DARK HISTORY OF THE KINGS & QUEENS OF ENGLAND BRENDA RALPH LEWIS This digital edition first published in 2012 Published by Amber Books Ltd Bradley’s Close 74–77 White Lion Street London N1 9PF United Kingdom Website: www.amberbooks.co.uk Appstore: itunes.com/apps/amberbooksltd Facebook: www.facebook.com/amberbooks Twitter: @amberbooks Copyright © 2012 Amber Books Ltd ISBN: 978 1 908696 36 6 PICTURE CREDITS Bridgeman Art Library; Corbis; Fortean Picture Library; The Kobal Collection; Topfoto/The Heritage Image Partnership; Mary Evans Picture Library; Rex Features; Topham Picturepoint; TRH Pictures; Patrick Mulrey Map by Patrick Mulrey Family tree illustrations by Mark Franklin All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details. www.amberbooks.co.uk CONTENTS Introduction CHAPTER 1 CONSPIRATORS AND CONQUERORS: A DIRTY BUSINESS – The Normans CHAPTER 2 UNHOLY ALLIANCES – The Plantagenets Part I CHAPTER 3 CRUSADING KINGS AND TROUBLESOME BARONS – The Plantagenets Part II CHAPTER 4 LOVERS, LAND AND TREASON – The Plantagenets Part III CHAPTER 5 INSANITY, CIVIL WAR AND CHILD MURDER – The Plantagenets Part IV CHAPTER 6 CONSPIRACY AND BLOODSHED – The Tudors Part I CHAPTER 7 DECAPITATION AND DIVORCE – The Tudors Part II CHAPTER 8 TURMOIL, TERROR AND FATAL ILLNESS – The Tudors Part III CHAPTER 9 GLORIANA AND GORE – The Tudors Part IV CHAPTER 10 ROUNDHEADS AND REGICIDE – The Stuarts Part I CHAPTER 11 A NOT-SO-MERRY MONARCHY – The Stuarts Part II CHAPTER 12 MISTRESSES AND MADNESS – The Hanoverians Part I CHAPTER 13 BATTLE ROYAL – The Hanoverians Part II CHAPTER 14 SCANDAL BEHIND CLOSED DOORS – The House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha CHAPTER 15 A LOOSE CANNON – The Windsors Part I CHAPTER 16 A MODERN MONARCHY? – The Windsors Part II Index INTRODUCTION T he British royal family is considered by many to be the most prestigious in the world. Yet its sensational and often lurid past contains deeds so dark and dastardly that they were covered up and remained secret for centuries. Over the last thousand years or so, many of the kings and queens of England have played their part in betrayals, regicides, plots, treason, atrocities, and revolts. The English throne has been usurped four times. There have been five pretenders to the crown, two of them impostors. Four kings have been forcibly deposed. All were subsequently murdered. One of them was publicly executed. Kings and queens of England have been responsible for thousands of executions and deaths. Tudor king Henry VIII set out to exterminate every surviving member of the Plantagenets, the dynasty that preceded his own. And Henry’s daughter, Queen Mary I, burned 300 Protestants at the stake. English royalty was a regular target for conspiracies and assassination attempts. Queen Elizabeth I was at constant risk from plotters who wanted to kill her and replace her with her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a Catholic conspiracy to blow up King James I, his government and the Houses of Parliament. Two kings of England went mad. One was kidnapped, and another was mercilessly bullied by his own nobles. King Henry VIII, who married six times, hounded his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to her death in 1536. Later, he executed his second and fifth wives. While King George IV was Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, he incurred so many debts that he had to be bailed out – twice – by Parliament. His father, King George III, derived little pleasure from his family of 15 children, many of whom were enveloped in scandal. Two of his offspring were suspected of incest, and his sons provided him with an army of illegitimate grandchildren.