Friday 30 September 2016

The Two Little Princes in the Tower of London


The two little Princes, a story of plotting, power, skulduggery, and murder.

The scene is set

One of the most interesting and puzzling periods in the history of the British Isles has got to be the story of the two little princes in the tower.

The tower referred to, is, of course, the tower of London, it houses artwork the Crown jewels and is also known as “The Bloody Tower” because of its horrific history.

The Bloody Tower was the prison and scene of many horrific final days of many figures in British history.

The two little princes referred to, were Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York. To understand the reason why they were imprisoned we need to delve a little into their background.

So OK who were the little Princes?

Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York.

Young Edward was the eldest son of King Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville, he was born in 1470, and when his father Edward VI died on 9th April 1483 young Edward at the tender age of thirteen took the crown as Edward V. because of his age Edward V became under the protection of his evil uncle Richard Duke of York.

Richard had always been a very loyal supporter of his brother king Edward IV.

However, Young Edward V reigned for only two months before mysteriously disappearing.

And low and behold Richard became King Richard III he died two years later at the battle of Bosworth, to find out more on King Richard III I would strongly recommend reading or better still seeing, the play of the same name by William Shakespeare.

I will be writing about Richard III at a later date. so I suppose you could wait to read mine, not quite as good as Will Shakespeare, but ya get what ya pay for.

Back to the Princes

The other Prince was Edwards’s younger brother Richard, Duke of York.
Richard was born on 17 August 1473 making him three years younger, and by the time he was ten he too found himself in “The Bloody Tower”

Had he survived the death of his brother Edward he (Richard) would have taken the crown, so for Richard III to become King he too would have to die.
It is wildly thought, that in the summer of 1483, someone smothered and murdered the two Princes in their beds with a pillow.

Sir Thomas More wrote that the Princes were murdered by their uncle Richard and buried, and I quote “at the stair-foot, meetly deep" Shakespeare in his play also portrayed Richard as the culprit.

The plot thickens.

During alterations at the Tower in 1674 two skeletons were found buried beneath a stone staircase.

In 1933 the skeletons of two young boys, one aged 10, the other 13, were examined by L.E. Tannery and W. Wright, they concluded that the bones dated from1483.
So was it Richard that had them murdered so he could become King? There is no absolute proof that he did, but between you and I, the evidence looks that way.

When the Dying Had to Stop. 

The Life of and Times Oliver Cromwell


April 29th, 1599 saw the birth of a man that was to change the face of the British isles, a man who climbed to the highest rank in the land, he achieved such powers as to challenged even the King


April 29th, 1599 saw the birth of a man that was to change the face of the British Isles, a man who climbed to the highest rank in the land; he achieved such powers as to challenge even the King. Robert and Elizabeth Cromwell named him Oliver, he studied in Cambridge at the Sidney Sussex College and then moved on to Lincoln’s Inn although no record remains, but it is certain he did attend one of the many London Inns of Court.

As his, father, grandfather and two of his uncles attended Lincoln’s Inn, it follows there is a strong possibility he did as well, he also met his wife-to-be, in London, whom he married in 1620. Cromwell also sent his son Richard to Lincolns in 1647.

It was the golden age

Let’s go forward in time twenty-six years to 1625 James I of England / James VI of Scotland was on the throne, and England had been going through the “Golden Age” The Elizabethan era had seen the dawn and works of some of the finest culture figures ever seen, figures that still influence our lives today.
Some of the stars of the era were the likes of William Shakespeare, John Donne, Ben Johnston and Sir Francis Bacon.

Up to 1592, Britain had been going through a bloody period; King James had set himself the goal of ridding Scotland of all its witches and suspected witches.

Charles I becomes King

King James, I Died aged 58 on 27th March 1625; he was succeeded by Charles I. In the mean time Oliver Cromwell had at the age of 29 become a Member of Parliament, In the one year he was there he made just one speech, and it appears not a good one.
Charles I dissolved Parliament and ruled without it for the next eleven years, but the continuing unrest with Scotland forced him to recall parliament once again, the main reason being he wanted to raise more money to ward off the Scots.
Cromwell was once again elected to parliament, this time as a member for Cambridge, after two years the issues between Charles I and Parliament had reached a crescendo and the autumn of 1642 saw the beginning of theEnglish Civil War.

Cromwell leader of the roundheads

Parliamentarian cavalry under Oliver Cromwell routed the Royalist cavalry from the field and annihilated the remaining Royalist infantry.

Cromwell was now 43 the Parliament he was a member of began to form a military force. Cromwell’s only military experience was in the local county militia; nevertheless, Cromwell formed a cavalry troop nicknamed the Roundheads, ambushing any shipment that was on route to the King, The term Roundheads was applied to soldiers who supported Parliament during the Civil War. It originated as a term of abuse and referred to those Puritans who had their hair cut very short.

The troop expanded to a full regiment in the winter of 1642 and 1643 as Cromwell continued to gain experience in battle, and after 1643 he attained the rank of colonel. By the time of the Battle of Marston Moor in July 1644 Cromwell had reached the rank of Lieutenant General.

He led many important battles in the history of the civil war including the Battle of Naseby in June 1645, some of the other battles Cromwell fought in were, Gainsborough; Marston Moor; Newbury II; Langport; Preston; Dunbar and Worcester
Cromwell had gained a reputation for being a skilled General however in February 1647 he fell ill and that kept him away from Parliament for a while

England becomes a Republic


By December 1648 things between Parliament and the King had got so bad and Parliament voted that Charles should be tried on a charge of treason.
Cromwell believed that the only way to end the civil war was to rid the country of the King, the trial was set up and the fate of the King began.

King Charles was found guilty and executed on 30 January 1649, soon after a republic was declared On 16th December 1653 Oliver Cromwell was declared 1st Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland; he remained in office until his death on 3rd. September 1658.

Queen Anne Queen of England and Scotland

Queen Anne, Queen of England and Scotland. The only Queen of both England and of Scotland. As she had no surviving children she was the last of the Stuart dynasty.

From 1707 she became Queen of Great Britain.

James's Palace in London on 6 February 1665 saw the birth of a girl child named Anne; she was later to become the only Queen of both England and of Scotland.
Anne’s father James II had two daughters her older sister was later to become Queen Mary II.
Anne’s father James converted to Roman Catholicism and in 1673 it became public, now you might think "So what"! but you have to understand something.

In England, there was a strong fear that the increasing surge in Roman Catholicism could take over and so any signs of this were opposed, so when the Kings conversion became public The king, Charles II instructed that Anne and her sister should be raised as Protestants to keep the peace.

It was a very happy marriage

On 28 July 1683, Anne married Prince George of Denmark although an unpopular event it was a very happy marriage, Anne’s father became King after the death of Charles II in 1685 but James was very unpopular because of his Catholicism,(See, it's that fear again) and when he married his second wife Mary also a Catholic a growing unease increased when she gave birth to her son James.(I hope you are getting all this?)

When Anne’s sister along with her husband William invaded England and dethroned King James II in the “Glorious Revolution” it was seen as a stop to the Catholic threat to the throne.

King William III died on 8 March 1702 and Anne was crowned Queen on 23 April 1702.
Anne helped to negotiate the terms of a union between Scotland and England it was finally approved on 22 July 1706. ( I don't know why she bothered they seem intent on ruling themselves)
However, on 1 May 1707, the united kingdom of Scotland and England became “Great Britain”

King William II of Scotland and William III of England.

Anne died on 1 August 1714 at the tender age of 49 of suppressed gout, and erysipelas which is an acute streptococcus bacterial infection, this causes skin lesion that enlarges rapidly, so much so that when she was buried in the Henry VII chapel in Westminster Abbey her coffin had to be vast and almost-square to accept her swollen body.

The BBC produced a drama called “The First Churchill’s”

Over her life, Queen Anne accrued many titles these include from
28th July 1683 - 8th March 1702
  • Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Denmark
  • 8th March 1702 - May 1707
  • Her Majesty the Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland
  • 1st. May 1707-1st. August 1714:
  • Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland
In 1969 the BBC produced a drama called “The First Churchill’s” following Anne’s
Friendship with Sarah Churchill  she was played by Margaret Tyzack, Sarah married John Churchill, later to be created Duke of Marlborough, so she, in turn, became the Duchess of Marlborough
(At last a chance to get in a video, click on the arrows logo bottom right corner for full screen)

We will now take a short break....During this intermission, there will be "Drinks on a stick" and ice cream

Thursday 29 September 2016

The Kings and Queens of Britain

The Kings and Queens of Great Britain


James gave himself the title "King of Great Britain" but it wasn’t until 1707 when the title “King of England” was truly granted

From King Offa in 747 until Elizabeth II over One thousand two hundred and sixty-three years, Britain has been a Kingdom, well that is apart from the 11 Cromwell years when it became a republic.
Britain has had forty-one Kings and Queens. Some were known as King or Queen of England some as King or Queen of Scotland or both.

Offa was a King of a region rather than the whole island Others had the title of Kings of Great Britain and of Ireland and so on, including Emperor or Empress of India. Anne has the unusual distinction of having been both Queen of England and of Scotland until 1707 and of Great Britain subsequently.

Britain’s Kings and leaders are as follows

1066 The End of the Anglo-Saxon rule and the beginning of Norman rule

The Normans influence on Britain still remains today, from its Art, Language, and Architecture

Edward VIII Abdicates for his love of Mrs Simpson

  • George II The last British monarch to have been born outside Great Britain
  • George III American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence, which led to the establishment of the United States of America
  • George IV
  • William IV
  • Edward VII
  • George V
  • Edward VIII He remains the only British monarch to have voluntarily renounced the throne since the Anglo-Saxon period
  • George VI

From Mary up to today's Elizabeth here are the nine Queens

  1. Mary 1516 – 1558
  2. Elizabeth I 1533-1603
  3. Lady Jane Grey 1537-1554
  4. Mary Stuart, 1542-1587 Mary Mary quite contrary See my piece on this
  5. Elizabeth Stuart 1596-1662
  6. Mary II.1662-1694
  7. Anne1664-1714
  8. Victoria 1819-1901
  9. Elizabeth II 1926-

The eight Queens of Kings were

  1. Matilda, Queen of William the Conqueror 1053 -1083
  2. Margaret of Anjou, Queen of Henry VI. 1425-1482
  3. Elizabeth Grey, Queen of Edward IV. 1464-1483
  4. Catherine of Aragon, Queen of Henry VIII. 1483-1536
  5. Anne Boleyn, Queen of Henry VIII. 1507-1536
  6. Catherine Parr, Queen of Henry VIII. 1512-1548
  7. Anne of Cleves, wife of Henry VIII. 1515-1557
  8. Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I. 1609-1669

Ok here's a little bit of a history lesson for you

After King Offa took the title Rex Anglorum “King of the English” The king of Wessex, Egbert took Kent and then conquered Sussex (That's where I live, my name is an old Anglo-Saxon name ) in 829 to take the title “King of the English”

Next Egbert in 829 followed by Alfred the great, (he’s the one who burnt the cakes)
He helped to defend the south of England from the Vikings and has the honour to be the only King to be accorded the title “The Great” (I should think so too, those Vikings were a mean lot)

Alfred’s son Edward the elder (He was known as the first King of the Anglo-Saxons) came next, quickly followed by Athelstan he was the last to adopt the title Rex Anglorum, with Henry II in 1154 the title became Rex Angliae (King of England).

Wales joined, or should I say was “Incorporated” into the Kingdom of England and in 1301 Edward I eldest son was made the Prince of Wales. the title is currently held by Prince Charles.

After Elizabeth, I of England in 1603 the crowns of England and Scotland were united under James I of England.

The Kingdom of Great Britain

King Jimmy one, gave himself the title "King of Great Britain" but it wasn’t until 1707 when the title “King of England” became a reality and then the “United Kingdom of Great Britain”
Now we getting a bit more up to the present day and in 1801 it became the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” after 1922 the title as we know today “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”

I hope you got all that? because I will be asking a question about it later !
A Pocket History of the Parliament of Great Britain


The beginning

A folkmoot I guess, could be roughly translated as “people meet” it's an Anglo-Saxon word, and was a gathering of members of a tribe in order to organize and generally make laws that the other members of the tribe should follow, it is thought that this folkmoot was succeeded by the witenagemot

The Witenagemot also called “The Witan” (A meeting of wise men)and was an Anglo-Saxon ruling force sometime before the 7th century.
This ruling body lasted for around 500 years in England until the 11th century, its main function was to advise the King, and raise money through taxes,(See they were even at it in those days) it was made up of important English noblemen and senior clergymen, as well as advising the King they also discussed local and nation matters.

The Anglo-Saxon kings of England would often call the Witenagmot for advice and even sometimes help with the courts of justice; however following the Norman Conquest in 1066 the Normans took the Witenagmot and developed it into a more centralized and effective body and by the end of the eleventh century Curia Regis was established firmly as the main legislative body in England

Next came The Curia Regis, The Royal council

The Curia Regis is a Latin term meaning "royal council" or "king’s court." And it was now Curia Regis that advised, along with the King, all the dealings and tax collecting of the land.
Curia Regis lasted until 1215 was the forerunner of the Chancery and Parliament (the word Parliament is thought to come from the French word "parlez" to talk)
1215 was a turning point in how Parliament and the King legislated.

The issuing of a legal document or charter in 1215 set out laws and standards, it was written in order to reign in some of the king's powers, which by now he was increasingly using, to dip into the country's coffers, and going over the head of the council, to pay for his wars and buildings, the charter also set out rights for the common man, and in particular the right to a fair trail, it was written in Latin and is still known by its Latin name Magna Carta.

The Magna Carta, signed by King John, required him to give certain rights to his people, and for him to adhere to the laws of the land, it was, in fact, a charter for the people, among other things allowing them to appeal against unlawful imprisonment, The Magna Carta was the original document for the forming of constitutional law throughout the English world.

This important documents forced onto an English king by the barons and noblemen of England, was the first to limit his absolute Power and to protect the privileges of the English people.
In fact it had little effect on the power of the King, as he continued to override the advice of the council, resulting in an uprising and civil war, however during the English civil War, the Magna Carta became the symbol of those fighting for their rights that the King should be bound by it and the law.

1207 Westminster is built and the name Parliament becomes the accepted ruling body

There were many amended versions of the Magna Carta and it is now the 1297 version we in England and Wales all look upon and adhere to.
King Henry III succeeded King John and reigned from 1207 until 1272 and during that time he developed the Curia Regis into a body known as Parliament, he built Westminster which he made his seat of Government.

Robert Walpole1721-1730 was generally regarded as being the first Prime Minister of Great Britain.

And so we come to today's Parliament

There have been 76 prime ministers including today’s David Camero (at the time of writing this blog) who now leads the sixth of the coalition governments we have had so far.

He earns £142,500, in addition to a salary of £65,000 as a Member of Parliament (Again at the time of writing this blog) 
He is the head of Her Majesty’s Government, the prime minister acts as the public face and voice of the government he is answerable to only to Parliament, today’s Sovereign has many statutory and prerogative powers.

She can dissolve Parliament, dismiss and appoint prime ministers and declare war, she is the head of the judicial force, she is also head of the Church of England and can confer peerages knighthoods and many other honours upon her people.
The monarch is also the Queen of Canada, New Zealand as well as several other countries’.

A View of the British Parliament

Today Great Britain's parliament is a coalition of
  • Monarchy (The Queen)
  • Nobility (The house of lords )
  • And Democracy (Parliament)









Richard III Englands Most Evil King
Celtic Britain
Queen Boudica
The Vikings
The remarkable history of London Bridge
Trooping the colour