE IT OR ELSE. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">This caused a Scots rebellion called The Bishops' War. B/c he was unfussed w/ Parliament & didn't want to call em back, Charles had to raise the money to put down this rebellion himself & then he wound up rather broke. So finally he sighed & had to call em back to get some bucks for those growing kidlets. This was called the Short Parliament b/c he didn't get as much $$$ as he wanted & Parliament was irking him, so he dissolved it & sent em home again w/ a raspberry.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Scots thumbed their noses at him & said pffft we don't need no steenking king up here to call us into session, we'll just govern ourselves, how do ya like them apples, Charlie? Well natch, not very well at all. Those pesky Scots Covenanters, as the Kirk was now called, had the audacity to march on York next. W/o the English Parliament to vote him funds, Charles had to make a humiliating treaty w/ the rebels. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">All this rebelling was hard on the wallet so he sighed & re-opened Parliament again. This one was known as the Long Parliament & wasn't Charles & HM shocked when, instead of the $$$ issue, the 1st thing they did was call for the impeachment of Laud on the grounds of high treason.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OJbp8sarI/AAAAAAAAAj4/TEhrMJY5A7k/s1600/William_Laud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OJbp8sarI/AAAAAAAAAj4/TEhrMJY5A7k/s200/William_Laud.jpg" tt="true" width="151" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">And they passed a bill what said Parliament just couldn't be sent home anytime the king pleases, it had to meet at least once every 3 yrs, & if they king didn't call em to assemble, why, then, they could jolly well do it themselves, just like the Scots. Charles was standing there w/ his mouth open at all this uppity-ness going but....but...I got me the Divine Right of Kingship, dammit! WTF? Who do these peeps think they ARE?</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OJuCW9ZiI/AAAAAAAAAkA/mwjbBKIRF9c/s1600/CharlesI_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OJuCW9ZiI/AAAAAAAAAkA/mwjbBKIRF9c/s200/CharlesI_2.jpg" tt="true" width="119" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles I</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">After impeaching the archbishop. Parliament then turned its attn to Charles's council prez, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. They said he was governing like carp & that was treason as well. A Bill of Attainder was introduced & Charles said pfffft I ain't signing none of this nonsense! I'M THE KING! YOU PEEPS GOTTA LISTEN TO ME, NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Those pocky Parliamentarians twirled their moustaches in a Snidely Whiplash-like fashion & said o yeah? That's rich HA HA How 'bout we go after your Catholic DW next, huh? </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OKBCDIhmI/AAAAAAAAAkI/M3nih0O_ypE/s1600/Henrietta-Maria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OKBCDIhmI/AAAAAAAAAkI/M3nih0O_ypE/s200/Henrietta-Maria.jpg" tt="true" width="116" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henrietta Maria</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>I so want that dress!!!</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles gulped & signed & Strafford lost his head posthaste. Then they patted Charles on the head & said there, that wasn't so hard, was it? You just been led astray by evil councillors & now they're gone, so we'll play nicely w/ ya from now on, won't we, guys? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Next they introduced the Grand Remonstrance, a laundry list of every little thing they thunk Charles had done wrong since he became king, sticking to the evil councillors thing & throwing in a dash of Catholic conspiracy to undermine the govt as well. Charles was so gobsmacked tis a wonder he could sit for those portraits & not have his mouth hanging open in shock. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OKXU6EkEI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/5G9CSeZD4pY/s1600/CharlesI_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OKXU6EkEI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/5G9CSeZD4pY/s200/CharlesI_3.jpg" tt="true" width="143" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Charles I</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">1st the Scots, now the English, & b4 ya knew it there was a rebellion in Ireland to boot! When he asked for funds for this, Parliament shook their heads & tried to take control of the military themselves in exchange for the money. Charles said NO NOT SIGNING! In fact, tis y'all who are committing high treason here & I want these 5 instigating peeps in the Tower posthaste! Um NO they said.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">So Charles had a confab w/ HM, who was worried about rumors they might still go after her & send her banished & packing, & decided to storm Parliament by force & drag these treasonous peeps to the Tower.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Somebody tattled about the arrest warrants Charles had drawn up, so when he stormed into Parliament w/ his armed guard, flourishing them, the 5 peeps in ques had already done a bunk & no one would tell him where they went. Infuriated, he confabbed w/ HM some more & sent her to the continent to raise support & money to quash these pocky Parliamentarians, & he himself left London to go to the north of England & attempt to rally support there from the peeps who were all overrun by those irksome Scots & were outta steaks & burgers. The whole ride he muttered, HOW DARE THEY TELL ME WHAT I CAN & CAN'T DO? I'M THE KING! DADDY WROTE A BOOK ABOUT IT, EVEN!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OKuVS_tWI/AAAAAAAAAkY/ilBBbt4oLIQ/s1600/CharlesI_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OKuVS_tWI/AAAAAAAAAkY/ilBBbt4oLIQ/s200/CharlesI_4.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Charles I</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">He raised the royal standard at Nottingham & set up his court at Oxford. His smokin' hot nevvy, Rupert of the Rhine, who was reknowned far & wide as the bestest cavalry peep there ever was, hurried to support Uncle Charlie's efforts, as did some other peeps. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OK8GQM5cI/AAAAAAAAAkg/_VuDBoJzrow/s1600/rupert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OK8GQM5cI/AAAAAAAAAkg/_VuDBoJzrow/s200/rupert.jpg" tt="true" width="161" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Rupert of the Rhine</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Tis rumored Rupert was involved in a hopeless romance with the married Mary Villiers, the Duchess of Richmond, & tis why he never wed & bred smokin' hot sons (tho he did acknowledge a bastard daughter w/ the ridic name of Ruperta). </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OLbxomSlI/AAAAAAAAAko/LzvCjTElme4/s1600/maryvilliers-duchessrichmod-rupert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OLbxomSlI/AAAAAAAAAko/LzvCjTElme4/s200/maryvilliers-duchessrichmod-rupert.jpg" tt="true" width="116" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mary Villiers, Duchess of Richmond</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Royalists (or Cavaliers as they were oft called) were trounced at the battle of Naseby & then Oxford was put under siege. Charles gulped & ran away. He was caught by those pesky steak-stealers at Newark, who smiled & nodded at what he had to say & pretended they were going to play nicely, while all the time they were negotiating w/ the Parliamentarians to hand him over. Charles was put under house arrest at Holdenby House in Northamptonshire </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OMD_ugwfI/AAAAAAAAAkw/ZfDzVEj6i64/s1600/holdenby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OMD_ugwfI/AAAAAAAAAkw/ZfDzVEj6i64/s200/holdenby.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Holdenby House</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">& then sent to Hampton Court & then to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. Islands are usually good places to make sure peeps don't escape, but hey, MQOS managed it. HM had taken the baby, Minette, w/ her, Mary was married to the Prince of Orange b4 the trouble began, & the 2 eldest lads, Charles & James, were also escaped to the continent, but their other kids Elizabeth & Henry were sent to Carisbrooke to share Daddy's prison.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OMZgNwL5I/AAAAAAAAAk4/-aPenaXibGI/s1600/carisbrooke-turner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OMZgNwL5I/AAAAAAAAAk4/-aPenaXibGI/s200/carisbrooke-turner.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Carisbrooke Castle</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">O man, this is some baaad shite, Charles whinged, & hmmm'd some & decided mayhap twas time to start playing one grp of assorted nuts off the other in the hopes they'd just all annihilate each other. So he started treating w/ those irksome Scots & promised to toss out that prayer book thing & let em have whatever sort of whacko religion they pleased up there. This was known as the Engagement & the Scots agreed to invade England, trounce the Parliamentarians, & restore Charles to his throne. Unfortunately for him, they got trounced themselves at the battle of Preston, grabbed a few steaks & burgers out of habit, & made a run for the border. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Charles was transferred to Windsor Castle after this debacle. Parliament decided that since the fighting was all done & they were gonna let him stay king w/ limited powers until he started sneaking round w/ the Scots & encouraging further bloodshed, this was a nice act of treason on his part & he was going to stand trial for it. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OMxRDw4QI/AAAAAAAAAlA/IAARQ7U-V1w/s1600/cromwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OMxRDw4QI/AAAAAAAAAlA/IAARQ7U-V1w/s200/cromwell.jpg" tt="true" width="170" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Oliver Cromwell</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Oliver Cromwell was the head Parliamentarian peep now (& I do believe he's related to Henry VIIIs Cromwell) & in charge of setting this novel concept up. Charles sputtered in disbelief at the notion of a King of England being put on trial by pocky peeps who were sooooo not his peers, & all for trying to keep his backside on his throne & pay for it! When his trial began he refused to enter a plea, insisting they had no right to try him & he wasn't playing. Under English law then, a peep who wouldn't plead either guilty or not guilty was assumed to be guilty as charged on all counts. They spent a wk trying to get this salient fact to sink into the king's skull & Charles just kept going um NO! I'M THE KING! YOU GOT NO AUTHORITY OVER ME! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Sooo.....</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">W/o a plea there could be no trial, but there could be sentencing, & a death warrant was signed. A scaffold was erected outside the Banqueting Hall at Whitehall Palace, where the king was now confined. Tis unclear whether all those sad scenes in movies where he said good-bye to Elizabeth & Henry are true or not, b/c the following yr Elizabeth demised at age 14 at Carisbrooke & her grave is on the Isle of Wight, so the kidlets may have been kept there. Henry was released to his mother's custody in France 2 yrs after his sis died. Imagine the issues these kids had from all this mess.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The execution date was set for Jan 30th & b/c tis mighty cold in England in the winter, legend has it Charles wore 2 shirts b/c he didn't want peeps to think he was scared if he shivered from the cold. To avoid any last-min heroics, Cromwell placed a buffer of soldiers round the scaffold to keep the common peeps back. This meant nobody really got to hear his speech at the time he said it, tho peeps did write it down. Charles emerged all snappily dressed as usual, removing his cloak & hat after speechifying, & told the executioner he would stretch out his arms as a signal when he was ready. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Nobody knows who the executioner was b/c the official executioner of London refused the job. But it had to be some kind of official dude b/c there was none of that mess like what happened w/ Margaret Pole & MQOS. Charles said a prayer, put his head on the block, & his last words b4 giving the signal were, "I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown". </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ON8mSyL8I/AAAAAAAAAlQ/AdAKXwneLag/s1600/charlesi_axed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ON8mSyL8I/AAAAAAAAAlQ/AdAKXwneLag/s200/charlesi_axed.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The Execution of Charles I</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">His head came off cleanly w/ a single stroke of the axe & was raised to the hushed crowd; peeps were like slowing down to look at the car accident on this execution, repellently fascinated but still appalled b/c, jeez, deposed kings were supposed to be tossed into the bowels of some castle & demise quietly, not have a public spectacle made of it. This was an unprecedented event. There was no king or queen! Who was gonna run the joint? What was gonna happen? YIKES......</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ONqzigOOI/AAAAAAAAAlI/qXmU7eDyD18/s1600/Charles%2520I%2520Martyr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ONqzigOOI/AAAAAAAAAlI/qXmU7eDyD18/s200/Charles%2520I%2520Martyr.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">contemporary depiction of Charles the Martyr</span></em></div>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-16870092155877014442010-04-24T19:40:00.000-04:002010-04-24T19:40:17.608-04:00Enter the Stuarts<span style="color: #660000;">The new Cecil scrambled posthaste to let Jemmy know he now had a spare crown. Elizabeth meanwhile had a grand funeral thrown, & do you know she'd decided she wanted to spent eternity right next to her sis Mary? Tis true, go find em cuddled up for eternity at Find a Grave.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N4XAbbYDI/AAAAAAAAAhA/sqP7YUEEnj8/s1600/portrait_lady_thought_arabell_hi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N4XAbbYDI/AAAAAAAAAhA/sqP7YUEEnj8/s200/portrait_lady_thought_arabell_hi.jpg" tt="true" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Arabella Stuart</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">don't she know Mammy says tisn't ladylike to </span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">show </span></em><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">your bosom b4 3 o'clock? ROFL</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Arabella Stuart was not amused when her cuz's accession was universally acclaimed & didn't no one offer HER anything sparkly. By now Arabella was 28 & so unfussed at living in Granny's pockets that she immediately sat down & wrote Jemmy about the possibility of that Lennox title & coming to court, eager to shake the dust of Hardwick Hall from her skirts. Bess was hoping Jemmy would take the wench off her hands as she was getting too old to deal w/ Arabella's histrionics & having them interrupting her building.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N5L6XLCMI/AAAAAAAAAhI/kAfSDFTMM3g/s1600/James_I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N5L6XLCMI/AAAAAAAAAhI/kAfSDFTMM3g/s200/James_I.jpg" tt="true" width="116" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James I, King of England</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Jemmy, now 37, made a splendid progress from Edinburgh to London, waving at peeps & accepting lots of homage & goodies on his way to the king's coronation apts at the Tower. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Anne, who was 29, followed more slowly w/ 2 of the kiddies. Henry Frederick, the new Prince of Wales, was 9, & Princess Elizabeth (obvs suck-up there) was 6. Princess Margaret, who would've been 5, & Prince Robert, who would've been 1, had died in infancy. Nobody ever writes down of what in such cases. 2 1/2 yo Charles was left behind for a tad b/c he had a bad case of the rickets & couldn't walk very well yet, so he stayed in Scotland until he could LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">At any rate, peeps was all agog to see the new royals, have the requisite heir & a spare, & relieved that there wasn't gonna be no trouble over the whole thing like w/ Jane Grey. There was a lovely coronation in July w/ lots of celebration & Arabella said YIPPEE b/c she was invited to attend & got a nice allowance & a stylin' wardrobe, too.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Arabella was chuffed b/c she was now seen as a desirable marriage mart commodity & got an offer from the King of Poland. That came to naught & she was quite disappointed & unwisely yelled at Jemmy for not letting her have a hubby. Jemmy said pffft & pointed to Hampton Court's door, banishing Arabella from court for 4 yrs. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N6WKnZDXI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/XotTeBM8OYs/s1600/hampton_court_palace_01_gatehouse_ttaylor2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N6WKnZDXI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/XotTeBM8OYs/s200/hampton_court_palace_01_gatehouse_ttaylor2005.jpg" tt="true" width="148" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Hampton Court gatehouse</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">In that time old Bess of Hardwick demised. A fortune-teller had once told her if she couldn't build anything that she would die & it was a very cold winter that yr, so cold that the construction peeps couldn't keep the mortar from freezing when they mixed it. Bess was therefore unable to keep building & demised. Fun tale.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Meantime, Jemmy got hit w/ some plots of his own. The Bye Plot was an attempt to kidnap him & force him to repeal anti-Catholic legislation. Jemmy was raised in the Kirk, even stricter Protestantism than Elizabeth's brand, & so there was not only executions but he kicked out all the priests from England. Hey, Longshanks once kicked out all the Jews; kings pretty much got to do what they wanted as long as it didn't upset too many peeps & encourage rebellion. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The Main Plot was to replace Jemmy w/ Arabella, w/ help from those irksome Spanish. Luckily Arabella was rusticated & knew naught, but Sir Walter Raleigh was involved & got a Tower Fun Pass & stayed locked up for 13 yrs b4 Jemmy let him out.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The most famous one is the Gunpowder Plot (remember remember the 5th of November). This was an elaborate Catholic scheme to blow up Parliament on opening day when the king, queen, Prince of Wales, & all the important peeps would be sitting in it, & then Princess Elizabeth was going to have a nice Catholic regency. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N7mwbpbHI/AAAAAAAAAhY/8F4vZrfstpM/s1600/parliament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N7mwbpbHI/AAAAAAAAAhY/8F4vZrfstpM/s200/parliament.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Houses of Parliament</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Robert Cecil, now the Earl of Salisbury, was as sneaky as Walsingham & had a nice double agent in the plotting. Guy Fawkes & all his pals got to be hanged, drawn & quartered, & Jemmy passed even MORE anti-Catholic legislation as a result.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">WHY this continues to be a big holiday in England I am sure I dunno, but Bonfire Night still goes on & peeps made "Guys" (in ref to Guy Fawkes) out of flammable stuff to burn in effigy on the bonfires (twas even done in the colonies for a while). This is now why we have the word "guy" referring to any male or a collections of peeps ("you guys") b/c language evolves like that. All from 36 barrels of gunpowder in Parliament's cellar. One wonders if Jemmy got a little shiver recollecting the events of Kirk O' Fields.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Jemmy was a weird dude. In addition to having guy favs LOL (at the time of his accession his fav was Robert Carr, a Scots dude), </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N8Bc-BemI/AAAAAAAAAhg/jti6jidZ2_M/s1600/Robert_Carr,_Earl_of_Somerset_by_John_Hoskins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N8Bc-BemI/AAAAAAAAAhg/jti6jidZ2_M/s200/Robert_Carr,_Earl_of_Somerset_by_John_Hoskins.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">he wrote several books. One was dedicated to Prince Henry & all about that divine right of kings stuff that Prince Charles was gonna end up taking way too seriously (foreshadowing), one was on the evils of tobacco (tho he happily collected its groats), & another was a denunciation of witchcraft. Jemmy really believed in that stuff & had a chick called Janet of Glamis burnt at the stake in Scotland for allegedly being a witch. This is where that whole witch-hunting craze started & the Office of Witchfinder General established & long after Jemmy was demised there would be the Salem Witch Trials in the colonies. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Like Unks the VIII, Jemmy was gaga over theology & participated in re-writing the Bible (hello, King James Version) in English. Rumor has it that whole part about "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" he put in all by himself. He established the East India Company so that the Navy had something to do & even opened trade relations w/ peeps as far away as Japan, plus he sent peeps over to the New World (Jamestown) to establish English colonies. There was that whole Roanoke Colony in Elizabeth's day that Raleigh started, but peeps got spooked when it vanished & didn't want to go there until Jemmy insisted. Alas for his dreams of riches, the Spanish already got all the good parts w/ the gold & silver, but tobacco was invented & peeps started smoking pipes & cigs & there were groats to be made off importing that. Even Pocahantus came to visit court w/ her DH John Rolfe; alas, she demised of that pesky smallpox whilst in London.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Queen Anne had 2 more daughters whilst in England, Princess Mary & Princess Sophia, but they also both demised in infancy, Sophia after just a day, & that was it for the breeding b/c then Jemmy got all come over unnecessary w/ his new English fav, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, & hurled lots of goodies at him. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N9fS9JdRI/AAAAAAAAAho/IQx5xdRNx0A/s1600/GeorgeVilliers_JamesI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N9fS9JdRI/AAAAAAAAAho/IQx5xdRNx0A/s200/GeorgeVilliers_JamesI.jpg" tt="true" width="141" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>how come the cute ones are always gay? LOL</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Prince Henry rolled his eyes b/c he was your typical sports & military crazed teenage lad, but Prince Charles liked Daddy's new pal Buckingham. Prince Henry was actually the driving force in getting Dad to set up the Virginia Company & commence colonizing b/c he thunk twas important to grab some of the New World b4 the Spanish snagged it all. Peeps was impressed w/ him & thunk my won't he make a nice king some day. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N9_ubu-fI/AAAAAAAAAhw/_voK29jwR3g/s1600/henry-princewales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N9_ubu-fI/AAAAAAAAAhw/_voK29jwR3g/s200/henry-princewales.jpg" tt="true" width="172" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>miniature of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Little Charles was unfortunately quite short (must've been in the Danish gene pool w/ how tall MQOS, Darnley, James, & Henry were) & sickly & not athletically inclined like his big bro, so Henry didn't have much use for him & teased him incessantly. Tis said once he plucked one of those ginormous hats off a bishop's head & plonked it on Charles's & told him when he was king he would make him Archbishop of Canterbury so he could wear long robes & hide his spindly little legs LOL Kids.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N_ZPeqYbI/AAAAAAAAAh4/7vTbJ-7mCB8/s1600/charlesI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N_ZPeqYbI/AAAAAAAAAh4/7vTbJ-7mCB8/s200/charlesI.jpg" tt="true" width="160" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Prince Charles</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then tragedy struck the royal family. Henry collapsed in the midst of a tennis match & was hauled off to bed, where to their horror twas learned he'd somehow managed to contract typhoid fever. There was demising & a nice funeral & peeps was sad b/c at 18 he was way more kingly than Dad & now they were stuck w/ rickety little 12 yo Charles as heir. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N_8VyxzbI/AAAAAAAAAiI/nV6dKZkL5RY/s1600/Anne1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N_8VyxzbI/AAAAAAAAAiI/nV6dKZkL5RY/s200/Anne1.jpg" tt="true" width="176" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Queen Anne</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Anne hadn't spawned in 7 yrs & she was mighty unfussed w/ Buckingham so twas doubtful there would be any more heirs, & peeps were thinking if the sickly brat demised then they'd get another Queen Elizabeth b/c she'd be the only one left standing. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N_p7Jj6mI/AAAAAAAAAiA/3o1E771_W18/s1600/ebohemia-jI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N_p7Jj6mI/AAAAAAAAAiA/3o1E771_W18/s200/ebohemia-jI.jpg" tt="true" width="158" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Princess Elizabeth</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth had just gotten engaged to Frederick V, Elector Palatine of Germany, b/c he was a leading Protestant ruler. Ya just couldn't truck w/ them Catholic Frenchies & Spanish for spouses nowadays. After a suitable mourning period for Henry there was a nice wedding & Elizabeth was packed off to Germany & commenced breeding nicely. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then there was a tiresome rebellion there.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">This turned into the 30 Years' War. Elizabeth & Frederick were offered the crowns of Bohemia. Elizabeth is known as the Winter Queen b/c there was more fussing & fighting & pretty soon it was RUN AWAY RUN AWAY from those dratted Bohemians, so she didn't wear the crown for long. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OA37kfKhI/AAAAAAAAAiY/WoxwEydh2Fs/s1600/ebohemia-jI-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OA37kfKhI/AAAAAAAAAiY/WoxwEydh2Fs/s200/ebohemia-jI-2.jpg" tt="true" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth, the Winter Queen</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">They hastened off to exile in The Hague & Frederick never did get any of their goodies back. They did, however, produce a smokin' hot son, Rupert of the Rhine (this guy does NOT have a bad portrait! DROOL), in addition to sundry other brats.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OAgJ8FQ6I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/xwf3VA_pBCU/s1600/abo_rupertXL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9OAgJ8FQ6I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/xwf3VA_pBCU/s200/abo_rupertXL.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Rupert of the Rhine</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Charles got invested as Prince of Wales & Duke of Cornwall & all the resultant goodies that came w/. Jemmy was throwing round lots of coin what w/ all these funerals, ceremonies, & the wedding, & Parliament said pffft economize. So he said pffft go home & got his peeps to make him some money w/ some good investments instead.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Arabella got to come back to court, but there was no more talk of finding her a DH & she was getting mighty miffed b/c she was well past 30 already & chicks' eggs are on a timer. So she glanced round the courtiers & started making eyes at one & got tipped a wink back. B4 ya knew it there was another seecrud wedding.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Like Katie Grey b4 her, Arabella couldn't have made a choice more calculated to tick off the monarch....b/c she married Katie's grandson, William Seymour, Lord Beauchamp! Just like Elizabeth, Jemmy was alarmed at another union of heirs w/ Tudor blood when he found out. Didn't these peeps ever learn from experience that seecrud weddings were no good? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Willie got a Tower Fun Pass, whilst Arabella was placed under house arrest. When Jemmy found out they were corresponding against his express order not to, he arranged for them to be moved to different & more secure accommodations. Arabella pleaded illness & then dressed up as a man & snuck off & ran away to flee to the continent. Willie became the 1st peep since Roger Mortimer to successfully escape from the Tower so good on him. They managed to get on separate ships outta there, but while Willie's got away undetected to Flanders, Arabella's boat was stopped & boarded only minutes b4 it would've made landing in Calais, & she was hauled kicking & screaming to the Tower her good self. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">And in Arabella's case, you KNOW she was kicking & screaming. She was like that. Betcha the Tower made Hardwick Hall & Granny look mighty good to her LOL She was kept imprisoned for 4 yrs & then demised. Twas said she was anorexic & starved herself to death lollygagging in bed refusing to eat & having episodes of cardiac arrythmia.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Willie didn't mourn overlong; within a yr of Arabella's demise he remarried to Essex & Frances Walsingham's daughter, Frances Devereux, got pardoned by Jemmy, & became the Earl of Hertford & later Duke of Somerset & guardian to Charles's heir. So he made out OK & his descendents are still Dukes of Somerset to this day. England is crawling w/ throne claim peeps LOL </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">In the meantime, Jemmy was looking round for a potential bride for Charles....</span><span style="color: #660000;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-59209266857023577702010-04-24T18:42:00.001-04:002010-04-24T18:44:45.095-04:00No Apparent Heir<span style="color: #660000;">Essex fancied himself quite the swashbuckler. Previously he'd begged Elizabeth for letters of marque to go a-privateering & he made a daring raid on Cadiz, tagging along like a puppy after Drake when Elizabeth told him not to, & stole lots n lots of treasure from Philip. Elizabeth was irked at this (tho natch she took the huge share to which she was entitled & tipped Drake a wink) b/c Philip was mad enough at her for the Armada thing & she was afraid there'd be retaliation, but the Armada was still too broken & there wasn't. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NqbD96i9I/AAAAAAAAAfY/AyehqPhwoUo/s1600/cadiz_raid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NqbD96i9I/AAAAAAAAAfY/AyehqPhwoUo/s200/cadiz_raid.jpg" tt="true" width="163" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Defense Against the English at Cadiz</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Old Phil was getting busy w/ DW#4, Anna of Austria, trying to breed up a sane son on a NIECE TWICE OVER (her maternal grandparents were Charles V & his wife Isabella of Portugal, who were Philip's parents, while her paternal grandparents were Charles's baby bro, Philip's Uncle</span><span style="color: #660000;"> Ferdinand, & his wife Anna of Bohemia)....o the inbreeding!.....& the papal dispensation fees! Can you imagine being told ya gotta marry old Uncle Phil? Jeez! She did spawn him 3 male heirs, Philip Jr, Ferdinand, & Diego, which was good as Don Carlos was such a frothing at the mouth kinda froot loop by now that rumor had it Philip himself kilt the kid. But o that Catholic incest! Arentcha supposed to go to Hell for stuff like that? No wonder yrs later there was that King of Spain who was a drooling idiot. Tis a wonder none of em had 2 heads!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nr0rQPfEI/AAAAAAAAAfg/UI78ISiDZ28/s1600/Anna_Austria_4_Philip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nr0rQPfEI/AAAAAAAAAfg/UI78ISiDZ28/s200/Anna_Austria_4_Philip.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But regardless of his hot young wifeniece, Philip was still meddling in Ireland & now her Anglo-Irish earls were in open rebellion, not just the regular pesky common Irish who were always in rebellion. Elizabeth was annoyed b/c she'd had the O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, to court even, & he promised her he'd make everyone there play nicely. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nt3IirbMI/AAAAAAAAAfo/2JvqBWtJ3jI/s1600/the+o%27neill_tyrone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nt3IirbMI/AAAAAAAAAfo/2JvqBWtJ3jI/s200/the+o%27neill_tyrone.jpg" tt="true" width="149" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Now he was like the ringleader! So she glared at Essex & said yknow, if you hadn't aggravated Philip so much, I wouldn't have this problem! Here's your Daddy's old Lord Lieutenant title back....go fix it!</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Pffft no prob, I'll be done & dusted b4 ya know it! Essex said w/ confidence, & hied across the Irish Sea to kick Irish behind. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NueYJ30HI/AAAAAAAAAfw/Y4oCI39fjPA/s1600/devereaux_essex4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NueYJ30HI/AAAAAAAAAfw/Y4oCI39fjPA/s200/devereaux_essex4.jpg" tt="true" width="134" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Only Elizabeth was funneling coin into the Navy, not the troops, & it was soon clear the pittance she was allowing him to go on the offensive wasn't near enough. Those Irish were clever & tenancious & prolific Catholic breeders & there was always a whole 'nother troop of em over the next hill to harass the English. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nv8BihYII/AAAAAAAAAgI/yQYtqKgeMZs/s1600/Ermine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nv8BihYII/AAAAAAAAAgI/yQYtqKgeMZs/s200/Ermine.jpg" tt="true" width="167" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>the Ermine portrait</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">no, that ain't a rat LOL tis an ermine</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So Essex came back to court & said listen up missy I ain't got enough groats to accomplish this! Elizabeth was outraged that he'd left his post & tho she did give him a tad more money, she told him he best not dare cross the Irish Sea again unless she specifically ordered him to do so, & that wasn't gonna happen until he was done & dusted, so get busy!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NvUyeRmPI/AAAAAAAAAf4/2qzvhSXh7cw/s1600/shilling_elizabeth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NvUyeRmPI/AAAAAAAAAf4/2qzvhSXh7cw/s200/shilling_elizabeth.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>an actual Elizabethan shilling</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Essex stormed off & gave it a shot, a whole lot less cocky now that he'd seen what he had to deal w/. Elizabeth was not amused at word of his reverses & grudgingly increased his pittance a little more. Still didn't work. He was hemmed in on all sides & not in a mood to fight to the death for that old biddy queen who couldn't even be bothered to maintain a decent supply line for the effort, so he made lots of truces & parleyed w/ the revolting earls & signed off on a peace treaty w/o even consulting Elizabeth. Then he further disobeyed her by returning to England, disgusted w/ the whole mess & not planning on going back.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There's a fine story connected w/ Essex's unexpected homecoming....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Tis said Essex arrived early in the morn & swaggered his way to the queen's apts. Elizabeth's peeps were alarmed at this male intrusion b/c the queen had just finished brekkie & was still in her jammies. He was told he couldn't go in until the queen said she was ready to receive visitors, which natch she wasn't. Essex said pffft she'll see ME anytime, I'm just that darn special, & pushed his way in. Tis said his jaw dropped when he saw Elizabeth w/o her camoflauge on. Like MQOS, she had short grey hair w/o one of her fab red wigs, but she was also a good 20+ yrs older than MQOS had ever gotten & mighty wrinkly w/o that inch-thick lead paint to spackle it all in. And sans a snug corset & stomacher, there was gravity to contend w/ as well. Nope, old Elizabeth in her jammies was NOT an appealing sight to a man LOL</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NvsYEEzMI/AAAAAAAAAgA/HKcOzuyLcNY/s1600/Elizabeth_oldage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NvsYEEzMI/AAAAAAAAAgA/HKcOzuyLcNY/s200/Elizabeth_oldage.jpg" tt="true" width="184" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Elizabeth in old age</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She was infuriated that he should intrude upon her extensive toilette b4 she was done w/ it & immediately had him hauled off kicking & screaming to be placed under house arrest. Of course, if the tale of her revealed age ravages is just that, it could've just been b/c he showed up, period, when he was supposed to not leave Ireland. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Essex's timing was really bad either way, b/c his monopoly on sweet wines was all set to expire. That was when the queen granted a peep the right to collect the taxes on imported stuff for his own pockets & sweet wines was a lucrative monopoly to have b/c peeps drank lots of those, didn't nobody drink the water & stuff like tea & coffee weren't invented in England yet, so your choice was wine or ale. It was also his main source of income & she let it expire & refused to renew it. She also refused to reply to his steady stream of begging, pleading letters, which ticked him off & turned said letters into wild rants instead, displeasing her further. So he summoned some of his peeps (b/c he was under guard & couldn't go out), incl the demised Wriothesley's grandson Henry, Earl of Southampton, & began whinging incessantly about what an ungrateful old hag she was & who needed her ugly bony behind on the throne anyway? Let's get rid of her! I'LL be the king! We don't need no steenking Tudors or Scots to govern Englishmen YEAH! Let's take her down!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">This is known as Essex's Rebellion (obvs).....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Essex busted out of his house arrest & he & his peeps took to the streets to rouse the Londoners against the queen & make him king. They all looked at him sideways & said um NO. It wasn't long b4 he was slapped w/ a Tower Fun Pass. Lettice tried to get in & plead w/ Elizabeth for 2 lives b/c her stupid boy-toy DH was her stupid son's roomie there, having been sucked into the rebellion idea, but Elizabeth was still all um NO when it came to Lettice. Her very presence outside her doors prolly irked her even more. This time there was no dillydallying at all when it came to signing the death warrants. Groats were made on Tower Hill's latest entertainment, w/ Essex all arrogant & unrepentant to the bitter end.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Twas said Elizabeth was never the same after that. All her old peeps were long gone (even Cat Ashley demised, I forgot her b/c there were so many demisings LOL) & she was a doddering old hag compared to the rest of em. Her elaborate costumes & flash wigs & inches of makeup weren't fooling anybody; they all knew she'd been perched on that throne 40+ yrs by now. Even Christopher Hatton, who was younger than she, came down w/ a fatal case of the demises. The position of queen's favorite fell permanently vacant. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nw-0RX8WI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/2sFE39ZCw54/s1600/cecilrobert1esalisbury01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nw-0RX8WI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/2sFE39ZCw54/s200/cecilrobert1esalisbury01.jpg" tt="true" width="138" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Robert Cecil began secretly messaging James VI up in Scotland, hoping to make himself indispensible to the most obvs & sensible solution to the succession. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NxdWx6I_I/AAAAAAAAAgg/eFFYROKckqQ/s1600/james2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NxdWx6I_I/AAAAAAAAAgg/eFFYROKckqQ/s200/james2.jpg" tt="true" width="144" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">James VI, King of Scots</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth still wouldn't name an heir & the choices were either Jemmy or Arabella at this pt, & Arabella was nuts LOL so twas an EZ choice for Cecil Jr to make. Besides, Arabella was getting to be a dried-up old spinster & even more nuts; Bess begged Elizabeth to take the wench off her hands & Elizabeth said pffft to that. Jemmy had married Anne of Denmark & already had an heir & a spare to put an end to all this succession uncertainty.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nxr53SycI/AAAAAAAAAgo/UDqYArOWLLA/s1600/Anne_Denmark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nxr53SycI/AAAAAAAAAgo/UDqYArOWLLA/s200/Anne_Denmark.jpg" tt="true" width="153" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Anne of Denmark, Queen of Scots</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth had a very weird demise. One day in March 1603 she got up & dressed & went to stand by the window chewing on her finger. She said NO when peeps wanted to come in & see her, NO to signing paperwork, NO to breakfast, lunch, & dinner, just stood there staring out the window & gnawing. Twas a tad unnerving for peeps to watch. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">When it got to be dark her ladies attempted to get her undressed & put her to bed. Elizabeth said um NO. They said, huh? Elizabeth said, I'm not going to bed b/c if I lie down now, I'll never get up again, so I'm just gonna stand here TYVM & quit pestering me jeez! Who's the queen here? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Ohhhhh-K they said, looking at each other sideways & getting progressively irked b/c couldn't no one retire until the queen did. So her ladies all plopped themselves in chairs & snoozed on & off in their clothes & waited for her to change her mind. She didn't. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Next morn she was still standing there leaning on the windowsill telling peeps to buzz off. Since this was getting a tad ridic, sundry peeps tried approaching her all day long to see what her prob was & if she was sure she didn't want a nice lie-down or mayhap at least a chair. NO! she bellowed, irritated, & kept standing there until she couldn't stand no more & had a case of the swoons. Even them she was all meh just toss me down some cushions willya? I wanna meditate LOL </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N0QkSeNDI/AAAAAAAAAg4/lX94xJUFQq4/s1600/elizabeth_demise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N0QkSeNDI/AAAAAAAAAg4/lX94xJUFQq4/s200/elizabeth_demise.jpg" tt="true" width="166" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The Death of Queen Elizabeth</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So she lollygagged down there a bit & just gave peeps the glares when they attempted to disturb her. Finally she passed out cold.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps swept in & scooped her up & got her into her jammies & settled her in bed. She was mighty aggravated when she came round but she couldn't get up out of bed by herself & nobody would help her do it b/c twas clear she had some kind of sicks going on. Cecil Jr came & hovered & asked her if she was ready to name her heir yet. Elizabeth glared at him & wouldn't say a word except, "Little man, one does not say MUST to princes". Cecil took it upon himself to announce to peeps that Elizabeth had moved her hand when he specifically asked if she wanted Jemmy (she prolly was just trying to give him the finger LOL) & toddled off to start the transition of power. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Somewhere in all this, Elizabeth supposedly had a case of the sighs & said, "All my possessions for a moment of time". Finally she just closed her eyes & demised.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">OK tell me that ain't weird....</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N0AQqLdvI/AAAAAAAAAgw/IsbBcUcH3BA/s1600/eliz1funeral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9N0AQqLdvI/AAAAAAAAAgw/IsbBcUcH3BA/s200/eliz1funeral.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Elizabeth's funeral procession</span></em></div><span style="color: #660000;"></span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-71030797352405073352010-04-24T17:40:00.000-04:002010-04-24T17:40:39.672-04:00The Invincible Armada & Stuff<span style="color: #660000;">Philip was mighty annoyed w/ Elizabeth, & not just for the MQOS execution, either. Once Moray got shot, peeps picked up on this whole political assassination thing as a good way to eliminate rulers they were sick of looking at. The Hapsburg empire incl the Low Countries & part of them had successfully rebelled under the command of William of Orange. Philip was not amused & sent a peep over to take a few shots at him & take him out, thinking this would demoralize the Dutch peeps. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NbcnGEvBI/AAAAAAAAAcw/vgr5ptPZWIo/s1600/WilliamOfOrange1580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NbcnGEvBI/AAAAAAAAAcw/vgr5ptPZWIo/s200/WilliamOfOrange1580.jpg" tt="true" width="144" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William I of Orange</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">He miscalculated, as not only did it make the resistance stronger, they appealed to Elizabeth for assistance against Philip. After William's assassination, Elizabeth was the only strong Protestant ruler left standing in Europe. The 3rd had been Henry of Navarre, but since all of Catherine de Medici's boys had died sans heirs & he was married to their sister Marguerite, he was offered the throne of France if he converted to Catholicism. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nb5whyudI/AAAAAAAAAc4/2PXMJHBDgGY/s1600/HenriIV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nb5whyudI/AAAAAAAAAc4/2PXMJHBDgGY/s200/HenriIV.jpg" tt="true" width="160" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henry of Navarre</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">His famous line on this was, "Paris is worth a Mass". MQOSs BFF Elisabeth, who was married to Philip, had also demised, so Philip didn't factor in HA HA That irked him, too, esp as he hadn't gotten any sons out of Elisabeth to be a Frenchie player & he had to find a new wife as by now even he had to admit what a nutjob Don Carlos had turned out to be. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NcTD434TI/AAAAAAAAAdA/oMsnFnZITkI/s1600/Don+Carlos_Prince+of+Asturias.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NcTD434TI/AAAAAAAAAdA/oMsnFnZITkI/s200/Don+Carlos_Prince+of+Asturias.jpg" tt="true" width="83" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Philip IIs son</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth's decision to send aid to the Netherlands rebels really irritated Philip & so the demise of MQOS was the icing on the cake for him. He began planning an invasion of England w/ his hitherto-invincible navy, the Spanish Armada.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">O SHITE was the English perspective on this threat, & they started to get ready to fight the Spanish. Luckily boats are slow & it took a while to provision such, so they had a few yrs to strengthen defenses. Robin ticked off Elizabeth again b/c he was over in the Netherlands in charge & peeps liked him & asked him to be their Governor-General. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NeVHmrB2I/AAAAAAAAAdI/Dva6p1_1x8w/s1600/Robert_Dudley_Leicester8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NeVHmrB2I/AAAAAAAAAdI/Dva6p1_1x8w/s200/Robert_Dudley_Leicester8.jpg" tt="true" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">It wasn't a shiny crown, but he took it & told her after the fact. She didn't stay mad at him long b/c Philip Sidney, his nevvy & a great fav of the queen b/c he was her BFF Mary's kid & wrote fabby poetry praising her, was kilt at the battle of Zutphen. Elizabeth gave him a fab funeral & made peeps go into mourning. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nek7TQzfI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/ENCMNraVEn0/s1600/philip-sidney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nek7TQzfI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/ENCMNraVEn0/s200/philip-sidney.jpg" tt="true" width="141" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sir Philip Sidney</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">3 yrs after MQOS got her pair of whacks, word came that the Armada had left Cadiz & was en route to England to annihilate them.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Another English burr under Philip's saddle was Elizabeth's privateers. The difference btwn a pirate & a privateer is that a pirate is out for his own personal fun & profit, while a privateer obtains letters of marque from a ruler to go harass the ships of peeps they didn't like & share the wealth w/ said marque-granting ruler, & Philip was at the top of England's list. The Spanish explorations in the New World meant treasure ships regularly came back & forth full of gold, silver, spices, & other nice things. Sir Francis Drake was the bestest of Elizabeth's privateering peeps & plagued Philip incessantly. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ne_ntmM-I/AAAAAAAAAdY/Li9HHGsSYM0/s1600/gheeraerts_francis_drake_1591.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ne_ntmM-I/AAAAAAAAAdY/Li9HHGsSYM0/s200/gheeraerts_francis_drake_1591.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sir Francis Drake</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So along w/ her cuz Lord High Admiral William Howard of Effingham, Drake was apptd 2nd in command for the English Navy now that the Armada was on the move. There's a legend & a painting to go w/ it that shows peeps jumping up & down & pointing hollering THE ARMADA'S HERE & Drake glancing over & going meh I got time to finish this game of bowls 1st LOL </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NfPsOHNDI/AAAAAAAAAdg/9J4XszTpRCA/s1600/the_armada_in_sight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NfPsOHNDI/AAAAAAAAAdg/9J4XszTpRCA/s200/the_armada_in_sight.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The Armada in Sight</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Philip had also been irking Elizabeth some by sneakily financing the Irish rebellions & one of their bestest pirates was a wench called Grace O'Malley. Elizabeth kinda respected her even if Grace was plundering the odd English ship here & there, b/c, yknow, tough chicks hafta stick together in a man's world, so when Grace was arrested Elizabeth let her off. Troops were pulled from the ongoing conflicts in Ireland & the Netherlands, w/ Robin put in charge of those, just in case the Navy couldn't fight the Spanish off & there was a landing. A series of signal fires were set up along the coastline to warn of the Armada's imminent approach, which they had to do b/c they had no cell phones yet. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The English hunkered down & waited.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The Pope approved of Philip's plans to proceed against the heretic Elizabeth & said meh take her down w/ my nice papal blessing, but then them English peeps gotta be Catholic again, & go ahead & pick em a new ruler from amongst the Catholic peeps. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NfdplTDdI/AAAAAAAAAdo/N2wVzwO0VpQ/s1600/philipiiofspainpantoja.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NfdplTDdI/AAAAAAAAAdo/N2wVzwO0VpQ/s200/philipiiofspainpantoja.jpg" tt="true" width="100" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Philip II of Spain</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">In the twists & turns of Plantagenet begats, Philip himself could claim descent from that prolific begatter Edward III. John of Gaunt's marriage to Constance of Castile made their daughter Catherine of Lancaster Philip's 11dy6x grandma. So he thunk he would install his daughter Isabella by Elisabeth of Valois as the new English queen & be her puppetmaster. Even tho they weren't playing, the Frenchies were cool w/ this, as Isabella was the new French queen's niece. The Armada was a huge, amazing fleet that had never once gone down in defeat, so twas all looking mighty rosy for the Spanish event planners.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth donned a stylin' suit of armor (or was that just Cate Blanchett LOL) & went to review her troops at Tilbury. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NfvveMsvI/AAAAAAAAAdw/BGK7yFViDXk/s1600/elizabeth-tilbury.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NfvveMsvI/AAAAAAAAAdw/BGK7yFViDXk/s200/elizabeth-tilbury.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth at Tilbury</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This is where she got to make her fabby speech where she said "I may have the body of a weak & feeble woman, but I have the heart & stomach of a king". I toldja she had lots of good lines & I ain't said the half of em. The English soldiers went wild & cheered their gallant queen & promised to kick Spanish behind all the way back to the Alhambra for her.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The Armada was sighted lurking round Flanders, so Howard of Effingham did a daring nighttime departure from Plymouth to surprise em come the morn. This was the battle of Gravelines. The Spanish woke up to see 11dy6 fireships coming at their fleet at anchor & said O MADRE DE DIOS, AMIGOS! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NgC50Qa9I/AAAAAAAAAd4/R5bAMB_07YM/s1600/armada_fireships.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NgC50Qa9I/AAAAAAAAAd4/R5bAMB_07YM/s200/armada_fireships.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The English sending the fireships at the Spanish Armada</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Fireships is where they take little boats & set em on fire & send em at bigger ships b/c hey, it only takes one good spark to set one ablaze. The Duke of Medina-Sidonia, the Armada's commander, was confident that he had the English Navy outnumbered. Didn't matter. The English practically annihilated em. The Spanish lost a few to the fireships & only had one ship captured, but the rest of em shrieked RUN AWAY RUN AWAY, only they did it in the wrong direction.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NgZdg6_fI/AAAAAAAAAeA/WnMtoOxh-rY/s1600/ARMADAROUTE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NgZdg6_fI/AAAAAAAAAeA/WnMtoOxh-rY/s200/ARMADAROUTE.jpg" tt="true" width="98" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>route of the Spanish Armada</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The English had the English Channel clogged up, so the only available route of escape was up into the North Sea. This meant the Spanish had to sail around Scotland & Ireland to get back to the Atlantic Ocean & go home. I'm sure Medina-Sidonia was OK w/ the delay b/c would YOU wanna tell Philip the Invincible Armada got sucker-punched by a passel of heretics? But their bad luck continued & they ran into lots of late summer storms & by the time they got back to Spain, roughly only 1/2 the Armada was left. Philip was not amused.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The English, however, were partying like it was 1999; pffft to you, Phil was likely a popular phrase LOL Elizabeth's prestige had just taken a dramatic upswing so she was pretty chuffed her good self. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NgnJkLnoI/AAAAAAAAAeI/KBhwKnORp4s/s1600/Armada_Portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NgnJkLnoI/AAAAAAAAAeI/KBhwKnORp4s/s200/Armada_Portrait.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>the Armada portrait</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>(see the ships?)</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She made another speech where she said peace & prosperity were the greatest gifts a monarch could bring to her ppl. And she stopped being so penny-pinching like Grandpa after she'd seen what the Navy could do w/ a quick infusion of coin, which led to England's pre-eminence as the power of the high seas soon enough.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Trust Robert Dudley to put a damper on the party, huh? Robin hadn't been feeling well for several mos & in fact had argued w/ Elizabeth that he wasn't the bestest peep for the job of being in charge of the land troops, so you knew he must've been really sick b/c Robin thunk he could do anything. He managed to stay upright in the saddle until the peril was past, but then he got off his mount & never got on one again.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NhhKgmElI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/x38TkQxfT2k/s1600/dudley4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NhhKgmElI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/x38TkQxfT2k/s200/dudley4.jpg" tt="true" width="126" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Robert Dudley in his 50s</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth flew to her sweet bonny Robin's bedside in the midst of the celebrations. He'd recently turned 55 & was going grey & tubby & hardly anyone's idea of Prince Charming anymore as he'd been in his younger days when he was supposedly all smokin' hot. It had been about 4 yrs since his legit son had demised & he & Lettice were fairly well estranged after their decade of marriage, as ya would be if your DH kicked you out when the queen came calling, tho his illegit by Douglass Sheffield was thriving (guess he married the wrong one, huh?) & would eventually grow up to be a famous privateer his good self & perpetuate the Dudleys by having 11dy6 kidlets, but that would be much later on & Robin wasn't going to get to dandle his 12 grandchildren on his knee. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nh4_HLK-I/AAAAAAAAAeY/bFTvtbeI7wM/s1600/Dudley,Robert(EWarwick).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nh4_HLK-I/AAAAAAAAAeY/bFTvtbeI7wM/s200/Dudley,Robert(EWarwick).jpg" tt="true" width="112" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Robert Dudley, Earl of Warwick</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Douglass Sheffield's son</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Robin could barely heave his bulk out of bed. Elizabeth was worried b/c he looked awful & felt worse, so she arranged for a nice sedan chair (contrary to That Travesty on Showtime, fancy carriages hadn't been invented yet) to haul him off to take the healing waters at Buxton in hopes twould cure him. Robin kissed her good-bye, was trundled off, settled in, wrote her a letter, & then promptly demised. Eeriely it was almost to the day of Amy's death & a double bummer for the queen as twas 3 days b4 her own 55th BD. After Elizabeth died, they found Robin's letter in her jewel box, written on it in her own hand, "his last letter". Awwwww. I guess she really did love him after all....just not quite enough to share her throne w/.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">C & W slapped high 5s at being rid of Robin at last, but his demise created a vacuum in the court b/c now the queen had no favorite, so peeps starting cleaning up & dressing up & jockeying for the position. Sir Christopher Hatton was a front-runner (for some stupid reason Elizabeth took to calling him her Lids LOL), </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NiPltJL9I/AAAAAAAAAeg/LRGuodDdyS0/s1600/hatton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NiPltJL9I/AAAAAAAAAeg/LRGuodDdyS0/s200/hatton.jpg" tt="true" width="156" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sir Christopher Hatton</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">as was Sir Walter Raleigh (her Water). </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NiaM7syKI/AAAAAAAAAeo/OTWx0rKrtu8/s1600/raleigh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NiaM7syKI/AAAAAAAAAeo/OTWx0rKrtu8/s200/raleigh.jpg" tt="true" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Sir Walter Raleigh</span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">they were much younger than her, but hey, ya gotta do whatcha gotta do to get the queen to ply ya w/ goodies, right? Hatton finally won b/c Raleigh didn't learn from his predecessor.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Amongst Elizabeth's maids of honor was the granddaughter of Daddy's old BFF Nick Carew, Bess Throckmorton (yes a cuz to the plot peep on her Daddy's side; Mum was Nick's eldest daughter Anne, who was 17 when her Daddy lost his head). Bess began to swell up sumfin awful & Elizabeth demanded to know who was the father of her brat. Turned out there had been another seecrud wedding btwn Bess & Raleigh, who natch got banished to rusticate in the country whilst awaiting the birth of their son Carew. Hatton wisely didn't make any seecrud marriages & stayed in the queen's good graces for quite a while. There were some other courtier peeps to whom Elizabeth showed her favor, too, as apparently Robin required several to fill his shoes, like Sir Francis Bacon </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ni_saYWQI/AAAAAAAAAew/C7NA4bLKieY/s1600/francis-bacon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ni_saYWQI/AAAAAAAAAew/C7NA4bLKieY/s200/francis-bacon.jpg" tt="true" width="160" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sir Francis Bacon</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">& of all peeps, Lettice & Walter Devereux's boy, Robert!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NjYejoD9I/AAAAAAAAAe4/59yTf6UYNk4/s1600/Robert_Devereux%252C_2nd_Earl_of_Essex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NjYejoD9I/AAAAAAAAAe4/59yTf6UYNk4/s200/Robert_Devereux%252C_2nd_Earl_of_Essex.jpg" tt="true" width="160" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This caused much snickering b/c Elizabeth was pretty much old enough to be Robert Devereux's grandma at thus pt, even tho she still dressed young & slathered on about an inch or so of white lead paste makeup daily to conceal the ravages of age (hey, it happens to us all, except maybe Sean Connery LOL). And she pitched a fit when he married Philip Sidney's widow, Frances Walsingham, to much amusement. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">His mum also caused an amusing scandal, as Lettice married a pal of Sonny's, Sir Christopher Blount, who was more than 1/2 her age. Cougar Alert! DH was allowed at court, but no siree, not Lettice, not even when Sonny made up w/ Elizabeth & begged her to let Mum come back. Elizabeth was adamant on that subject. NO MAN-STEALERS ALLOWED!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then she got all bummed out again, b/c within a cpl yrs of finally getting rid of that pesky Dudley, Cecil had the demises.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Cecil (who should've properly been called Lord Burghley all these yrs b/c he got a nice title) had groomed his son (tiresomely) Robert, who allegedly was a hunchback, to take over for him, but it just wasn't the same for poor old Elizabeth. Cecil & Dudley had been her 2 major BFFs. To make matters worse, Walsingham then decided to have the demises as well. Elizabeth looked round & realized she was the elderliest peep standing at court all of a sudden. So she invited Bess of Hardwick to come for a visit.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Shrewsbury had also demised, but Bess decided 4 DHs was her limit. There was no need for her to get hitched b/c she prolly had more money than the queen at this pt & she was busy building Hardwick Hall & raising her granddaughter Arabella, b/c her daughter Beth had demised when the tyke was 7. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NkGVLOi0I/AAAAAAAAAfA/Ul5t-Pq4lPk/s1600/Arabella_Stuart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NkGVLOi0I/AAAAAAAAAfA/Ul5t-Pq4lPk/s200/Arabella_Stuart.jpg" tt="true" width="117" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Arabella Stuart</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Arabella heartily despised her grandmother. Bess was ever-mindful that the girl was a potential Queen of England in waiting w/ her infusion of Tudor-Stuart blood & she watched her like a hawk, determined that there would be no indiscretions to irk Elizabeth, who still hadn't named her heir. Arabella's BR was smack in the middle of Bess's apts & the only way to get to it was thru Bess's own BR. Even tho she was 20 she still had to have school lessons every day & report to Bess on her every move. Plus Hardwick Hall was out in the country & borrrrring. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Arabella was all come over unnecessary at being invited to go to court at long last & Bess cautioned her to behave herself b/c there could be a nice crown in it for her someday if Elizabeth liked her. This was a necessary caution b/c Arabella was what they called "high-strung" & what we'd prolly call "nuts" LOL She was always dramatickal & complaining to all her rellies that Granny kept her prisoner & making wild schemes to escape so she could have a life. She didn't get that if you were related to Elizabeth, you didn't GET a life unless the queen said so, so all her hatred (some of her journals still exist) was directed at Bess's over-protective 'tude. She foolishly thunk maybe she could catch a nice hubby at court & flip Granny the bird & get away from stupid old Hardwick Hall w/ its constant racket of construction.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Bess had drilled her status into Arabella all her life, so when they got to London, everyone decided they disliked Arabella in record time b/c she was so arrogant & demanded she take precedence over higher-ranking peeps merely b/c of her bloodline. In fact, she had the gall to ask Elizabeth how come she couldn't get her mitts on her Daddy's Lennox title so she could have a title. The fact that it was a Scots title & not an English one escaped her. Elizabeth found her a tiresome spoilt brat & wished she'd never incl her in the invite, b/c all she did was cause strife amongst the other maids of honor & attempt to elbow duchesses out of the way. If Arabella didn't get her own way, she threw spectacular tantrums & got all hysterical about it. This just wasn't done at court. Only Elizabeth could do that LOL </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NkiSLD5II/AAAAAAAAAfI/oNHottqfX6k/s1600/Ditchley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9NkiSLD5II/AAAAAAAAAfI/oNHottqfX6k/s200/Ditchley.jpg" tt="true" width="136" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>the Ditchley portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Finally she had enough of this nonsense & told Bess to take the brat home & never ever come back. Bess was furious w/ Arabella for incurring the queen's fervent dislike & was determined to reform her on the off chance Elizabeth changed her mind & invited them back again. Arabella was irked at Granny for dragging her back to Hardwick Hall & insisted that Bess had said something to Elizabeth to rile her up, b/c Arabella thunk she was a perfect little angel at court. Bess had to keep her even more closely surpervised than ever b/c Arabella kept plotting these hare-brained escape attempts. Arabella had the same pain in her side that Auntie MQOS'd had, so she might've had a touch of porphyria, too.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">After dusting her gloves of Arabella, Elizabeth decided to make her boy-toy Robert Devereux the Earl of Essex. And NO Lettice could NOT come for the ceremony! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nk4ckQabI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/eDbdxEi596M/s1600/Essex2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Nk4ckQabI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/eDbdxEi596M/s200/Essex2.jpg" tt="true" width="169" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>miniature of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Essex was now the clear bestest favorite & my didn't he put on airs about it. Elizabeth indulgently showered him & his sisters w/ goodies (but not Mum). Penny caused a scandal by leaving her DH & getting pregnant by her BF, but b/c she was Essex's sis she got to come back to court after she had the baby. Peeps started sucking up to Essex like crazy, hoping he could sweet-talk the queen into favors they wanted. Elizabeth even started letting him pop into her privy apts just like his stepdad had been privileged to do. Just like Robin, Essex could do no wrong & she'd not hear a word bad about him, even tho he was a rather arrogant jerk. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then those pesky Irish decided to have the Revolt of the Earls.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-29756391270685546072010-04-22T09:24:00.000-04:002010-04-22T09:24:02.697-04:00Off With Her Head, Already!<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, those pesky Scots were acting up again. This was called the Ruthven Raid & it resulted in the kidnapping of young James VI for nigh on a yr! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BIGiKPl8I/AAAAAAAAAbg/ZuHD-s8KROE/s1600/james_england_scotla__hi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BIGiKPl8I/AAAAAAAAAbg/ZuHD-s8KROE/s200/james_england_scotla__hi.jpg" width="148" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>young James VI, King of Scots</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Jemmy was now 17 & in no need of a regent, but the Scots just can't let go of that sort of thing, so William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie, held him captive whilst he ran the joint (& yes, he is related to the peep what stabbed Davie). Jemmy's prob was that he never quite decided for which team he was batting & tho he eventually married & bred & had the occasional GF, most of his favorites were male. He was particularly enamored of his cousin Esme Stewart, whom he created Earl of Lennox (Grandpa had been taken out of the regency stakes yonks ago). Esme got exiled to France b/c they thunk he was a bad influence & a seecrud Catholic. Jemmy finally managed to escape & there was a bit of OFF WITH HIS HEAD & he invited his BFF Esme back posthaste.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This was naught compared to what his Mummy Dearest was up to again. MQOS got herself involved in what's known as the Throckmorton Plot b/c it was run by Sir Francis Throckmorton, a Catholic who wanted to sit her down in Elizabeth's throne & bump off the heretic. Yes, another one of those. Walsingham natch ferreted this out & twas the rack for old Throckmorton, who 'fessed up right quick. Didn't much matter as he was duly convicted of high treason & got a trip to Tower Hill.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">C & W glared at Elizabeth & said THIS WENCH HAS GOT TO GO! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BIxy4PtoI/AAAAAAAAAbo/uV3ZPX75wyc/s1600/MaryScots2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BIxy4PtoI/AAAAAAAAAbo/uV3ZPX75wyc/s200/MaryScots2.jpg" width="133" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>MQOS</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth said um NO for the 11dy6th time. Philip was threatening to invade England if MQOS didn't remain safe & sound, plus Elizabeth really wasn't fussed w/ the whole off w/ her head thing esp for a queen. Mummy issues, no doubt. Cecil drew up an act to shove thru Parliament what said anyone who'd benefit from Elizabeth's demise would get the axe if there was plotting behind it. Elizabeth said meh OK to that b/c MQOS could be cagey & despite his best efforts Walsingham didn't really have anything solid on which to get her good, & he went round muttering about how wasn't no one safe in England as long as that "devilish woman" drew breath. So he decided he was gonna do something to insure that she ceased doing so.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This is known as the Babington Plot. This un involved assassinating Elizabeth, throning Mary, & 1st Philip was gonna invade to cause chaos & turmoil & stuff. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BJJ4BZJEI/AAAAAAAAAbw/ShUojxQJGFk/s1600/PhilipII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BJJ4BZJEI/AAAAAAAAAbw/ShUojxQJGFk/s200/PhilipII.jpg" width="164" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Philip II, King of Spain</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Bess of Hardwick was all YAY b/c after the Throckmorton Plot MQOS got a new jailer & finally ceased draining her finances, so that meant she could get busy on Hardwick Hall. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BJiludlHI/AAAAAAAAAb4/GXUOYNZKZdo/s1600/hardwick_hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BJiludlHI/AAAAAAAAAb4/GXUOYNZKZdo/s200/hardwick_hall.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Hardwick Hall</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">W realized isolating MQOS & cutting off her lines of communication was never going to get him any evidence, so he planted a double agent to carry msgs btwn MQOS & the plotters when he found out what was going on. A masterful stroke if I do say so myself, huh? W was good. Pretty soon MQOS was sending a steady stream of ciphered letters to all & sundry, unknowing they landed on Ws desk to be decoded & copied b4 being passed along to the intended peeps. W finally got his mitts on one where she agreed to the assassination of Elizabeth.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Once W had his evidence, he had all the peeps involved arrested & they got the nasty penalty of being hanged, drawn, & quartered, tho Elizabeth rather queasily commuted this to the drawing & quartering bits being done after the hanging had kilt em. A fine afternoon's entertainment was had by all, as W managed to net 14 peeps, incl its instigator, the Catholic Anthony Babington who had once been a page in Shrewsbury's household as a lad & was sucked into Mary's orbit.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The 1st inkling MQOS had of stuff gone wrong was when her sec'y was arrested & removed from her household. She was now imprisoned at Fotheringhay Castle (the birthplace of Richard III so an old Yorkist stronghold), which locale was ironically the closest she ever got to Elizabeth, as tis round 70 mi or so from London. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BJ4DmlTvI/AAAAAAAAAcA/0RGLqGjIhpg/s1600/Fotheringay3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BJ4DmlTvI/AAAAAAAAAcA/0RGLqGjIhpg/s200/Fotheringay3.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">what's left of Fotheringhay Castle</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Her new jailer was Sir Amyas Paulet & he substantially reduced her overflowing household & tore down her cloth of estate & wouldn't let her sit under it any more. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BKeW2qq-I/AAAAAAAAAcI/Amm8IjnJTMU/s1600/amyaspaulet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BKeW2qq-I/AAAAAAAAAcI/Amm8IjnJTMU/s200/amyaspaulet.jpg" width="150" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sir Amyas Paulet</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">He wasn't gonna be suckered in like Shrewsbury had & let her do what she pleased & have 11dy6 peeps flitting about. She got to keep her sec'y, her priest, & poor Mary Seton, who'd grown old in imprisonment w/ her, & that was pretty much it save for the usual underlings. MQOS whinged to no avail, but when Claude Nau was dragged out for questioning, she began to realize that she might have bigger probs than not being permitte a royal bum-wiper & such.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">C & W apprised Elizabeth of the goings-on & she wrote a last irate letter to her cuz berating her for all her plotting, telling Mary flat out that she was an arrogant twit who'd plotted for the last time to take the English queen's life & bring bloodshed & destruction upon the realm. Cecil's act made MQOSs actions treasonous, so Elizabeth informed her that she would stand trial posthaste.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Twas decided it might be too dangerous to move MQOS, so peeps had to travel to Fotheringhay for the trial, which was held in its great hall. Mary had an idiot for a client as she was not permitted to have counsel & had to defend herself. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">At 1st she was all pffft dontcha know who I am, I'm the Queen of Scots, I am, & I ain't no English subject despite being trapped here nigh on 20 yrs now, so how dare you peeps think you can even hold a trial on me? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">That was greeted w/ a resounding by act of Parliament so shut up unless you got sumfin better to say missy. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So she said, well, I ain't done nuffin wrong & yet my cuz keeps me imprisoned anyway, so why shouldn't I try to escape? It ain't like she's ever gonna let me out! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The ans to that was hmmm, let's see, your own peeps kicked ya to the curb b/c you prolly were complicit in getting rid of DH#2 w/ DH#3s help, then there was the Norfolk thing, the Northern Rebellion thing, the Ridolfi, Throckmorton, & Babington Plots, yeah sure, you're an angel, pull the other leg, it's got bells on. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS insisted she woulda never done any of it if only Elizabeth had treated her nicely, & even when confronted w/ her agreement to Elizabeth's assassination she denied it stoutly b/c twas just a copy & not the original. Then she reminded em of the recent Scots hijinks w/ Jemmy & how peeps up there were complaining he sucked as king & wished they'd kept her & did Elizabeth do anything to help her get her throne back? Um NO! This whole bidness was Elizabeth's fault, not hers. She was being unjustly persecuted b/c she was Catholic & did she not have religious tolerance when she was queen? Pffft!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Not surprisingly, she was convicted posthaste; the trial barely took 2 days from soup to nuts. Tis the axe for you, missy, she was told. "I do not fear to die for a good cause," was her cryptic response to that.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">C & W scampered back to London w/ the verdict & drew up Mary's death warrant for Elizabeth to sign.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">I think not, was Elizabeth's response to that. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">C & W commenced tearing their hair out as the queen did her usual dithering & refused to sign for months, granting MQOS a last BD party (she was born on Dec 8th, the Catholic feast of the Immaculate Conception, hence her name). Elizabeth suggested to Paulet that mayhap he could sneak a smidge of poison into Mary's trifle or something. Paulet said um NO, I ain't going down for this. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth sighed & dithered some more. Finally, in February, she signed it. Her sec'y, Sir William Davison, about broke his neck snatching it off the desktop & scurrying over to deliver it into Cecil's hands b4 she changed her mind. Later Elizabeth would insist he sneaked it into a pile of routine papers that she scrawled her John Hancock on sans looking, & wrote him out a Tower Fun Pass for it. Eventually she let him out w/ head intact, tho.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">On Feb 7th, MQOS was told by Paulet that she was going to lose her head the next morn. Peeps had to work fast so that Elizabeth wouldn't screw things up at the last min, but twas customary to at least allow a day or 2 to get one's affairs in order, they just didn't haul ya off to the nearest block w/o warning. Just wasn't Christian otherwise, yknow. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BM8JdYOMI/AAAAAAAAAcg/2BbI3Lz35NU/s1600/captivity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BM8JdYOMI/AAAAAAAAAcg/2BbI3Lz35NU/s200/captivity.jpg" width="155" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>MQOS last portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary busied herself w/ her will (typical that she left it to the last min thinking Elizabeth wouldn't axe her ever) & writing farewell letters to her peeps. At 2am she had a last nap, exhausted & whinging about her rheumatiz & the pain in her side. O BTW tis thought Mary may have had a mild case of porphyria b/c of that side pain, as tis a symptom, & so is her sometimes whacko behavior. Think The Madness of King George. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Come the morn she defiantly dressed in red, the Catholic color of martyrdom, & was escorted by Paulet back into Fotheringhay's great hall, as there was to be no public spectacle & twas strictly black tie & invite only. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BMUgaSNjI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/zhswXp83UzU/s1600/maryqos-death.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BMUgaSNjI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/zhswXp83UzU/s200/maryqos-death.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Victorian painting by Laslett John Potts,</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She gave her rosary & prayer book to Mary Seton, prayed some, got blindfolded, & laid her head down on the block as she commended her soul to God.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">But the axe whack didn't take her head right off.....</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The swing of the axe missed her neck entirely & whacked MQOS in the back of the head. Her last recorded words were, "Sweet Jesus!" when that occurred. Who knew you could talk w/ an axe embedded in your skull, huh? Ooops my bad, said the executioner, yanking it out & taking aim again. This time he hit the mark & Mary's head popped right off. Twas traditional for the executioner to pick it up by the hair & display it to the crowd, so he went to do that & ended up w/ a handful of stylin' wig instead while Mary's head rolled across the platform. Tho she'd just turned 44, her own hair was grey & short. Then peeps really began to get creeped out b/c there started to emenate a whimpering sound from her headless corpse. Turned out her fav little doggie had come along under cover of her skirts!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Orders were for the blood to be thoroughly scrubbed up & all the rags & every scrap of clothing worn for the execution (I reckon that incl the wig) was to be burnt so that no one could snag a souvenir. MQOS was to be tumbled into a coffin posthaste & immediately buried sans fuss. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BMtNDX8KI/AAAAAAAAAcY/JeAXkoQrs_E/s1600/Maria_Stuart_Execution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="119" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BMtNDX8KI/AAAAAAAAAcY/JeAXkoQrs_E/s200/Maria_Stuart_Execution.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">contemporary sketch of MQOSs execution</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Once Paulet oversaw this, he sent word to Cecil that the deed was done. Elizabeth freaked out & this is when Davison got his Tower Fun Pass & his role as her scapegoat as she claimed far & wide the whole thing was naught to do w/ her. Peeps wondered if the blue peeps were gonna come over the wall, but Jemmy said meh dinna fash yersel', not like I even remember her. He was now #1 in the heirstakes & wasn't about to irk Elizabeth w/ a retaliatory invasion.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BNbqiyKCI/AAAAAAAAAco/GjC2jAutuj8/s1600/James_VI_of_Scotland_aged_20%252C_1586_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BNbqiyKCI/AAAAAAAAAco/GjC2jAutuj8/s200/James_VI_of_Scotland_aged_20%252C_1586_.jpg" width="136" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James VI, aged 20, 2 yrs b4</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mummy got the axe</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Now Philip, however....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-53165501627070118572010-04-22T08:44:00.001-04:002010-04-22T08:51:23.861-04:00Those Hot Blooded Royals<span style="color: #660000;">Moray, king of Scotland in all but title (which is what all illegits seecrudly want LOL), was riding thru Edinburgh when a peep took a shot at him w/ a pistol & kilt him. This is the 1st recorded political assassination since them Romans jumped on Julius Caesar, pretty much. Lennox stepped fw & said my grandson, I'm next. Jemmy would then start going thru regents as oft as underwear b/c none of em lasted more than a yr or 2 b4 some Scots lords faction got together & took em out. MQOS may have been a bimbo, but jeez, considering what she had to work w/, tis a wonder she lasted as long as she did.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, was sniffing round MQOSs doings & began uncovering plots. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A_shzrDFI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/ywGs4RRx9eU/s1600/walsingham.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A_shzrDFI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/ywGs4RRx9eU/s200/walsingham.bmp" width="168" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Sir Francis Walsingham</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">First the was the Northern Rebellion, led by Percys & Nevilles & Dacres, who were the great lords of such. Peeps was gobsmacked that these dudes decided it would be a good idea to make Mary the Queen of England & get rid of Elizabeth b/c jeez, did all those yrs of guarding the steaks & burgers count for naught that they wanted to invite the blue peeps right in to helpee-selfee? Charles Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, was married to Jane Howard, Norfolk's sis. Jane ended up running off to the Frenchies when the rebellion was put down & her bro ended up in the Tower, but Elizabeth sighed b/c they were cuz's as well & pardoned him whilst Cecil frowned.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Norfolk got his the next yr in the Ridolfi Plot, called such b/c there was an Italian banker acting as go-btwn. This was even more cause for alarm b/c it involved a nice Spanish invasion to save Mary & take out Elizabeth. This time OFF WITH HIS HEAD was carried out, as Norfolk was supposed to wed MQOS & get to be king. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">C & W hissed OFF WITH HER HEAD, TOO! b/c these plots all involved MQOS being Queen of Everything. Elizabeth said um NO. No queen killing allowed. Peeps is plotting enough of such as tis. C & W sighed. Elizabeth commenced lecturing her royal cuz even more sternly & said you double-dealing wench, dontchoo be begging me to be named heir whilst planning to stab me in the back if I don't! That is NO way to win friends & influence ppl & we are NOT amused. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS wasn't the only wannabe heir giving Elizabeth a headache.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Right b4 MQOSs run for the border, Elizabeth was mighty irked w/ her cuz Catherine Grey, too. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BAI5FtGtI/AAAAAAAAAaY/6sJiO6LrM54/s1600/Catherine_Grey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BAI5FtGtI/AAAAAAAAAaY/6sJiO6LrM54/s200/Catherine_Grey.jpg" width="140" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lady Catherine Grey</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">At the time her sis Jane was married off to Guildford Dudley, Katie was wed to one of Northumberland's peeps, William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. Then when Mary Tudor took over, it got annulled right quick & she stayed single, which she was prolly fine w/ as she was like all of 13. Then she grew up & do you know who she started giving the eye to? Edward Seymour, of all peeps! He was the son of the headless former Lord Protector & if ya recall, his Auntie Jane had nudged Elizabeth's mother off her throne & up the scaffold stairs. Was Katie TRYING to tick Elizabeth off?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Katie & Ed got seecrudly married behind Elizabeth's back, which, as we've said, was a huge no-no for royal peeps. Eventually the inevitable occurred & Katie commenced breeding. Ed meanwhile had been sent off to the continent for an edjamacation. See, that's the prob w/ those seecrud weddings, ya can't just up & whinge but Mommmmm, I can't go to college now, I got hitched & y'all missed it! Whilst he was gone his sister, another Jane, had the demises; this was crucial b/c she was Katie's BFF & the sole witness to the wedding. They had ginormous skirts in those days so Katie was able to attend upon the queen as one of the maids of honor until she was nigh on ready to pop, too scared of The Wrath of Elizabeth to 'fess up. Elizabeth generally wasn't fussed when her ladies wished to get married to begin w/, & Katie being in line for the throne, well, not pretty. 1st she asked Bess of Hardwick, who was getting to be BFFs w/ Elizabeth, to soften the queen up. Bess said um NO. Then Katie decided to throw herself upon Robert Dudley's mercy & beg him to intervene w/ Elizabeth for her. Robin was all o carp b/c he knew how the queen was, but he sucked it in & told her.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth immediately wrote Katie out a nice Tower Fun Pass.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">As soon as Ed got home from college, he got dragged off to the Tower as well. But we're MARRIED! they wailed. Elizabeth snorted & said o yeah? Did I give permission for such things? I don't think so. Prove it. Janie wasn't talking & no one else was there, so Ed & Katie were all o shite. To make matters worse, Katie had a bouncing baby boy, (tiresomely) Edward Jr. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BArV--H-I/AAAAAAAAAag/YzUAflIZLr0/s1600/grey,catherine(andson).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BArV--H-I/AAAAAAAAAag/YzUAflIZLr0/s200/grey,catherine(andson).jpg" width="196" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>miniature of Catherine Grey & son Edward Seymour</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Now Elizabeth had a pair of wannabe heirs w/ sons & she was not amused. Then she was even less amused when Katie turned up pregnant again like 5 min later! Some Tower flunkey got hurled into a dungeon for letting the lovers meet up.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth was furious & had Matthew Parker, her Archbishop of Canterbury, declare there was no proof of marriage, & even if there was, twas annulled, & Mr & Mrs Seymour were publicly denounced for (you dunno how long I had to sit here & think of a term that was less graphic than the true one!) um, doing unlawful stuff. The 2nd son, William, was declared as illegit as his bro. Katie was placed under house arrest for the rest of her life & Ed was forbidden to see her anymore, just in case. Katie got to keep Eddie & Ed got to keep Willie, though he got Eddie a few yrs later when Katie tragickly demised of that Tudory curse of the consump at age 27. She was an 11dy6x grandma to the late Queen Mum so there's still Tudor blood in there somewhere. Methinks Harry got it LOL</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Katie's little sister Mary Grey, who was said to be a dwarf, also did time in house arrest b/c she learned naught from Sissy's adventures & had a seecrud wedding, too. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BBBWJvLaI/AAAAAAAAAao/qo-MAQT4x24/s1600/Mary_Grey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BBBWJvLaI/AAAAAAAAAao/qo-MAQT4x24/s200/Mary_Grey.jpg" width="144" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lady Mary Grey</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">looks sorta like Unks the VIII, huh?</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary's was to a common royal gatekeeper, so twas beneath her status. Mary didn't commence breeding so after 6 yrs Elizabeth let her out to come to court, but Mary also died young at age 33. Elizabeth was outliving everyone so far HA HA.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Everyone except for MQOS, that is. MQOS was mighty perturbed at being kept prisoner. Shrewsbury was mighty perturbed b/c whenever MQOS did sumfin stupid, Elizabeth would yell at him. Bess of Hardwick was the most perturbed of all b/c it cost yonks to keep a queen & her peeps even in reduced circumstances & Elizabeth was being a huge cheapskate about it. MQOS began costing the Talbots even more b/c she decided to get the sicks a lot & whinge about her rheumatiz & drive Elizabeth nuts w/ incessant letters about it, until Elizabeth said, fine, take her on a nice vacation now & then to the spas at Buxton, where I hear the waters are nice fo the rheumatiz, & woe betide ya if some peep lets her escape whilst traveling. Security's expensive, yknow. Bess began yelling at George a lot, too. MQOS began making eyes at George when she saw how his wife was mean to him. George kinda cozied up to MQOS. Bess yelled louder. MQOS smirked & fiddled w/ her rosary & looked innocent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Margaret Douglas was sprung from the Tower after Darnley demised & went to visit Bess & see the captive queen. Her other son, Charles, was bored w/ 2 old ladies nattering on & began making eyes at Elizabeth Cavendish, Bess's daughter by DH #2. Beth made eyes back. Their mothers took notice of such & said awww. B4 ya knew it Beth & Charles had a seecrud wedding, the bride was breeding, & their doting mums were smack back in the Tower again for encouraging the match.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Young Mr & Mrs Stuart had a baby girl who for yonks was known as Arabella but lately historians have taken to calling her Arbella, but Scarlet don't like that spelling so meh Arabella tis. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BBlbUMYvI/AAAAAAAAAaw/OPCLAx-ciAo/s1600/Arbella_age2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BBlbUMYvI/AAAAAAAAAaw/OPCLAx-ciAo/s200/Arbella_age2.jpg" width="151" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Arabella Stuart, aged 2</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She was still in diapers when her daddy demised suddenly. Elizabeth sprung Bess of Hardwick to take charge of the kid, but she kept Margaret Douglas in a mite longer. MD commenced wailing about her rheumatiz too, so Elizabeth rolled her eyes & let her out, & then she demised as well. The heirs were dropping like flies & if there hadn't been all those seecrud weddings Elizabeth could've played the cheese stands alone by now.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BB1ZKZUdI/AAAAAAAAAa4/Koqz8wydA4E/s1600/Margaret_Douglas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BB1ZKZUdI/AAAAAAAAAa4/Koqz8wydA4E/s200/Margaret_Douglas.jpg" width="137" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>tomb effigy of Margaret Douglas</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS, however, kept buzzing busily. Elizabeth left her to Walsingham's devices & put her on IGNORE for a while b/c she was too busy throwing the bestest hissy fit ever thrown in England. After nearly 20 yrs of waiting around & dancing attendance on the queen hoping she'd forget about that pesky Amy thing, Robin got himself into such deep doo-doo that Cecil started a pool posthaste.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">1st there was the Douglass Sheffield scandal. She was a nice obliging widow who had an oops & spawned a new Robert Dudley. Rumor had it they were seecrudly married. Robin manned up to paternity of the infant, but swore up & down that he hadn't married the wench. Elizabeth glared at him until he quaked in his puffy pants & banished em both from court. Cecil was jigging in glee until Elizabeth called Robin back.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Only to discover the rumors of a seecrud wedding were true....tis just that Douglass wasn't the blushing Dudley bride.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">We gotta go back into the begats to splain why sweet bonny Robin's choice for his 2nd round of matrimony infuriated Elizabeth so, but meh, I can do it way better than that biblical stuff LOL Remember our king-friendly Mary Boleyn? As you may recall, she was wed to one of Henry's privy chamber peeps, Will Carey, who had the demises of the sweating sickness b4 Henry even was permitted a gawk at Anne's lily-white flesh. 2 kidlets were born into this marriage, Catherine & Henry. They're prolly not Henry's brats (unless he was sick enough to be chasing one sister whilst still tumbling the other b/c the dates for at least one of the kids' BD is well into his pursuit of Anne & the other near the start of it, despite what that Philippa Gregory thinks pffft) & were never acknowledged as such or given any preference like Richmond got. But there was the usual rumor-mongering b/c they had no TV & internet to keep em occupied. Elizabeth did acknowledge em as cuz's & gave out lots of goodies. Catherine was one of her chief bedchamber peeps & she married Sir Francis Knollys & ran away to the Low Countries when Mary was queen b/c they were Protestants. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BCKJn6a5I/AAAAAAAAAbA/iYZ70Y_mk2A/s1600/CatherineCarey,+Lady+Knollys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BCKJn6a5I/AAAAAAAAAbA/iYZ70Y_mk2A/s200/CatherineCarey,+Lady+Knollys.jpg" width="150" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>miniature of Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">One of her daughters, Lettice, was also a BFF.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BCqzwT64I/AAAAAAAAAbI/cT4AMxHQKjw/s1600/letticeknollys.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BCqzwT64I/AAAAAAAAAbI/cT4AMxHQKjw/s200/letticeknollys.bmp" width="143" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lettice Knollys, Lady Devereux</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Lettice 1st married Sir Walter Devereux, who got the icky job of being Elizabeth's Lord Lieutenant of Ireland & demised there of tertian fever. Her kids, Robert, Penelope, & Dorothy (FINALLY some deviation in naming peeps!) got goodies too. Elizabeth was very fond of her Carey rellies, esp Henry Carey's daughter, Philadelphia, who was a bedchamber peep for yonks. I have neglected Ireland dreadfully in this saga sinces the snakes; suffice to say they were trying to conquer it since Henry IIs day & not doing a very good job of it, so Walter's apptment was not seen as fun times. Didn't nobody wanna go over there & deal w/ a passel of savage papists. St Patrick really took there LOL At least there was the Irish Sea so no steaks & burgers raids, but the English didn't think any more of the Irish than they did of the Scots. They had a chunk round Dublin called the Pale just like the Vikings did when they made a conquering stab, but weren't getting much further in b/c the Irish would rather cuddle up to the Scots or the Spanish than the English any day. Somebody was always rebelling & there was lots of OFF WITH HIS HEAD there. Plus twas rather swampy so tertian fever demises were common.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So thanks to Elizabeth telling Walter to go stomp on some papists, Lettice became an eligible widow & began eyeing Robin. B4 ya knew it, seecrud wedding time. Lettice had some cojones to make off w/ the queen's favorite, dontcha think? The Dudleys were practically extinct b/c Northumberland & Guildford lost heads, John died right after his Tower Fun Pass expired, Henry got kilt playing soldier boy on the continent, Ambrose & his wife didn't never breed, & Robin was kept dangling after the queen. Only Mary Sidney out of all of em had kidlets, save for Robin's new bastard. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">No sooner had Elizabeth's furor over Douglass calmed down than C & W gleefully told her about the seecrud wedding of her sweet bonny Robin to her Carey cuz. Walsingham kept an eye on EVERYONE & knew EVERYTHING. The CIAs got nuffin on this dude's intelligence system. Imagine the royal tantrum when THIS was revealed. Lettice was permanently banished from court & told to go rot at Kenilworth, the nice castle Elizabeth had given Robin when she made him Earl of Leicester. Even tho Elizabeth lived another 25 yrs after that & Lettice begged regular-like, she never went back on that one. Poof begone Lettice, you man-stealing witch! Once Elizabeth went on progress & Robin hosted her fabulously at Kenilworth but Elizabeth said she would only come if Lettice left, so Robin kicked her out for the queen's visit. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But C & W were consternated b/c after a suitable period of punishment, Elizabeth allowed Robin to come back to court, as usual. We shan't get rid of him till one of em croaks, they sighed.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Soon Lettice commenced breeding & presented Robin w/ a legit son & heir, (tediously) Robert (which had to be confusing b/c she already HAD a kid named that & so did he!). Elizabeth stood godmother & sent goodies & bestowed upon the infant Dudley the title of Earl of Denbigh, but she still wouldn't let Lettice come back to court. Robin was kept there so much he & Lettice never bred again LOL Sadly, the little Earl of Denbigh died when he was just 5 yrs old (& if ya go to a fabby place called Find a Grave, you can see the splendid tomb his parents made, plus lots of the peeps mentioned; I am appalled at how shabby Mary Brandon's spot is, the queen should do sumfin about it, really). Lettice was younger than Elizabeth but not by all that much, so mayhap her eggs expired right after that. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Since Robin had gone behind her back & gotten married, Elizabeth was all pffft I'll show YOU mister & began to seriously consider a marriage proposal her good self.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Remember when Elizabeth 1st became queen & got marriage proposals from MQOSs demised DHs little bros, who were still kidlets? Well, 20 yrs later they were all growed up. There was Henry, Duke of Anjou, & Francis, Duke of Alencon (or Francois if ya wanna be Frenchie about it). Anjou had the demises (which was OK as rumor had it he liked to play dress-up whilst batting for the other team) & Alencon inherited his title & HE became Anjou then, which was a mite confusing. Even tho the new Anjou was in his late 20s & Elizabeth was 45 & prolly outta eggs, she was flattered when he popped over from France to court her in person, & he did so outrageously & extravagantly. Anjou was said to be rather short (like Maman) & not at all good-looking. Elizabeth took to calling him her Frog (she had lots of stupid nicknames like that for all her gentlemen friends; Cecil was her Eyes tho methinks that shoulda been Walsingham). Anyway, Elizabeth went as far has having papers drawn up & everything whilst peeps just kinda stared in shock that she was insisting she was finally gonna take the plunge at her age. She was way older than Mary was when she married Philip, & nobody thunk there was gonna be any heir if Elizabeh did wed her Frog.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BD9QeZH-I/AAAAAAAAAbQ/PGQYcY0E4IQ/s1600/Fran%25C3%25A7ois,_Duke_of_Anjou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BD9QeZH-I/AAAAAAAAAbQ/PGQYcY0E4IQ/s200/Fran%25C3%25A7ois,_Duke_of_Anjou.jpg" width="173" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Francis, Duke of Anjou & Alencon</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">To everyone's astonishment, Elizabeth's eggs were NOT expired! B/c her advanced age was a sticking pt to the Frenchies, natch, as even tho Henry II & Catherine de Medici bred like rabbits, the crown kept going sideways to bros instead of down to sons b/c the lads kept demising young & sans issue. So Elizabeth even submitted to the 1st publicized gyno exam LOL & twas reported far & wide that she had no visible deformities & still got visits from Aunt Flo, so there was a shot at her breeding.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There was bated breath & such but finally Elizabeth said meh & sent the Frog home w/o a binding betrothal. Methinks twas all just a spot of pffft at Robin & Lettice. Or maybe she realized she was far too old to risk breeding & didn't like the notion of peeps going HA HA if she didn't. She had the mopes in a theatrical fashion & sighed that she was married to England & all its peeps were her kidlets as she fingered her coronation ring. She was said to have very long, elegant fingers & liked to show them off to their best advantage w/ lots of rings. After she demised twas discovered one of her fav rings opened up & inside was a miniature portrait of Anne Boleyn on one side & a miniature of Elizabeth herself on the other. Don't see Henry in that mix, do we? I call that a pffft to you, Dad.....</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BGGEGKf5I/AAAAAAAAAbY/uE4K47C7_3o/s1600/_39135899_lize9003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9BGGEGKf5I/AAAAAAAAAbY/uE4K47C7_3o/s320/_39135899_lize9003.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>ring w/ Mum up top & Elizabeth herself on the bottom</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-45413450304653148022010-04-22T08:08:00.000-04:002010-04-22T08:08:58.519-04:00The Ravishing Queen of Scots<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps had sympathy for Jean Gordon being married to a peep like Bothwell who prolly had just gotten away w/ murder. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A3ZMnhgFI/AAAAAAAAAZA/m8cXOmrxcJo/s1600/jean_gordon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A3ZMnhgFI/AAAAAAAAAZA/m8cXOmrxcJo/s200/jean_gordon.jpg" width="197" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Lady Jean Gordon, Bothwell's 1st wife</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Bothwell was mighty clever b/c if HE had petitioned, peeps woulda been all over that accusing him of wanting to marry the queen, but somehow he talked the wife into doing it & her petition was promptly granted. None of this waiting round for months or yrs dickering w/ lawyers for the Kirk. Bothwell thanked her kindly & gave her lots of goodies for playing, so much goodies that her rellies couldn't even mutter about a cheap settlement. Twas more advantageous to be married in the Kirk than in the church. If Mary & Darnley had done it, none of this mess would've been necessary.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS put feelers out to Philip about marrying his whacko son again & peeps muttered about another Catholic king, this one Spanish to boot. You had to make a mess to get rid of those pesky Catholic hubbys w/ no divorce available. And Don Carlos would've been a bigger mess than Darnley as a DH. Those crafty Hapsburgs played down just how crazy he was for yrs b4 anyone caught on. Mayhap she recollected the debacle where Arran's whacko son had tried to kidnap her when she 1st arrived & thunk twasn't moot to remain unmarried for long in a realm where peeps had no qualms about seizing royal persons for their own ends, not to mention doing away w/ em. They'd never have dared to do such in England, but the Scots did as they pleased. She was beginning to wish she'd taken the evil MIL behind Door #2 instead of playing this game. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Baby James had his own little princely household at Stirling & MQOS visited him on a regular schedule, so peeps pretty much always knew when she went. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A30z5q6OI/AAAAAAAAAZI/UkqgTwL0csM/s1600/stirling%2520castle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A30z5q6OI/AAAAAAAAAZI/UkqgTwL0csM/s200/stirling%2520castle2.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Stirling Castle</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">I reckon she never thunk about stalkers LOL She was on her way back to Edinburgh one day when her path crossed w/ Bothwell at the head of a passel of his fierce borderers. Bothwell said he'd come to warn her that there was plotting afoot to have her kidnapped & she shouldn't go to Edinburgh b/c she'd be riding into an ambush. MQOS was in a tizzy & prolly cussing all Scots in general & her bad luck at being born queen to these savages. O Bothwell, what shall I do? she wailed in exasperation.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Bothwell tipped her a nice wink. Well, allow me to offer you my hospitality at my great fortress of Dunbar, Your Majesty.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A4LR41J7I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/wy3oU-N2zGg/s1600/DunbarDrawing2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A4LR41J7I/AAAAAAAAAZQ/wy3oU-N2zGg/s200/DunbarDrawing2.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Dunbar Castle (tis in ruins now)</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This is known as The Ravishment by some historians b/c no one really knows what happened. Peeps are split btwn was this a little plot Mary & Bothwell had cooked up on their own b/c they WERE carrying on, or was she as pure as the driven snow & it was Bothwell, whom she stupidly thunk was rescuing her, who did the kidnapping? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">See, they had the most peculiar ideas regarding chicks back then. If they wanted to sneak around w/ guys they either had to be really super-discreet or it had to be a high-profile dude, like w/ Mary Boleyn & her matched set of kings. Kings could have sport but queens, um NO. It wasn't done. The heir thing, yknow. But they also had this idea that if a chick was kidnapped & ravished, then she was ruint unless she married the dude who did the deed. Seems a bit harsh, dontcha think? Lots of heiresses got condemned to nasty marriages that way thru the yrs. And what bigger heiress did Scotland have to offer than an unmarried MQOS? He who gets the rich chick gets her goodies once the I dos are said.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So nobody knows if Mary had a thing for Bothwell or if Bothwell just saw his chance to seize Scots power by forcing the queen into an unwanted alliance by, um, ravishing her 1st. Whichever it was, after a few days the pair of them went to Holyrood & got duly hitched.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">O the uproar when this was announced! Queen regnants didn't run around marrying subjects! Esp freshly divorced ones from a whole 'nother religion! Darnley was only demised ummm like 3 mos or so, so that wasn't considered decent, either. The whole ravishment angle was shady. Elizabeth was duly appalled & prolly thanking her lucky stars she hadn't married Dudley if this was gonna be the reaction from peeps when queens & dead spouses were involved. Philip frowned. Catherine de Medici frowned. Moray was all I so don't think so & began gathering his peeps to make Mary a widow 3x over b/c the Scots lords were not gonna sit for one of their own rising above them, esp a peep they'd just not convicted of killing the lady's last DH.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The odd thing was, Bothwell's name had been tossed about previously as a potential hubby, but the reality of it didn't sit well w/ Moray & his ilks. Moray methinks just didn't want sis to get married at all LOL b/c this is the 2nd marriage he decided was worthy of rebellion against. The other time he lost b/c meh who cared about some drunken Englishman. But now it was Bothwell who was going to be King James (no Crown Matrimonial, tho) & lord it over them & Bothwell knew where all the bodies were buried & he was currently engaged in pillow talk w/ the queen & who know what might fall out of his mouth. He had to be shut up & removed posthaste.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Word came that Moray had a humungous force & was on the march. O shite, Mary sighed, here we go again, another Chaseabout Raid. But it wasn't b/c that time more peeps were on her side than on her bro's. The battle of Langside was a disaster & the Bothwell peeps were soon on the run from the Moray peeps. Bothwell desperately tried to call in favors & muster more troops. They met up w/ the rebels at Carberry Hill & twas obvs who had the most peeps, but Bothwell was willing to fight anyway. Moray sent over a parley & told sis if she got rid of her new DH (since it was a Kirk marriage & not a Catholic one, EZ-PZ), they'd lay down their arms, but if not, she was in for it. MQOS said um NO. There was some harebrained scheme where Bothwell challenged Moray to settle the matter in the time-honored tradition of single combat, seeing as the royal troops were kinda outnumbered. Moray was all pffft not likely b/c he knew Bothwell would cream him, but he sent word back that he'd see if he could find a peep who'd be his champion. This is known as The Last Blast of Chivalry on the Battlefield LOL</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Twas summer & hot & peeps were tired of sitting round doing naught & wanted to get busy w/ the battle or were deserting in droves, & finally Mary told Bothwell RUN b/c they'll kill you but they won't dare kill me, & so he did.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Being Lord High Admiral sometimes has its advantages. Bothwell jumped on the 1st boat outta there after a mere month of wedded bliss & he sailed thru Scandinavia trying to drum up support for his DW, to his credit. Unfortunately in Norway he had a spot of trouble, as he ended up in the same city where yrs ago he'd previously ruint a chick. Her family was powerful & not amused, & thrilled to have him fall into their clutches. Norway was ruled by Denmark then & so he was packed off as a prisoner to the king of such. He ended up in the dungeons of Dragsholm Castle & the tourists today can see a pillar to which he was allegedly chained for 10 yrs, w/ a dip around it where he paced. Tis said after a decade of pacing he demised, totally insane, & was mummified & stuck in a local church for peeps to gawk at, tho he's not there anymore & peeps aren't sure it really was him anyway. But that's the official skinny of What Happened to Bothwell on His Travels.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Moray's peeps took MQOS prisoner & marched her thru Edinburgh to jeers & prolly rotten tomatoes. Public opinion was turned & not in a pretty fashion. Mary was appalled & Elizabeth indignant on her behalf, b/c if one British Isles queen could be tumbled off her throne & subjected to abuse, it might make peeps start looking at the other one & hmmm'ing a lot. Ya couldn't be too careful.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The Scots lords decided that, too, & sent Mary off to Lochleven. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A5OB6R1eI/AAAAAAAAAZY/_V7x1l0NqZ8/s1600/LochlevenDrawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A5OB6R1eI/AAAAAAAAAZY/_V7x1l0NqZ8/s200/LochlevenDrawing.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lochleven Castle</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This was a castle owned by Clan Douglas on an island in the midst of a really big lake & if MQOS so much as dipped a toe in the water peeps would be all over that & stop her from escaping. Only one of the Maries, Mary Seton, was still w/ her, as the rest had all married & retired. Moray told Sis she could jolly well rot there unless she abdicated in favor of her baby son & let him be the regent. MQOS said um NO & wrote lots of indignant letters herself, but most of em didn't make it to the post office. When the Scots take ya prisoner they watch ya like a hawk. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">To complicate matters, she was pregnant again, by Bothwell. Moray commenced tearing his hair out when he heard THAT. By Kirk law her marriage to Bothwell was legit & so would this new infant be, tho the Catholics held a different opinion. She couldn't be allowed to keep this kid, either, b/c it might become a sympathetic focal pt for an uprising against Moray's govt & lead to Mary's restoration, & she wasn't likely to keep her bro in charge if that happened.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">NOW do ya get why, 11dy6 posts ago, I said the Scots love a good regency? Twas a lot less trouble for em LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Moray didn't have to worry long, b/c all the stress did to Mary what Kerr of Fawdonside's pistol hadn't accomplished....she miscarried of twin boys. Go Team Bothwell! I'm impressed w/ him LOL Can you imagine the consternation this would've caused had she carried to term? Three nice little Scots male heirs? They would've crowned her a saint after the drought of em they'd been having since the Longshanks debacle! Elizabeth would've pouted for yonks.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then she got that nasty childbed fever thing that so oft carried off queens. The Scots lords created a new death pool posthaste. Alas for their groats, she survived it, whilst Moray's flunkeys hammered at her to abdicate & appoint him regent. Finally she gave in & signed & little James was crowned posthaste. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth was shocked & commenced lecturing Moray & pleading for Mary's release from her prison. After all, when he'd rebelled & scampered off to England, SHE hadn't imprisoned HIM, had she? Hadn't she given him nice purses & gotten Sis to take him back? Moray said yeah TYVM for that hon & um NO.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">The following yr Moray had some peep publicly executed & the dude made a fabby speech from the scaffold whereby he implicated lots of the lords in Darnley's demise. Hey, if I was secs from losing my head, I'd savor the revenge. Peeps said o maybe we were a little hasty in throwing those rotten tomatoes at her, jeez. Mary got some sympathy. In fact, one of the Douglas peeps, a boy called Pretty Geordie, was so smitten w/ the ex-queen that he helped her escape from Lochleven! And Moray thunk it couldn't be done pffft.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">She managed to rally forces but was soundly trounced at the disastrous battle of Langside. Then MQOS decided the bestest thing to do would be to make a run for the border (thru nice friendly Bothwell territory) & throw herself on Elizabeth's mercy. WHY she thunk this when Elizabeth refused to give her safe passage or come to tea at a mutually convenient place or attend her kid's christening, I'm sure I dunno. Her peeps was all WHAT? ARE YOU NUTS? At any rate, she thunk Elizabeth would be nice to her b/c they were fellow queens of this wretched isle & cousins & she was Jemmy's godmother & all, & ignored the advice to make for France or the Low Countries instead.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth & Cecil looked at each other & said O SHITE! NOW WHAT? The last thing they wanted was her chief rival begging on the doorstep! Mary thunk she was going to get a nice parade to London to see the queen when she was received w/ shock in Cumberland. Just as soon as Elizabeth got the news she'd come to call, she was sure she'd be on her way. So MQOS settled in to rest & recover from her ordeal under a nice cloth of estate & waited expectantly.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A6Vj1UlAI/AAAAAAAAAZg/5ViAX7m5FZE/s1600/Liz_steven+van+der+muelen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A6Vj1UlAI/AAAAAAAAAZg/5ViAX7m5FZE/s200/Liz_steven+van+der+muelen.jpg" width="141" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>the van der Meulen portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Instead, Elizabeth dillydallied as she did best LOL She declared she wasn't quite satisfied if Mary had been involved in the Darnley plot & so couldn't receive her until she was satisfied. She crooked her bejeweled little finger at George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury & one of the great Lords of the North. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A6oVZa_fI/AAAAAAAAAZo/lnOaVpdf5Kg/s1600/shrewsbury.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A6oVZa_fI/AAAAAAAAAZo/lnOaVpdf5Kg/s200/shrewsbury.jpg" width="136" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Shrewsbury was practically a newlywed, on his 2nd marriage, to Bess of Hardwick. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A65jD4kRI/AAAAAAAAAZw/K-PTRgN0zUI/s1600/Bess_of_Hardwick_as_Mistress_St_Lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A65jD4kRI/AAAAAAAAAZw/K-PTRgN0zUI/s200/Bess_of_Hardwick_as_Mistress_St_Lo.jpg" width="165" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Bess of Hardwick</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She's the peep famous for building "Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall" b/c it has so many windows. Yes, tis still there. And she's an ancestress of the current Duke of Devonshire. She was also soon to be a major player on the Elizabethan stage b/c of that finger-crooking. George was her 4th DH & she had fab inheritances from #s 2 & 3, so she was a great catch despite being 40ish for the groats alone. Elizabeth needed a peep w/ groats. She said to Shrewsbury, help me out, George, I need a huge favor....can you put my cuz Mary up in one of your castles for a spell until we decide what's to be done w/ her? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Natch he smiled & nodded, & then went home to duck the stuff Bess threw at him for agreeing. They were nicely settled btwn Chatsworth & London & George's other places were moldy old castles not fit for a queen at all, so there would need to be refurbushment. Bess was a great refurbisher so she really didn't mind that much, but she wasn't gonna spend her own money on DHs carp. George assured her that Elizabeth was going to send him nice fat cheques, so she traveled north & began remodeling Tutbury Castle as fast as she could manage while George went to Bolton to make nice w/ the Queen of Scots & escort her to her new prison.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A7NpdihEI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/ididB2hkRIQ/s1600/tutbury-castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A7NpdihEI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/ididB2hkRIQ/s200/tutbury-castle.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Tutbury Castle</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary was furious when she found out she wasn't getting anywhere near London & why. She wrote to Elizabeth & assured her she had nothing to do w/ Darnley's demise. Elizabeth got a different story from Moray, who handed over to her what's known as the Casket Letters.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A7YbV1gDI/AAAAAAAAAaA/esDNETtRz_M/s1600/casket-mqos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A7YbV1gDI/AAAAAAAAAaA/esDNETtRz_M/s200/casket-mqos.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>The Casket Letters box</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">A casket was just a box, & a coffin was still just a coffin, so don't get confoozled into thinking Moray dug some peep up LOL The Casket Letters were just in a casket (box) that had supposedly been Bothwell's & contained incriminating docs that continue to cast doubt of Mary's innocence (the originals have disappeared & only copies remain). At the very least she had to know SOMEBODY was gonna take out her idiot DH! Not like anyone wanted him around. Elizabeth had a look-see & announced, "Nothing hath been sufficiently proved whereby the Queen of England could conceive an evil opinion of her good sister". So apparently peeps thunk nuffin of em back in the day.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">However, that didn't mean Mary was getting sprung, & most of it was her own fault. Since her marriage to Bothwell hadn't been in the church, it was like it didn't exist for the Catholic crowd. Despite the Elizabethan religious settlement, there were still lotsa Catholics in England. One of the most prominent was (another) Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, son of Henry VIIIs old warhorse buddy. He wasn't married & thunk it would be great if he could hook up w/ MQOS & help her get her throne back.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A8GhIqG2I/AAAAAAAAAaI/aujSa9c-yXQ/s1600/ThomasHoward1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9A8GhIqG2I/AAAAAAAAAaI/aujSa9c-yXQ/s200/ThomasHoward1.jpg" width="125" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This was exactly the sort of thing Cecil & Elizabeth were dreading when Mary set her foot on English soil.....plotting & rebellion. MQOS was 25 when she fled, the same age as Elizabeth had been when she acceded to the throne, & frustrated as all get out that she'd traded one prison for another, tho the English one was lots nicer. Bess was irked b/c Elizabeth (Grandpa Tudor's little darling) conveniently forgot to send money or sent less than she was supposed to, yet insisted Mary could add onto her entourage & be treated w/ a queen's estate. But Mary was pretty much doomed to hang around the castle & Tutbury was a damp old pile of stones no matter how much Bess gussied it up, & in the winter MQOS got sick. She wasn't allowed to go beyond the castle walls for rides or whatever b/c there might be peeps lurking to snatch her out from under Elizabeth's nose. She got bored & entered into a vigorous correspondence w/ what she hoped would be DH #4 & a way out.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth scolded Norfolk sharply & told him in no uncertain terms to back off the Scots wench. He smiled & nodded & went right back to writing Mary love letters & scheming to toss that heretic off her throne to clear the road for their wedding. Philip stuck his nose into the planning & before long what was known as the Northern Rebellion had begun, led by Norfolk to free Mary & get rid of Elizabeth.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">OFF WITH HIS HEAD! growled Elizabeth when Norfolk was defeated & captured, tho death warrants always sat on her desk for months b4 she'd sign em. Early childhood trauma, ya think? She told MQOS pffft stay right where you are, you can't be trusted. Just b/c you were dumb enough to lose your own throne, you think you're smart enough to steal mine? I don't think so missy!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS sulked & pouted & tried to make nice, to no avail. Elizabeth wasn't budging. But then there came some good news from Scotland to cheer Mary up.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-91461311698697646042010-04-22T07:35:00.000-04:002010-04-22T07:35:05.941-04:00Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary<span style="color: #660000;">So Mary, who still cherished the hope of being named Elizabeth's heir, poked her sec'y to write the English queen & see if she'd mind if Darnley took up permanent residence in Scotland. Lots of peeps didn't much like MQOSs sec'y, David Rizzio. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Auyql7JMI/AAAAAAAAAXw/pOwTTd3lA-A/s1600/david_rizzio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Auyql7JMI/AAAAAAAAAXw/pOwTTd3lA-A/s200/david_rizzio.jpg" width="188" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>David Rizzio</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>MQOSs sec'y</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">He was a funny short Italian Catholic dude so even way more foreign than her Frenchie peeps & they thunk she showed him too great a favor by inviting him to dine w/ her when he was just a flunkey. And not even a Scots flunkey! MQOS was all pffft I'm the queen I shall do what I wish; twas bad enough she had to put up w/ Knox & the Kirk & those annoying Scots lords! At least her principal ladies couldn't be faulted b/c they were little Scots girls who had gone into Frenchie exile w/ her & were known as the 4 Maries b/c they were all born one after the other after MQOS & named for her. There was Mary Seton, Mary Beaton, Mary Livingston, & Mary Fleming. Mary Fleming's mother had been MQOSs governess but there was scandal & disgrace b/c Janet Fleming made eyes at Henry II & got a fat belly for her trouble. All the Marys made a little pet out of Davie & peeps thunk he was hanging round the queen's chambers way too much. I got lots of correspondence, MQOS sniffed. And she did write to Elizabeth lots trying to suck up, but Elizabeth knew she was also always writing to her Guise rellies & to that jerk Philip, who was now married to her BFF Elisabeth.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">When Cecil showed her the latest from MQOS requesting permission to wed an English subject, Elizabeth had a good chortle & said tell her um NO. Cecil was all, but I thunk ya wanted her to hook up w/ Darnley! O, sure, Elizabeth said, but she's more likely to do it if she thinks I don't like it. Truuust me. I dunno, said Cecil, but he was a good little flunkey & did as he was bid. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS was all pffft just b/c SHE wants to die an old dried-up spinster doesn't mean I hafta do it! Who does she think she is? Um, the peep w/ the shinier crown, ventured the Scots ambassador to England, Maitland, who was cozying up to Mary Fleming. MQOS said hmph, she can stuff her crown! How many yrs has she been promising to make me her heir & never followed thru? Now I've stolen one of her English heirs out from under her & doubly strengthened my claim! Like she's gonna pick Ferdinando over this match! I WANNA MARRY DARNLEY & I DON'T CARE WHAT ELIZABETH SAYS ABOUT IT!!!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ax9qNUOhI/AAAAAAAAAYw/U2HtzHUwfcE/s1600/mary_darnley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ax9qNUOhI/AAAAAAAAAYw/U2HtzHUwfcE/s200/mary_darnley.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Darnley & MQOS wedding portrait</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth went storming round pretending outrage when she heard MQOS & Darnley had said their I dos. In fact, she grabbed Margaret Douglas & had her slammed into the Tower for intriguing to marry her brat to the Scots queen. The council started putting more pressure on Elizabeth herself to marry posthaste & beat out MQOS in the heir-stakes. O SHUT UP, she grumbled at them, agreeing to negotiate some w/ Philip's cuz Charles, Archduke of Austria, & went off to have another portrait painted of her good self. She liked that. Elizabeth has so many portraits that peeps just gave up counting after a while & settled upon 11dy6.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Avcr9iEWI/AAAAAAAAAX4/N6Yo9Bvt9cE/s1600/Darnley_Portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Avcr9iEWI/AAAAAAAAAX4/N6Yo9Bvt9cE/s200/Darnley_Portrait.jpg" width="141" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Elizabeth I</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">the Darnley Portrait</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Even if Elizabeth had gotten hitched the day after, tis doubtful whether she would've beat on MQOS in the heir-stakes, as MQOS got w/ child just by looking at her lang lad. By Christmas it was announced that she was pregnant. But by Christmas she was starting to give Darnley the stink eye & wishing she'd said OK when Elizabeth said um NO. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Darnley was irked b/c MQOS refused to grant him the Crown Matrimonial as she'd done w/ Francis. This gave a king equal power w/ the queen regnant. Otherwise he was just a prince consort who got to go round saying inappropriate things all the time like Prince Philip does today LOL She did let him be known as King Henry instead of Prince Henry, but he still had the sulks over it b/c that was just a sop & didn't give him any of the rights of a king to stamp his seal on stuff & order it to be done. He still had to clear his stuff w/ Mary 1st & that meant going thru her sec'y, & he despised Rizzio b/c when MQOS said um NO to stupid things Darnley wanted to do, poor Rizzio had to deliver the bad news. Darnley didn't get to be important & sign stuff w/o his wife's approval, either. The Scots whisky was nice & there was lots of ill-repute to be had in Edinburgh, but it ticked him off that his status was really more like that of a queen consort's....look pretty & breed heirs. Even her illegit bro Moray had manly stuff to do being council prez. Darnley threw lots of tiresome tantrums when he didn't get his own way & pretty soon everyone knew the royal newlyweds weren't getting along well at all. MQOS was starting to get embarrassed about what a jerk DH was being, not knowing he'd always been a jerk & was just playing nice till he could get a shiny crown on his head. But no one had still invented divorce for Catholics, & natch MQOS didn't want a mess where her kid's legit-ness would be questioned.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Moray was so irked by his sis's plans to wed Darnley (b/c Darnley was also Catholic) that he rose up in rebellion w/ some of his Protestant peeps just b4 they got hitched & this is known as the Chaseabout Raid b/c Mary's peeps couldn't catch him & he made a run for the border & threw himself upon Elizabeth's mercy for a while. Darnley thunk he should be council prez now but his wife was um NO. So Darnley hmmm'd & brooded & sang the Scots whisky song whilst he drank it & decided to give the wench a little spot of rebellion his good self. He allied w/ some peeps who weren't fussed over Rizzio, either, & they decided to get rid of Davie. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS had a wee privy dining chamber at Holyrood that was off her bechamber & she was having a supper mtg w/ Rizzio. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Awr_8FkCI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/FYRvDXFcNAs/s1600/e-holyrood-palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Awr_8FkCI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/FYRvDXFcNAs/s200/e-holyrood-palace.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Holyrood Palace</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Her chambers connected to the king's chambers by means of a seecrud staircase so that there didn't have to be any of that fanfare where everyone knew when the king & queen were gonna try for an heir like they did in England & such. Darnley let the peeps in & they snuck up the stairs & burst in. MQOS never forgave one of the dudes, Andrew Kerr of Fawdonside, who grabbed her out of her chair & shoved a newfangled pistol into her 6 mos pregnant belly & threatened to kill both her & her unborn child if she dared move. The rest of them fell on Rizzio w/ knives & chased him round the queen's apts until he was properly murdalized. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AwE1N-7_I/AAAAAAAAAYA/DxV-TA8GIqA/s1600/The_Murder_of_David_Rizzio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AwE1N-7_I/AAAAAAAAAYA/DxV-TA8GIqA/s200/The_Murder_of_David_Rizzio.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">The Murder of David Rizzio</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then they dragged out his corpse & set a guard on the queen's doors so she couldn't get out. The king had just run a successful palace coup against the queen & peeps was agog to see what was gonna happen next.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS had a nice thunk & decided Darnley was the weak link. Ruthven & his ilks was just, well, too ruthless LOL & the next time she saw Kerr of Fawdonside she was gonna yell OFF WITH HIS HEAD! And she was kinda getting her head round the notion of how the Scots lords preferred the nice regency concept, so she sneaked down to Darnley's digs via the seecrud staircase b/c there was no guard on him, & grabbed away his Scots whisky & said look, you idiot, do ya think they're gonna let either one of us live once I spawn this misbegotten brat of ours? Do ya think AT ALL? WTF? You are NOT playing w/ a full deck if you think king trumps queen in MY realm, mister. It's them jokers what trump all & you're dumb enough to pal around w/ them? We need to crush em, not buddy up em to em!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Darnley sobered up & commenced having a bad case of the whinging frights. O me o my, he said, wringing his hands, what shall become of me? MQOS rolled her eyes & leaned in up close & said, Yknow, I worry about you, Henry. I worry A LOT. Then she boxed his ears & hissed, You can get out & I can't, thanks to your nonsense! GO FIND BOTHWELL! He's just the dude we need to fix this mess.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AwaaOpBEI/AAAAAAAAAYI/XtNq5sRWDiY/s1600/Bothwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AwaaOpBEI/AAAAAAAAAYI/XtNq5sRWDiY/s200/Bothwell.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, was a dude few ppl chose to mess w/ b/c he was a Border Lord w/ an iron fist. He was also Lord High Admiral of Scotland & buddied up to Mary of Guise some when she came over to Scotland to become James Vs 2nd Frenchie bride (the 1st, Madeleine, died of the consump after about 5 min of breathing in all that Highland mist). When MOG was having issues w/ the Scots lords whilst trying to be regent for MQOS, Bothwell was like her main man, so peeps looked at him sideways. So far he hadn't much cuddled up w/ MQOS b/c he was busy glaring at the Hamiltons for some tiresome nonsense (Scarlet does not know if Melanie & Charles & Aunt Pittypat are related). They were the Earls of Arran so kinda important peeps, tho they did have that embarrassingly whacko son who wanted to marry MQOS & wouldn't take no for an ans till he lost his head.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But MQOS knew Mummy relied on Bothwell to help out sometimes, & he was the only peep she could think of who wasn't either involved in Davie's demise or had made a run for the border w/ her bro that was reliable. He was maybe 15 yrs or so older than her but he'd spent those yrs bldg a nice tough rep, not dancing to Frenchie music & writing bad poetry like the queen. Really, her edjamacation was scandalously neglected when held up against Elizabeth's. Tis no wonder peeps called her a bimbo. So Bothwell managed to break her out of Holyrood in a daring nighttime escape where she jumped on a horse ginormously rounded & hied for Edinburgh Castle. That sucker's up high & kinda impregnable. Good choice.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AxR6B3_JI/AAAAAAAAAYg/9QWgSaFi3gQ/s1600/edniburgh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AxR6B3_JI/AAAAAAAAAYg/9QWgSaFi3gQ/s200/edniburgh.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Edinburgh Castle</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, Elizabeth wasn't amused w/ supporting Moray & his ilks in England, & she was appalled when she found out what happened to Rizzio. Clearly marriage to Darnley was the bad thing she'd expected, but even Elizabeth didn't think it'd be THAT bad. So she told Mary she was sending her bro home & they needed to kiss & make up & get pardoned b/c someone had to run the joint whilst MQOS was getting ready to spawn & it wasn't gonna be Darnley.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS was mighty ticked at this Elizabethan presumption telling her how to run her own darn kingdom, but she supposed if she ever wanted to be named heir she'd best start listening to what Elizabeth said from now on. She was right about her DH, wasn't she? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So there was a nice public reception & Moray got to be prez again & then she got even more ticked b/c he had the council pass stuff what didn't hold any of the peeps who were involved in the Rizzio plot accountable. She wanted Andy Kerr's head NOW. Moray pointed out that her DH was equally culpable & twould be a huger scandal to have him arrested & charged & decapitated along w/ the rest of em. MQOS sighed & glared at Darnley. He was too far into the Scots whisky to notice.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth's latest matrimonial negotiations had, as usual, come to naught, & when she rec'vd word that MQOS was safely delivered of a baby boy at Edinburgh she lamented, "The Queen of Scots is lighter of a fair son, & I am but barren stock!" Cecil & Cat rolled their eyes & said, well, whose fault is THAT, missy? Ain't we toldja to get hitched to anyone but Dudley lo these many yrs already? Elizabeth flounced off & reopened the Frenchie negotiations, since the new king Charles was now almost old enough for consummation purposes. She sent MQOS a nice pressie & stood godmother to little James, tho she sent a proxy & didn't actually go. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AxtfTizYI/AAAAAAAAAYo/OmnR_Zv5eMU/s1600/Mary%252520Stuart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AxtfTizYI/AAAAAAAAAYo/OmnR_Zv5eMU/s200/Mary%252520Stuart.jpg" width="148" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>MQOS & baby James</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Darnley was irked that he wasn't little Henry & he still didn't get the Crown Matrimonial for producing a lad, & refused to attend the christening at Stirling, much to MQOSs consternation. She had important peeps from all over Europe popping in for the event & to have her DH gone missing from it was embarassing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Scots lords got together & discussed what a PITA Darnley was becoming, Bothwell among them. Bothwell had just gotten hitched his good self to Jean Gordon, one of those Catholic peeps whose rebellion MQOS had put down a while back. Moray was unfussed w/ Darnley's blatherings in council & his public excursions in debauchery were less & less discreet. They all agreed Darnley was a huge liability & since he'd done his duty & gotten the heir, who needed him anymore? Well, we can't just toss him across the border, b/c what if James demises & we need another heir? So they hmmm'd some for a while & then got together at Ainslie's Tavern to sign a bond.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">A bond is where a bunch of important peeps sign a paper saying they're committed to taking action over something, & the action was getting rid of Darnley. Since both he & MQOS were Catholics, just kicking him out wasn't going to accomplish squat in case a 2nd heir was required, b/c if she was still married any other kids would be bastards. And jeez, look what happened in England when they started letting em take the throne, huh? Moray was not amused b/c he was a royal bastard his good self, & tis a pity he was b/c he was much better at ruling than MQOS ever was. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Darnley was even more irked when, after his non-appearance at James's christening (see, it looked bad if Dad didn't show for such things, b/c twas as if he wasn't acknowledging it was his kid), he tried to then get cozy w/ MQOS to make a spare & she boxed his ears again & told him where he could shove it. MQOS got kinda lucky there b/c b4 ya knew it, DH was down w/ a right proper case of the sicks. He had the Frenchie pox. If you were a Frenchie they called it the English pox. We call it a really bad STD (& I ain't talking Spot the Diff), syphilis, & tisn't pretty. I shall spare you the yucky Stage 2 symptoms, which is where Darnley was at. Antibiotics hadn't been invented yet & so twas treated w/ infusions of mercury & all sorts of quackery that was more likely to kill ya than cure ya. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Scots lords ran a pool on when he'd croak when they found out. Darnley whinged a lot, tho he got no sympathy from peeps b/c he was dumb enough to catch the pox. Stuff to wear to prevent that HAD been invented back in Henry VIIIs day by a clever Italian peep called Gustavo Fallopio (they tied on w/ ribbons then ROFL b/c latex hadn't been invented), so Darnley was just lazy. His sores were so icky he wore a mask so peeps wouldn't puke when they saw his face. He was way out on the Lennox estates & wanted to go back to Edinburgh for better quackery, so twas arranged he would be installed near the castle in a house attached to a religious place known as Kirk O' Fields.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So MQOS got Darnley settled & arranged for the finest in quackery & likely tossed her groat into the pool as well, b/c my wouldn't it solve a whole lot of probs if he were to demise posthaste. Then she could get a nice new DH who wasn't crawling w/ nasty sores. Elizabeth had just tossed over that Archduke of Austria b/c he was Catholic. He'd do nicely if Don Carlos didn't work out & twould still ally her not just w/ France but w/ Spain & Philip (all them Hapsburgs inbreeded constantly), so if Elizabeth didn't watch her step, POW! 3-pronged attack b4 she knew what hit her! O twas pleasant to daydream about life sans that jerk she'd married! Elizabeth was gonna be a dried-up old spinster in no time & then Mary could have a pair of crowns again AND a better hubby. Surely no one could be worse than Darnley!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Darnley was whingy & bored & sometimes MQOS would roll her eyes & stay over at Kirk O' Fields instead of going back to the castle b/c she was there so late trying to keep him amused. Natch she had her own apts & there was no hanky-panky allowed, tho she permitted DH to think there might be once he was "cured". There's 4 stages to the syph, & the 2nd & 4th are the worst, but it goes into remission for a while after the 2nd & sometimes doesn't come back. Peeps didn't always demise of it & if they did it took yrs to get to Stage 4 (unless they were dumb enough to keep getting reinfected). Darnley was recovering & he could well have lived a normal lifespan if he got lucky, tho he was still prolly gonna be mighty contagious. Peeps didn't know that, either. They thunk if there were no nasty sores than twas OK. Twas a crapshoot. And if ya recollect, Darnley was still a little punk who'd just turned 19. Tell a kid that age no more nookie for you & see what they says. So he thunk once he was all better MQOS would say OK, we needs us a spare, have at it. Ya think she lied back & thunk of England? LOL</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">One night in Feb Darnley had the pouts b/c MQOS was throwing a nice wedding for a cpl servants at the castle. He whinged until she sighed & promised to come back after the party & tell him all about it. Luckily for her, they partied hearty & MQOS got the yawns & said meh the heck w/ DH, me for bed, & stayed in Edinburgh.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a humungous explosion.....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Twas fireworks the like Edinburgh had never seen & its raging epicenter was Kirk O' Fields. The house in which Darnley was staying had been blown clear off its foundations w/ debris blazing merrily all around. MQOS looked out the castle window & said o my I reckon I can get my widow's weeds outta mothballs & start planning a nice state funeral, b/c DH looks to be toast. Then she poked one of the Maries to see if she'd won the pool.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But Darnley wasn't a smouldering charcoal briquette at all. No siree, he was as bad a screwup in death as he was in life, that one. See, there was gunpowder galore somehow smuggled into the cellar (o the irony of the Gunpowder Plot involving his son to come later in the saga), which explained the fabby explosion. Anyone in that house coulda shoulda woulda been served up on a Cajun platter. However, gunpowder don't generally explode all by itself unless it's really ancient & therefore unstable, & there were lots of fun wars, so the firemasters (what they called the dudes who were licensed by the crown to make it) always had new stuff on hand. In order to make gunpowder do what it's supposed to do, there's gotta be a fuse (preferably a nice long one so you can RUN) & a match. They were called lucifers back then LOL Some peep had to creep to the fuse w/ a light to get it going & then get well outta range of the ensuing spectacle.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Nobody knows who it was that actually did the deed (prolly some flunkey), but Darnley didn't sleep well & was lying there all bored b/c DW hadn't returned & he heard the peep sneaking round in the cellar & got the frights, so he poked his manservant awake & said RUN AWAY RUN AWAY & they tied sheets together & shimmied out a window. See, Darnley wasn't entirely a moron, b/c he knew the Rizzio peeps were mad that he'd crossed em, so he was afeared of being assassinated. They ran across the lawn & into the garden b4 the blast flung em a little further.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">And once the fire was out & peeps were all shaking their heads at poor King Henry's likely toasty demise & the sun came up to illuminate the scene, there was Darnley in his jammies in the garden.....strangled.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Az3FEAc1I/AAAAAAAAAY4/wM4659EP6dk/s1600/1KirkOField.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Az3FEAc1I/AAAAAAAAAY4/wM4659EP6dk/s200/1KirkOField.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">contemporary drawing of Kirk O' Fields,</span></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">complete w/ Darnley's jammied corpse at R</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">OK wouldn't that REALLY irk ya if you were him? Survived the syph, survived the explosion, only to be spotted in the light of the flames & have some peep chase after ya & kill ya anyway? So he wasn't incinerated, merely a little blue. Alas the Scots were done w/ that nonsense & so he stuck out like a sore thumb & peeps were all agog b/c clearly this was murder most royal.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS was all O SHITE when the corpse was discovered. Now DH was going to be an even bigger prob. Elizabeth was duly appalled & wrote sternly telling Mary that she must punish those who would kill an anointed king (even if he didn't have that sparkly Crown Matrimonial on) to the fullest extent of the law.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The prob was, MQOS wouldn't have any lords left if she did that LOL b/c most if not all of em were in on it & had signed the Ainslie's Tavern bond, which Moray (who had not signed) promptly waved around at em in a discreet fashion. A scapegoat was needed as the ringleader & instigator of this crime. The Scots lords whispered a lot about who they hated the mostest & who was cuddled up too close to the queen & said meh let's pin it all on Bothwell.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So Bothwell was rounded up & tossed in the Tollbooth. This was the cheezy Scots low-rent version of the Tower & not half as scary. Peeps was all amazed when MQOS let him out on bail! They started hmmm'ing & posters began appearing round Edinburgh depicting Mary as a mermaid. Back then this was a bad thing to call a chick b/c it was synonymous w/ woman of ill-repute. Peeps figured MQOS had a thing going w/ Bothwell & he got rid of DH for her.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">However, Bothwell was not w/o his own resources & word up was he was a pretty intimidating dude. So he told all the other Scots lords that he'd start naming names & spilling lots of guts MQOS didn't even know about if he got convicted & even close to the block. Heck, he might even implicate the queen if he had to, & how bad would THAT make Scotland look? Were they gonna toss HER in the Tollbooth & think they were gonna enjoy a nice regency again? A few key witnesses had a sudden case of the demises or the disappearances as well. He wasn't going down for a jerk like Darnley no sirree. He came riding into Edinburgh at the head of a huge troop of his wild borderers like he owned the joint & was condescending to come by & be tried. He lollygagged & smirked thru the whole thing & at the end of it all Moray had to pronounce him not guilty b/c they all knew they were all gonna go down w/ him if they did otherwise. Ya didn't mess w/ Bothwell.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth was more appalled that Darnley's murderers were gonna go unpunished. It got to where MQOS would just throw her mail in a pile & glare at it for wks b4 even rdg it, prolly, b/c Elizabeth lectured the petticoats off her every chance she got & Mary was not amused. She had enough trouble TYVM. These Scots were just nuts & totally outta control. They weren't civilized like the English & the Frenchies. Elizabeth didn't know jack on dealing w/ peeps like these & needed to just shut up. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Bothwell's wife then immediately petitioned the Kirk for a nice divorce.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-18498427234744836572010-04-22T06:59:00.000-04:002010-04-22T06:59:56.213-04:00The Royal Marriage Mart<span style="color: #660000;">Robert Dudley was the same age as the queen, but luckily for him he'd been married off at age 17 to Amy Robsart. Luckily b/c when it came time for a Dudley to wed Jane Grey, Guildford was the only one left who wasn't married, so Robin had a narrow escape there & we wouldn't have this faskinating tale unfolding right this min.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">OK, he was in the Tower for a bit under Mary's reign, & had spent the last 2 yrs mostly dancing attendance on the new queen, but still, after 10 yrs, he & Amy hadn't managed to produce one single little Dudley. Natch Elizabeth didn't invite Amy to court at all, so Amy was stuck out in the country likely getting peeved at the whole thing. But there'd been a rumor circulating that Amy was ill w/ "a malady of the breast" (we guess breast cancer even tho she was awfully young for it) & Robin was just waiting on his wife to demise so that he could marry the queen. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Like the Scots, the English weren't thrilled at the prospect of having one of their own lording it over them. Cecil threw out lots of nice princes for Elizabeth's selection, but she said she wasn't interested in any of em. King Eric of Sweden was wooing her & tis said she even had a nibble from Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar of Russia, but Elizabeth was having too much fun playing w/ Robin & was so publicly affectionate toward him that peeps feared she might really marry him when his wife popped off. Besides being a bit of an arrogant stud-muffin type, not only had his daddy been executed by Mary, but his grandpa was the very 1st execution of Henry VIIIs reign, allegedly for mismanaging Henry VIIs money HA like he didn't know where every stray farthing was! That John Dudley was just a scapegoat & a way for Henry to get rid of one of his father's most unpopular councilors. Still, for a King of England to have treason blotting his family escutcheon? Just not done. Everyone hoped the rumors about Amy were wrong & she'd live to be 100.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But then Amy's dead body was found at the bottom of the staircase at Cumnor Place.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The circumstances were suspicious, b/c when you were the wife of an important peep, didn't nobody ever leave off pestering you for one min of the day. But Amy had given leave to her entire household to attend a fair in town & was home alone, which was quite unusual. It was said that it wasn't so very big of a staircase as to break your neck falling down it, & that Amy's headdress didn't even look askew when the body was found. B/c no one was present at the time of demise, an inquest had to be held.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps was all saying Robin couldn't wait any longer & pd someone to go shove Amy down the stairs or just plain snap her neck & make it look as tho she'd fallen. Or mayhap he'd had poison administered & she got the swoons from it & took a tumble. Tongues were wagging over this surprising unnatural demise of the queen's BFs wife. Some even said Elizabeth was either in on the plot to get rid of Amy, or had instigated it herself. Everyone was looking at her sideways & muttering against her for the 1st time in her reign & Elizabeth didn't like that one bit, esp as some of em were saying they should invite MQOS over instead. Cat Ashley wrung her hands a lot & Cecil glowered a lot & they both went SEE? WE TOLDJA THIS WOULD COME TO NO GOOD! IS HE WORTH LOSING YOUR CROWN OVER?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Anc1H-R8I/AAAAAAAAAWw/I4lURQEzqNo/s1600/Clopton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Anc1H-R8I/AAAAAAAAAWw/I4lURQEzqNo/s200/Clopton.jpg" width="143" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>the Clopton Portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So Elizabeth banished Robin from court. Admittedly not very far, just over to a manor she'd granted him at Kew. She told him not to come back until the inquest had brought in a verdict.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Twas "death by misadventure" as the Brits so quaintly put it when they dunno what happened LOL In the US we'd call it accidental death. Amy's neck was broken, all right, & w/ no signs of foul play & no witnesses, they were hard put to come back w/ anything else. So tis almost as good a whodunnit as the PITT. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Some historians propose maybe Amy was just really depressed over having that pain in her bosom & a DH who was off flirting w/ the queen & hurled herself down those stairs, committing suicide. Didn't nobody want to mention such in those days as suicides can't be buried in hallowed ground or even have a nice funeral, so it was considered a huge disgrace & there had to be solid evidence b4 any demise was declared to be suicide. Some historians say that if Amy did have breast cancer, & it usually metastizes into the spine if untreated (as it was back then) or returns, she would've had extremely brittle bones, so that a fall that prolly wouldn't kill anyone else may have indeed snapped her neck. Splendid historical forensics, that one. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">I like the rogue historian notion that Cecil was at his wits' end at Elizabeth carrying on w/ her bonny Robin, hearing all the grumbling & the threats of rebellion if they got hitched, & decided to quietly go behind everyone's back & off the wench himself to save the queen from her own recklessness....plus his own job, natch, b/c if Elizabeth got deposed, where would that leave him as her principal supporter?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9An98iax7I/AAAAAAAAAW4/fsEfq5KEOXI/s1600/Cecil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9An98iax7I/AAAAAAAAAW4/fsEfq5KEOXI/s200/Cecil.jpg" width="138" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>William Cecil</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Lord Burghley</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Dontcha just love a good history mystery? At any rate, Elizabeth got a good scare & a glimpse of what it would be like to lose her peeps' favor. Robin kept his goodies & was eventually brought back to court, but he was received coolly & Elizabeth was rarely as open in her affections for him as she'd previously been. Robin tried his bestest to woo the queen back & he prolly did, but it was done discreetly & most peeps think that whole Virgin Queen thing is just a myth. On the other hand, look how many yrs her mother said NO & her father sighed & took it. So we shall never know if they did or if they didn't. But it do seem as if they were madly in love w/ each other & who knows, if Amy had died less spectacularly, if Elizabeth would've married him & still kept her throne.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">After all this nonsense, Elizabeth got really aggravated when she received a letter from MQOS requesting safe passage thru England.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AoTos9HRI/AAAAAAAAAXA/OllUm5PMulk/s1600/maryqosred-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AoTos9HRI/AAAAAAAAAXA/OllUm5PMulk/s200/maryqosred-small.jpg" width="135" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>MQOS</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS had crawled out from under the covers, decided she didn't much like playing 2nd banana to Catherine de Medici, confabbed w/ her Guise unks, & decided it was time to go back to Scotland & play queen there instead. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Scots lords weren't happy esp Moray, who if not for being born on the wrong side of the royal blankie could've been king himself & was actually doing a decent job of being regent & keeping the lords from warring all the time. Also, that whole religion thing had crept over the wall & they Scots decided they didn't want to be Catholic anymore, either, & formed a thing called the Kirk, which is Scots for church, & this is where the Presbyterians come from. The Kirk leader was John Knox & he was a real pulpit-thumper. Even Elizabeth didn't like him b/c he'd written a treatise about "this monstrous regiment of women" taking over thrones & it wasn't just MQOS he was trash-talking, but Elizabeth & Mary, too. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But she didn't much like the idea of MQOS coming north to stir the pot & so she said pffft to the request for safe passage & made her sail around England instead. Ya'd think that would be easier anyway LOL but apparently MQOS was all gushy & wanting to meet up w/ her cuz & play Mystery Date en route or whatever. Elizabeth wanted her to ratify the Treaty of Greenwich, that had been lollygagging unsigned by the Scots since the Rough Wooing, & MQOS said um NO to that. Elizabeth said she hoped MQOSs ship would go down b/c then the Scots would just go fight amongst themselves & not keep peeking over the wall at England covetously w/ buns & Worcestershire sauce at the ready.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The trip was stormy, but MQOS managed to land in Scotland where nobody didn't want her.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Catholics frowned at MQOS b/c the Kirk peeps were a solid majority & so she thunk it not a good idea to come in like Mary of England & start burning heretics or making them be Catholic. That was prolly the only smart decision MQOS ever made LOL Twas a stumbling block in her negotiations to marry Philip's son Don Carlos (which worked out to her advantage, anyway, b/c like I said, he was insane). </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ApZ4zER5I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/JoGCjHNVuoY/s1600/Rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ApZ4zER5I/AAAAAAAAAXQ/JoGCjHNVuoY/s200/Rainbow.jpg" width="157" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth I</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>the Rainbow Portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile Elizabeth was being courted on behalf of Catherine de Medici's 3 remaining sons, who were all ridiculously young for her, but she pretended to be interested & when her council started giving her the stink eye she said all innocent, what? ya want me to get hitched, dontcha? </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ApKHoF_zI/AAAAAAAAAXI/BeeYSguGYeg/s1600/1565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ApKHoF_zI/AAAAAAAAAXI/BeeYSguGYeg/s200/1565.jpg" width="148" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>MQOS circa 1565</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then one of the Scots lordlings decided he was going to kidnap MQOS & force her to marry him, so she had to plan her 1st execution b/c that was treason. There was also a rebellion in the north that had to be put down; the rebellious peeps were Catholics, so that made MQOS a bit more popular w/ the Kirk. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">A Duke of Holstein came sniffing round Elizabeth & he was old enough to be serious contender & she even made him a Knight of the Garter, but this courtship came to naught as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Since MQOS was lacking suitors, Elizabeth decided to offer her sweet bonny Robin to her as candidate for DH! </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ap4mXRuYI/AAAAAAAAAXY/CCjY8Qhlfs4/s1600/dudleyportrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ap4mXRuYI/AAAAAAAAAXY/CCjY8Qhlfs4/s200/dudleyportrait.jpg" width="150" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps thunk she had a deal w/ him whereby his brats would succeed to both thrones, as MQOS had her ambassador approach Elizabeth about being officially named the English heir. And Robin would get a nice shiny crown, just not the one he wanted. MQOS was insulted & said um NO, not unless you make me your heir, I ain't touching him w/ a 10 ft pole! Elizabeth said, sign the darn treaty, then, & I'll consider it. The Scots lords said um NO. MQOS commenced flipping thru her Rolodex of available Catholic lads.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Meanwhile, there was a cpl other Tudor boys who hadn't come to notice yet. Margaret Douglas was finally allowed to get married when she was around 30, to Matthew Stuart, Earl of Lennox. He was a Scots peep who made a run for the border during one of their tiresome spats & hung around. They produced a pair of lads, Charles, who was only about 6, & Henry, Lord Darnley, who was nigh on 18 & close enough in age to 20 yo MQOS.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AqV-ZraEI/AAAAAAAAAXg/ZOrlukeC_1I/s1600/Darnley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AqV-ZraEI/AAAAAAAAAXg/ZOrlukeC_1I/s200/Darnley.jpg" width="151" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Lennox wanted permission to go back to Scotland & check on the goodies he left behind, & he wanted his boy Henry to go w/ him, see the sights, eat some haggis, learn to play the bagpipes or wear a kilt, mayhap, infuse himself in his ancestral culture. Besides, young Henry there (named to suck up to Unks the VIII) was, well, rather a lout. He liked to drink & gamble & brawl & go to houses of ill-repute & twas rumored he hadn't quite decided which team he was batting for, so Pops thunk mayhap a nice vay-cay would straighten him out. O LOL no pun intended, honest, it just spewed out like that LOL I could do this in my sleep I reckon ROFL Mayhap I am....Jeeves, tis time to bring out the Black Watch plaid jammies, if you don't mind.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Anyhow, Lennox's request hit Cecil's desk & he hmmm'd some. The Lennox kidlet was what the Scots like to call a "lang lad", b/c apparently he'd gotten a dash of leftover Plantagenet genes & measured in at 6'3", which meant he was taller than MQOS, which most men were not. He was supposedly good-looking enough (meh I don't see it & his bro looks like an elf LOL) for peeps to throw themselves at him (tho not recorded how much they had to drink when twas done). He had the requisite splash of the blood royal from Mummy's side, & Daddy was Scots. Might not MQOS hmmm at him also & think he was more suitable than Robin as her new DH? So Cecil stamped it um NO & chortled over the Lennox cheek to Elizabeth.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth said, now, Willie, let's not be too hasty here! The kid's also a total jerk! He's dumb as a sock full of rocks & betcha he'd like Scots whisky a whole lot better than this watered-down Frenchie stuff we got over here. Wouldn't it be a kick to saddle my cuz w/ a dolt like that, esp after she had nerve to sniff at my bonny Robin?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Cecil stroked his beard & hmmm'd some more. By the rood, Your Majesty, your intelligence & craftiness humbles me! Let's indeed send Darnley over the wall & see if anything develops.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">But b4 Cecil could erase the um NO, Elizabeth came down with a really REALLY bad case of the sicks. She contracted smallpox. There weren't any vaccinations in those days (there aren't any now, come to think of it, hope none of it seeps out of the CDC or we're all screwed....well, maybe not us older peeps who've had the vaccination, but you younguns are toast....). Unlike Daddy's mild case, Elizabeth's attacked w/ a vengeance. Her BFF in those days was Mary Sidney, Robin's sister, & Mary, along w/ Cat Ashley, devotedly nursed her. Elizabeth was so bad off peeps started to become afeared that she might demise w/ doing her duty & catching a hubby to make an heir with. Who was going to get the throne if she did? Catherine Grey....William Stanley....Henry Stuart....MQOS? WHO??? She hadn't named an heir & she was delirious w/ fever! Desperately they tried to bring her around enough to talk lucidly, at one pt plunging her into a bath full of ice water to lower the fever. After they got her out & back into bed, Cecil crept in & said, Madam, you MUST name your successor! You are sick unto death!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Everyone was shocked w/ what Elizabeth managed to dictate to her sec'y. She absolutely refused to pick from the available assortment of heirs & instead insisted that were she to die, she wanted Robert Dudley to be named Lord Protector of the Realm! BUT....THAT AIN'T DONE! Cecil howled, irritated at the mere notion of kowtowing to Dudley. Tis now, & I ain't dead yet, said Elizabeth, who scrawled her sig, rolled over to take a nap, & left em all consternated. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ArQuva-hI/AAAAAAAAAXo/kKUqBSWCwGs/s1600/eliz_sig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9ArQuva-hI/AAAAAAAAAXo/kKUqBSWCwGs/s200/eliz_sig.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth's sig</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">This was worse than marrying him! Ya just didn't APPOINT some peep king! There was all that royal blood & divine right stuff to be considered, not to mention all the treason forking in the Dudley family tree. Pray she does not die, said Cecil grimly, & they all nodded & did so....pffft to the idea of King Robert!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth passed the crisis & recovered, breathing a sigh of relief that her face hadn't gotten all scarred w/ pockmarks. One of her sickbed attendants, however, was not so lucky as the queen.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary Sidney came down w/ just as bad a case of the pox as the queen had, but when she recovered her face was totally ravaged by craters. She retired from court & only came to visit rarely, swathed in thick dark veils so no one could get a look at her face. Elizabeth was all weepy that her BFFs beauty had been destroyed for love of her & she gave lots of goodies to Mary & her kids.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Cecil was even more frowny once the queen was fully recovered & insisted she get married b/c she had no time to lose (now being past 30) or at least pick an heir more suitable to rule England than that rogue Robert Dudley! Elizabeth stubbornly refused, citing how peeps had left London in droves to leave her sis to die all alone b/c they wanted to come to Hatfield & suck up to the designated heir. She was not going to have any heirs to be the focal points of rebellions TYVM, nor was she dumb as Mary to bring over some foreigner for peeps to glare at. Maybe she could marry a nice Englishman? Cecil got all huffy & went back to stamping OK on travel permts really hard & waved buhbye to <em>pere et fils</em> Lennox as they trotted off to Scotland.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Lennox poked his son & told him he best be on sterling behavior (see, if ya know Scots palaces, that's a subtle joke LOL) & impress the Scots queen b/c there could be a nice crown in it for him if she took a fancy to him. Darnley rather liked the notion of a nice shiny crown & being king & ordering any peep he wanted to around, not to mention unlimited coin & wenches & my wasn't that Scots whisky good! So he sucked up to MQOS something awful & in no time at all she was down w/ a feverish case of the besotteds.....</span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6362457524152256617.post-77514002420540714652010-04-22T06:29:00.000-04:002010-04-22T06:29:31.038-04:00Elizabeth Enthroned<span style="color: #660000;">I guess Mary wasn't completely clueless, b/c apparently at some pt she & her sis had a chat about how Northumberland would've got them if Elizabeth hadn't played sick & stayed home & if one of Mary's peeps hadn't found out what N was up to. So they worked out a plan whereby Elizabeth would know for sure if Mary was really demised & twas safe to come out & play. Mary was going to make sure her fav lady, Susan Clarienceaux, would pry a certain ring from her cold dead hand & hand it off to a certain peep to deliver to Elizabeth.</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So Elizabeth was at Hatfield (already receiving a steady stream of suckups who could see the writing on the wall & deserted court like rats on a sinking ship) waiting to hear what was up w/ Mary's illness. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AhPsQBLvI/AAAAAAAAAVw/JO_pmA_1aNE/s1600/080407_hatfield_house_470_470x353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AhPsQBLvI/AAAAAAAAAVw/JO_pmA_1aNE/s200/080407_hatfield_house_470_470x353.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Hatfield House</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">She was just a cpl months past her 25th BD when the peep w/ the ring came galloping up. Ya gotta wonder if this was staged for posterity b/c Elizabeth was good at that. Legend has it she was under a great giant oak at Hatfield having a nice walk on the grounds when said peep tumbled off his mount & handed over Mary's ring. Elizabeth clasped it to her bosom & emoted, "This is the Lord's doing, & tis marvelous in our eyes". Elizabeth always had good lines for stuff.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Peeps were happy b/c Elizabeth wasn't going to shove no popery down their throats & they figured since she was young she would find herself a nice DH posthaste & commence breeding up baby Tudors & all would be well in merrie olde England. The alternative had peeps shuddering b/c if ya went by Henry's Act of Succession the alternative was Catherine Grey, who was still a teenager & not anywhere near as clever as her decapitated sis Jane had been; if ya went strictly by primogeniture twas even worse, as that meant it was Mary Queen of Scots. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AhoQAyG2I/AAAAAAAAAV4/ns-S-nfglS4/s1600/MQOS_Childhood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AhoQAyG2I/AAAAAAAAAV4/ns-S-nfglS4/s200/MQOS_Childhood.jpg" width="122" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Mary, Queen of Scots as a girl</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Clouet sketch</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The Tudors had pretty much run to girls, w/ the exception of the grandchildren of Princess Mary's other daughter, Eleanor. Eleanor had just the one kid, Margaret Clifford, who married one of them turncoat Stanleys & produced a pair of lads, William & Ferdinando. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ah36Ia6lI/AAAAAAAAAWA/wYLr-PCH1Do/s1600/Margaret_Clifford.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Ah36Ia6lI/AAAAAAAAAWA/wYLr-PCH1Do/s200/Margaret_Clifford.jpg" width="124" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Margaret Clifford</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Yes, Ferdinando. Dunno what she was thinkin, either. But Frances, Eleanor, & Margaret were all demised & the Stanleys were mere kidlets & we all know how that whole regency thing tended to go.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">It hadn't gone well in Scotland (big surprise there).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Mary of Guise had demised a few yrs after shipping MQOS off to the Frenchies. This perked up the Scots lords a lot b/c there was nuffin they liked better than shoving each other round & jostling for power. It beat eating haggis & was pretty much Scotland's natl sport. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The winner of the shoving match was James Stewart, Earl of Moray, an illegit of James V & thus MQOSs big bro. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AiXspxAaI/AAAAAAAAAWI/aObDiJPvZCg/s1600/Moray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AiXspxAaI/AAAAAAAAAWI/aObDiJPvZCg/s200/Moray.jpg" width="153" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>James Stewart, Earl of Moray</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">After all, MQOS at age 10 couldn't be expected to come home & play queen. They figured being Queen of France eventually was going to be a much more attractive deal & she'd never come home, which suited em all just fine. A queen in a faraway land was just as good pickin's as a regency. It would be like The Neverending Regency, so the Scots were all chuffed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">MQOS duly wed her fiancee, Francis. Ya gotta chortle at their marriage portrait b/c even tho MQOS was only a yr or so older, she looks 25 in it whilst DH looks about 11 & 1/2 LOL Clearly girls matured much faster than boys. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AiqZaBmVI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/Y4ME82GPK7Y/s1600/MQOS_Francis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AiqZaBmVI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/Y4ME82GPK7Y/s200/MQOS_Francis.jpg" width="151" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Francis II & MQOS marriage portrait</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">There's debate about whether they even consummated the marriage b/c Francis was a sickly pup & a Momma's Boy. As soon as Mary demised the Frenchies proclaimed MQOS the rightful Catholic heir to England due to the whole illegit mess, & Elizabeth was peeved when she heard MQOS had added the arms of England to her Scots & French quartering. Supposedly MQOSs FIL Henry II & her Guise unks made her do it, but twas still a nice smack in the face for Elizabeth. She was not amused. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Then Nostradamus's prediction of how Henry II would die came true! He was playing around doing manly weaponry stuff & got an arrow in the eye. Again, OUCH & jeez, hadn't they learned anything since 1066?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">So now MQOS was not just Queen of Scots, but Queen of France as well, making Elizabeth feel a bit like a jar of Marmite from that whole sandwiching effect.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth was natch rabidly curious about her cuz Mary & she pestered the Frenchie ambassador for info. At the time of Elizabeth's accession MQOS was 17 & considered to be freakishly tall for a wench, measuring in at 5'11". Francis II was a little shrimp to begin w/ so o the contrast. Elizabeth of course considered herself to be just the right size for a female, so it gave her a leg up on Mary, so to speak LOL But MQOS was an accomplished musician, singer, poetess, & dancer, & was acclaimed as a great beauty. Kind of a draw there, so it gave Elizabeth a frowny-face until Cat Ashley poked her & hissed knock it off, it'll give ya wrinkles! Elizabeth felt she won in the education sweeps, as she could speak French, Latin, Italian, Spanish, & Greek & had much better tutors & lessons than MQOS ever had, & she didn't think rubbing elbows w/ the likes of da Vinci & Nostradamus was anything special. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Elizabeth had her own personal astrologer, Dr John Dee, whom she anxiously consulted as to the bestest days to do stuff, incl having her coronation in the middle of January when twas too cold to outdo Mom's & pipe in wine for the peeps. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AjP9MLDKI/AAAAAAAAAWY/LuRjXBVTCQ8/s1600/DrDee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9AjP9MLDKI/AAAAAAAAAWY/LuRjXBVTCQ8/s200/DrDee.jpg" width="200" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Dr John Dee,</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Elizabeth's astrologer</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Betcha Anne Boleyn's ghost was poking Henry's ghost going HA HA I WON.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Aj2GkjnYI/AAAAAAAAAWg/m6EfX6lnfTQ/s1600/Liz_Cor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Aj2GkjnYI/AAAAAAAAAWg/m6EfX6lnfTQ/s200/Liz_Cor.jpg" width="137" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;">Elizabeth's coronation portrait</span></em></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">The council was headed by William Cecil, who used to be one of Wriothesley's peeps & way smarter, b/c he'd been sucking up to Elizabeth for yrs already & she trusted him to be the prez & get stuff done the way she wanted it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Philip was one of the 1st orders of bidness. He promptly sent a proposal of marriage to Elizabeth! After she got done chortling she said um NO. Philip was irked & he then married Elisabeth of Valois, Edward's former fiancee & Francis IIs sister. Elisabeth prolly wasn't fussed as Philip was more than 2x her age. O the lot of princesses! Go here, marry that...not as fun as they make it out to be in those fairytales, is it? At least Princess Aurora got a nice nap LOL MQOS was also irked b/c she was BFFs w/ Elisabeth & the poor girl had to go to Spain. Elizabeth of England, however, was not about to marry a Catholic, esp the same jerk who'd done her sis wrong & lost Calais.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">In fact, the next thing Elizabeth did was get rid of that whole Catholic nonsense for good & put back some of Edward's stuff & decided England was going to be Protestant & pfffft. She made some nice coin out of the deal, too, as peeps who insisted on staying Catholic were called recusants & they had to pay a hefty fine for going to Mass. Elizabeth was an apple that didn't fall far from Grandpa Tudor's fork. And do you know, the Pope stood up & dramatically said KILL THE HERETIC! He basically said twas OK for any Catholic rulers to come over & invade & knock her off her throne.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Even tho Philip wasn't thrilled about being dismissed as a suitor, he hmmm'd that over & said meh, my Low Countries (b/c Spain was in charge of em at the time) need all that nice English wool for that expensive cloth & I make a nice purse off those import & export duties, so mayhap later. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Francis didn't hmmm it over at all. He caught himself a revolting ear infection. I say revolting b/c twas said copious amts of pus kept squirting out of it EEEEUUUWWWW didn't they ever hear of that old wives' tale about pouring warm milk in there? Alas not, as he demised of it age 17. Catherine de Medici was likely jumping up & down in glee b/c Francis's 11 yo bro got to be king then & she got to be the regent. MQOS was glared at as useless for failing to provide France w/ a nice heir & her status was severely reduced as a mere Dowager Queen. Supposedly she got all depressed over it & went to bed for a good long while.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">While MQOS was sighing, Elizabeth was having a good time & court was the rockin' venue again. She was having as esp good time w/ Robert Dudley, whom she apptd as her Master of Horse. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Aka1Nva2I/AAAAAAAAAWo/wdlB-OCwXdA/s1600/Dudley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vgOP-4Ys7_U/S9Aka1Nva2I/AAAAAAAAAWo/wdlB-OCwXdA/s200/Dudley.jpg" width="148" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: xx-small;"><em>Robert Dudley</em></span></div><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Cecil & Dudley bristled just looking at each other & Cecil frowned at Elizabeth & said HE'S MARRIED YA KNOW & Cat Ashley frowned at Elizabeth & said DITTO HAVE WE LEARNED NAUGHT FROM THAT SEYMOUR MESS? Elizabeth frowned right back & said PFFFT JUST WHO'S THE QUEEN HERE, HUH? Peeps was scandalized when she gave Dudley the title of Earl of Leicester & tickled his neck as she hung his official stuff on him & giggled. They was all o dear we needs to find her a DH FAST! Elizabeth just tossed her head & stuck out her tongue at em all & did what she pleases, just like Daddy. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;">Then the scandal came to a head at the foot of a staircase.....</span><span style="color: #660000;"><br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"></span>Scarlethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16760543071891798297noreply@blogger.com0