Random royal stories or facts

[JustAnotherWhinger]

A random fact about King Harald of Norway got me think about all the random/interesting/bizarre stories and facts about royals and thought a thread of them could be interesting.

Harald, who died today, was the first monarch to be born in Norway for over 600 years.
His grandfather, Prince Carl of Denmark, was selected to be the new King of Norway in 1905 (he became King Haakon VII.

Another Danish prince, George, was selected to be the King of Greece in 1863 and reigned until he was assassinated in 1914. He was Prince Philip’s grandfather.

Ever wondered why Green Park in London is called Green Park? One day Charles II was walking through the park with his wife, Catherine of Braganza, and their attendants. On a whim, Charles plucked a rose and presented it to one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting. The queen was so furious (and jealous) that she ordered every single flower in the park be uprooted and forbid any flowers to ever be planted there again!

To this day no flowers are planted in Green Park, only various trees and non flowering shrubs and grasses. Only greenery......

There was an urban myth about Green Park having no flowers because it was the site of a plague pit and there's a theoretical risk of transmission

It was just because they wanted to keep it as a meadow, but those are great stories! I love the jealousy of Catherine of Braganza!

I should think she had a lot to be jealous about with Charles's roving eye!
I hope she had some romantic interest of her own to compensate.

Well, indeed! He certainly was a bit of a lad!
Maybe she did well with the jewels and the silks!

When the rules changed and those who married catholics were put back into the line of succession the people put back in included Prince Michael of Kent, Willem Alexander of the Netherlands and Princess Madeleine of Sweden

Willem Alexander must be fairly far down the list though? The Dutch monarchs are among the few not descended from Queen Victoria so you'd have to go back a few hundred years to find a common ancestor, I'd have thought. Possibly all the way back to William the Silent.

I've just had a quick look on Google and apparently he's more than 1,000 + in the British line of succession

Yeah they’re way down. It was just interesting (to me) that there were such well known other royals on there who went back on

Four Royal babies were born between February & May 1964

Princess Alexandra gave birth to a son, James, on 29th February

The Queen gave birth to Prince Edward on 10th March

The Duchess of Kent's daughter, Lady Helen, was born on April 28th and

Princess Margaret's daughter. Lady Sarah, was born on 1st May

I remember seeing a picture of the four of them having a joint 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle.

That must have been an amazing event!

Lord Snowdon took a picture of all 4 of the Royal ladies with their new babies ~ it's a lovely photo

It is! Lovely picture.

Here it is...

@JustAnotherWhinger I just wanted to say thank you for this lovely thread. The stories and facts have been so interesting and far ranging, some historical and others more recent. Some have been things I already knew (but had mostly forgotten) but there have been so many new things I have learned

And thanks to all the PP's who have contributed such fascinating facts and stories . . . I'm hoping this thread will continue for a lot longer!

What a lovely picture! James Ogilvy is a grandfather now!

Certainly not! helpful! I get some amazing 'auto-corrects' that ofen bear no resemblance to the words I typed.

When I read things like this, where the relationship is so vague, I am often reminded of an old song 'I danced with a man who danced with a girl of danced with the Prince of Wales'!

Oh yes, it's a really beautiful picture. Many thanks for finding and posting it

I thought dancing there was a euphemism for sex - and that song was a dig at bertie - Queen Vics eldest son - and the upper crust bed hopping antics.

I saw a documenaty about a Lady Harriet Mordaunt. who was married but bertie - prince of wales kept visting - he first child was born with an eye infections - clearly fearing inherit syphilis she confessed the affair - and she ended up in a assulum declared mad - as her own family had other daughters who marriage prospects they had to protect so helped put her there. There was a whole court case about it.

The nursury rhyme - Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry, - may well be about Prince Regent behavior.

Yes in the song it's a euphemism for sex. In the past when you couldn't say these things openly, comics would use euphemisms. And comic songs used to be very popular

I say! I never knew that...

Yes, I suppose people were just as naughty in those days. And I imagined two elegant people doing the fox-trot.

The only thing Lady Harriet Mordaunt married at 18 who was 21 at time of birth and scandal did wrong was not waiting till she'd provided an heir and spare - and confessing at all and for it all to go to public divorse court in the end.

The baby with eye infection was fine and I just looked up grew up ignored by the husband but married into titled family - Bath so her decendents are at Longleat.
.

Fab photo @SqueakyDinosaur
Was there something in the water in the summer of 63 😉

21st Birthday Ball at Windsor Castle | The Royal Watcher https://share.google/tCJOWkuZnxYt2mKDW. This article Has the picture from the 21st party @mybeautifulemeraldparure mentioned and also the one of the mothers and babies.