Biggest Bastards in British History

[Wannabestepfordwife]

I've read through the Henry VIII what a bastard thread and it's made me wonder who is the biggest bastard in British history.

My historical knowledge is pretty limited to the wars of the roses and Tudor era so it would be great to learn about some new historical figures.

My nominations are-
Earl of Warwick (the kingmaker)- a vicious bastard to all that encountered him.
Duke of Norfolk (Thomas Howard)- a reprehensible man with seemingly few redeeming qualities but I can't help but like and be fascinated by him
Thomas Boleyn- Odious man pimping his daughters out and discarding them when they were no longer useful
Cromwell both Thomas and Oliver
Duke of Northumberland (John Dudley)- the way he used Lady Jane Grey to further his own ends with no regard for her welfare.
Duke of Suffolk (Henry Grey)- the indefensible way he treated him daughter I don't know who was worse him or his wife

For me it has to be Odo Bishop of Bayeux. He came over in 1066 with the Normans. He fought in the battle with a blood soaked mace. (You have to love a Bishop who get right into the battle). He had a fair amount to do with the the mass genocide in the north after they revolted and he tried to invade Rome.

I see that someone already mentioned Charles Trevelyan. No contest really.

The Irish Potato Famine reminds me of Mao's famine in China during the Great Leap Forward, or Stalin's famine in the USSR during collectivisation. Except, unlike in China/USSR the UK was governed by a democracy, so much as one would like to it is hard to entirely blame an individual such as Trevelyan or Lord John Russell.

It's a massive stain on our history, but I remember spending longer on the Vietnam War in my history GCSE lessons (about one week) than we spent on the Irish Potato Famine (not mentioned at all).

The 1st Duke of Sutherland who carried out the highland clearances.

10th Earl of Argyll who ordered the massacre of Glencoe.

I 💚 this thread

What a brilliant thread! Definitely watching this one; hope you'll keep it going, History Buffs!

William the Conqueror always struck me as a cunt for the ages, what with his near-annihilation of the English people, land, buildings, language, economy, legal & social structure. But the more you look, the more of them there are. You'd need a set of ranked criteria to choose the worst (and there'd always be a worse one, just the same).

Pretty much any medieval king, although John might edge slightly ahead of the field. Check out Matilda de Braose if you doubt that.

Oof, poor Matilda! She was one tough cookie - warlord, landlord, politician and had sixteen children