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The royal family
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I’ve always been crap with history but!

174 replies

Snap8TheCat · 30/11/2017 20:14

How could I not have realised we had another king between Edward VII and Edward VIII?

So it goes Edward, George, Edward, George?

I blame the fact that none of them use their bloody real names! How confusing.

Genuinely thought Edward VII was Edward VIII and George VI father. I know nothing!

OP posts:
CancellyMcChequeface · 02/12/2017 16:32

As an alternative to the (brilliant) Horrible Histories song, there's this verse:

Or at least the first 50 seconds of it. I hope it isn't an accurate representation of our future!

SenecaFalls · 02/12/2017 17:02

Was it Queen Mary who was the kleptomaniac?

I think that she had a habit, when on her travels and staying with various noble families, to admire some of their objects d'art with the expectation that they would then present them to her as gifts. So people would hide things in anticipation of her visits. Smile

kooshbin · 03/12/2017 21:08

I recall watching a documentary fairly recently which included mention of a princess who suffered from deafness. A google search lists both Princess Alice of Battenburg (Prince Philip’s mother) and Princess Alexandra of Denmark (married Edward VII) whose father was Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg.

It’s beyond my wits to disentangle all the convoluted relationships of western European royal families, but I wonder if there is an element of congenital/hereditary deafness that runs through various branches?

buggerthebotox · 03/12/2017 21:13

Well, they all seem to marry each other, so I guess hereditary conditions get passed on quite easily. Victoria was a carrier of haemophilia wasn't she?

Prince Philip is frequently referred to as the Queen's cousin-anyone able to explain how they are related? Is it through Mountbatten?

KathyBeale · 03/12/2017 21:19

I think it was very clever of Elizabeth 1 not to marry. It could be argued that Mary Queen of Scots' weakness was her marriages, while Elizabeth's strength was that she stayed single.

CaveMum · 03/12/2017 21:24

They are third cousins as descendants of Queen Victoria:

Philip’s (maternal) Great-grandmother was Victoria’s daughter Alice.
Elizabeth’s (paternal) great-grandfather was Victoria’s son Albert (Edward VII)

The Mountbatten connection comes from his mother’s father.

littlemisscomper · 03/12/2017 21:31

If anyone's interested in George V and his family I recommend:

It's very sad, but incredibly well acted! The king in the opening scene is Edward VII, the little boy Johnny is George V's youngest son.

buggerthebotox · 03/12/2017 21:38

Ooh I love things like that! Thanks! Jonny died young, didn't he?

Apparently Prince Philip's mother was a remarkable woman-became a nun or something.

SenecaFalls · 03/12/2017 22:18

They are third cousins as descendants of Queen Victoria.

They are also second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark.

SenecaFalls · 03/12/2017 22:24

Princess Alice of Battenberg, Philip's mother, hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II. She is one of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem in Israel.

VanillaSugar · 03/12/2017 23:24

Queen Victoria was a carrier of haemophilia - but I also read that the strain has died out so no current Royals are afflicted/carriers.

I'm sorry, but I don't really believe this. Feel free to correct me, but it sounds too convenient.

kooshbin · 03/12/2017 23:28

They are third cousins as descendants of Queen Victoria.

They are also second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark.

Was it as complicated as this before Victoria had all those babies and married them off all over Europe?

Princess Alice was an extraordinary women. She survived so much, including being put in a psychiatric institution for a long time, and being abandoned by her husband, who also abandoned Philip.

Upthread, there was mention of the Tsar of Russia and his family being refused asylum in Britain. I recall yet another documentary I watched which suggested that there were concerns (probably from the Palace) about anti-monarchy feelings here at the time; so having another Royal Family here who had been deposed in their own country might encourage those anti-monarchy feelings.

VanillaSugar · 03/12/2017 23:30

kooshbin - but why didn't George ship them off to Canada or Australia? The Prime Minister was in favour of giving them sanctuary.

soupforbrains · 04/12/2017 00:16

This thread is very interesting.

To get some clarity on the Elizabeth I, Mary QoS and James VI/I there was a 3 part series on the beeb recently that was really interesting and might still be on iplayer. It was called something along the lines of Elizabeth's secret spy network, or Elizabeth's secret service or something along those lines.

It really clarified a few bits and pieces for me (including who was who out of the 3 Marys.

soupforbrains · 04/12/2017 00:17

Ah it was called Elizabeth I's Secret Agents and is available on iplayer.

kooshbin · 04/12/2017 00:26

Vanilla - From memory, George did originally want to rescue the Tsar and family. And there could have been many places where they could have been shipped off to. I suspect it was the Palace, i.e. the powers-behind-the-throne, that were anxious about not having evidence in this country that a Royal Family could actually be deposed, and they pressured George into withdrawing his offer.

But, then, I'm more of the view that it's the Institution that controls, and the various Royal personages are not much more than bit players. Royals are born and then they die; but the continuance of the Institution is more important than that. Which is why I feel sorry for anyone born into, or who marries into, the Royal Family, they're just pawns.

SenecaFalls · 04/12/2017 01:19

Was it as complicated as this before Victoria had all those babies and married them off all over Europe?

It was always a small group of families who intermarried heavily. But the 19th century was the watershed. Christian IX of Denmark made a contribution almost as prolific as Victoria's.
He was known as the grandfather of Europe.

yorkshireyummymummy · 04/12/2017 01:54

Kooshbin Queen Alexandra's deafness arose because of a terrible dose of a virulent influenza she caught just at the end of a pregnancy. It left her somewhat deaf and her deafness got worse over time u til she was completely deaf at the end of her life. It also left her witha pronounced limp which she had for the rest of her life. Interestingly, it then became fashionable in high society to walk with a limp simply because the Princess of Wales ( as she was then) did!!

Sadly, from recently discovered and disclosed documents it is certain that the Russian Imperial family - the Tsar and the Tsarina were BOTH the full cousins of George V, one on his fathers side one his mothers -were denied permission to be exciled in England by George V. With royal houses tumbling all over Europe he was very frightened for his own position and so he let his imperial cousins be slaughtered at the hands of the Bolsheviks. For many years I had defended him and his role in this sad tale until the papers came out which left no doubt of his involvement . I don't know how he ever looked his Aunt Minnie ( his mothers sister and herself mother of Tsar Nicholas) in the eye again. I wonder if those children's faces haunted him?

MissUnderwood · 04/12/2017 02:10

.

Jaytee38 · 04/12/2017 02:28

Best way to learn

Oswin · 04/12/2017 03:38

The last two weeks we have had to listen to the King's and Queen song every day. Still love it.
I didn't realise that there were two queen's in between liz1 and Victoria. Mary and Ann. I had never heard of them before horrible histories.

tribpot · 04/12/2017 06:55

Queen Anne had the saddest history - seventeen pregnancies (at least) and no surviving children. She had only one child who survived infancy and he died aged 11 Sad

VanillaSugar · 04/12/2017 06:58

William and Mary were joint rulers and Queen Anne was Mary's sister. You can visit Queen Anne"a house in Kew Gardens. Yes, poor Anne. All those losses.....

LittleCandle · 04/12/2017 07:40

Modern doctors think Anne had 'sticky blood', which caused the miscarriages and still births. Very sad.

I wouldn't advise anyone to read Alison Weir's book about Lady Jane Grey. She comes across as incredibly self-centred and dislikable.

i adore history and my interests lie heavily with the Plantagenets. I am particularly obsessed with Richard III. I studied the Tudors at school and they bore me to death. I am a bit less familiar with the English Civil War, but do remember studying it at school. Of course, we did Scottish history as well, given that I am Scottish! I love history.

buggerthebotox · 04/12/2017 08:39

I love history too. It didn't come to life for me in school so I gave it up after O Level.

Now I'll watch anything, or read anything.

Poorly today so going to binge watch some of those documentaries listed above.

How come William and Mary ruled jointly, but Philip and Liz2 don't?

Apparently Philip was really miffed about his kids not being given his surname. I think they're Mountbatten Windsor now, though.

I feel a bit sorry for Philip. I don't think he got what he bargained for when he married Queenie. I think he was expecting a more prominent role.

Like a poster says above, I think the Royals are only interested in their survival. Brilliant at reinventing themselves.