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The

British Monarchy

Miscellany

A Collection of

Royal Facts, Lists and Trivia

By Alex David

© 2017, 2018, 2019 Alex David.

First Edition Published Independently through Amazon KDP 2017.

This Updated Edition Published Independently through Amazon KDP

2019.

London, United Kingdom

Author’s contacts and web presence:

Website: www.alex-david.com

Twitter: @alexdavidwriter

Email: alexdavidwriter@yahoo.co.uk

Cover image: ‘ Charles II’ by John Michael Wright, c.1676.

Reproduced by kind permission of Royal Collection Trust.

© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017.

This book is respectfully

and humbly dedicated

to His Royal Highness

The Prince of Wales.

CONTENTS
Introduction
13

MONARCHS

17

The First King of England

18

Royal Dynasties

21

The Monarchs of Anglo-Saxon England From

Alfred the Great to 1066

28

The Monarchs of Scotland From

Kenneth MacAlpin to 1707

31

The Monarchs of England/Great Britain/

United Kingdom Since 1066

39

Monarchs Fact Sheets

46
William I

47

William II

51

Henry I

54

Stephen

57

Henry II

60

Richard I

63

John

65

Henry III

68

Edward I

71

Edward II
74

Edward III

77

Richard II

80

Henry IV

84

Henry V

87

Henry VI

90

Edward IV

94

Edward V

97

Richard III

99

Henry VII

102

Henry VIII
105

Edward VI

109

Jane Grey: Monarch or Not?

111

Mary I

119

Elizabeth I

122

James I

126

Charles I

129

The Interregnum

133

Charles II

134

James II

138

William III and Mary II

141

Anne

146

George I

149

George II

152

George III

155

George IV

159

William IV

163

Victoria

166

Edward VII

170

George V

173
Edward VIII

176

George VI

179

Elizabeth II

182

The 5 Longest Reigns

186

The 5 Shortest Reigns

187

The 5 Longest-Lived Monarchs

188

The 5 Shortest-Lived Monarchs

190

The 5 Oldest Monarchs at Accession

191

The 5 Youngest Monarchs at Accession

192

Breakdown of Male-to-Female Monarchs

in England/Britain Since 1066

193

English/British Monarchs Born

Outside England

195

English/British Monarchs Born in

the Modern Greater London Area

198

Causes of Death of Monarchs

201

Burial Places of Monarchs

212

FAMILY

219

Queens and Royal Consorts Since 1066

220

The 5 Longest-Lived Royal Consorts

269

The 5 Shortest-Lived Royal Consorts

271
The 5 Longest-Serving Royal Consorts

273

The 5 Shortest-Serving Royal Consorts

275

The 5 Longest Marriages of

Monarchs and Consorts

277

The 5 Shortest Marriages of

Monarchs and Consorts

278

Monarchs Who Never Married

279

Some Monarchs Who Married their Cousins

281

Royal Children

284

Monarchs With the Most Children

323

Monarchs Who Died Childless

326

Monarchs With Confirmed

Illegitimate Children

328

Royal Mistresses

333

Royal Illegitimate Children

345

Kings Who Married With No Record

of Mistresses or Illegitimate Children

361

English/British Princesses Who

Became Foreign Queens

363

Queen Victoria’s Forty Grandchildren

376

Haemophilia in the Royal Family

393

Current Blood Relations of the British Royal

Family to Other European Royal Families

402

Queen Elizabeth II’s Descent From William

the Conqueror and From Alfred the Great

407

The Current Line of Succession

412

The Current Royal Family

420

CEREMONY AND CONSTITUTION

426

Royal Family Titles

427

British Honours and Decorations

437

The Sovereign’s Guard

447

Royal Gun Salutes

468

Some Royal Ceremonies and

Events Throughout the Year

471

The National Anthem: God Save the Queen

481

The Royal Residences

488

Walter Bagehot on Monarchy

517

The Monarchy and Government

521

Most Prime Ministers for a Monarch

530

The Oath of Allegiance

535

The Monarchy and the Law

539

The Monarchy and the Church

543

The Monarchy and the Armed Forces

549

Royal Honorary Positions in the Armed Forces 555

ARTS AND TREASURES

567

The Royal Collection

568

Artists Represented in the Royal Collection

574

Royal Patrons of the Arts

577

Great Treasures Owned by the Monarchy

585

Lost Royal Treasures

591

The Crown Jewels

599

10

The Personal Jewels of the Royal Family

626

The Royal Philatelic Collection

648

Notable Royal Music

652

Notable Royal Artists

659

Royal Writers

665

William Shakespeare’s Royal Plays

674

MISCELLANEA

685

Royal Towns and Settlements

686

London’s Royal Parks

699

London’s Royal Statues

710

Royal Coaches

720

Countries Officially Visited by

Queen Elizabeth II, 1952-2018

728

Notable Films on Royal History

735

11

Some Notable Royal Pets

750

Some Rules to Follow When

Meeting the British Monarch

760

How to Write to Members

of the Royal Family

764

Sources

768

About the Author

798

More British Monarchy Miscellany!

799

12
Introduction
This book was written for two reasons. The first one is that I am an
insatiably curious person. Who was the first king of England? Which
monarch and consort had the

longest marriage? What happened to illegitimate children of kings?

How many royal statues are in London? As I kept exploring the
subject of the British monarchy, questions like these arose in my
mind, and for each of them I was often forced to look up the answer
in

different places, or sometimes research the answer from scratch

myself when it was not clearly available

anywhere. I certainly could not find any single reference work

containing answers to all my curious questions, so, to paraphrase
politician and writer Benjamin Disraeli (a monarchy expert himself),
since I could not find the book I needed, I wrote it.

The second reason is a matter of conviction. My interest in the

British monarchy is not superficial or arbitrary. I do believe in
constitutional monarchy as a political and social system, and in the
benefits that it brings to the UK.

One of my purposes in writing this work was to show the many ways
in which the monarchy is inextricably

connected to the political, social and cultural life of this 13

country. The Monarchs Facts Sheets illustrate how the lives of

individual monarchs affected the history of England and then Britain.
Chapters on royal ceremonies and on the National Anthem show
how the monarchy has shaped the formation of national traditions.
The sections on the monarchy and government, the monarchy and
the church, and the monarchy and the Armed Forces were
created to show how these social and political

institutions are all chained together through the

monarch, the almost invisible but ever-present link bringing the

whole state together under one crown. Even chapters on royal
writers, artists and patrons of the arts are meant to spotlight the
individual contributions of Royal Family members to British cultural
life. The

monarchy is not just members of the Royal Family waving from a

balcony on important occasions. It is an institution with roots and
branches reaching into every part of life in the UK, which is one of
the reasons why this book has been structured into different sections
highlighting different areas.

This however is not a manual. To write a complete

manual or encyclopaedia on all the subjects associated with the

British monarchy would take an extremely

lengthy and superhuman effort. I know. The research I undertook

initially to write a British monarchy manual produced a rough first
draft of over 200,000 words (over 700 pages) before even
completing half the project!

Hence, this is instead a miscellany, a collection of the 14

most valuable and interesting information on the British Monarchy.

Even with a miscellany however I found it difficult to fit all
interesting and valuable information in one single work, so, in the
interest of publishing a book and presenting this information before I
was old and grey, I decided to publish this initial collection of facts
and trivia. Any royal topic that is not found in this book was by no
means considered unworthy of inclusion, it was only omitted this
time around. A further collection of royal facts, lists and trivia will be
published in a second book later (see More British Monarchy
Miscellany! at the end of the book).

Do not let the words ‘miscellany’ and ‘trivia’ mislead you on the
quality of the information contained here

however. All the information in this book has been

scrupulously researched and checked for accuracy: a full list of

sources can be found at the end. Because of the many areas
covered, I have tried to be accurate, yes, but also as concise as
possible, so that what is written in here might serve not as a
complete account of things but as a basic guide, a springboard to
learn more. I have also, for the sake of conciseness and a strict
focus, concentrated solely on the English/British monarchy starting
at the Norman Conquest of 1066. More information on the

Anglo-Saxon monarchy and Scottish monarchy will be

included in the second book. I have striven to be fair and objective

in compiling lists and presenting information, though in some cases I
found it necessary to be guided by 15

my personal judgement where it mattered. For example, few

historians consider Eadred to be a candidate for the first king of
England, but I do; I do not consider Lady Jane Grey to have a been
a legitimate monarch (see my

explanation in Monarchs Facts Sheets); and the ‘Great Gems of

State’ category in The Crown Jewels chapter is entirely my own
creation as I do believe that those particular, incredible gemstones
deserve to be known in a class of their own. Generally though, be
assured that the royal information you find here is right and true.

I hope you enjoy reading this book as I enjoyed writing it.

As all reference and trivia books, it is not necessary to start at the
beginning and read orderly until the end. Dip in and out at your
leisure. Surf where your interest takes you. And be surprised,
fascinated and perplexed at what you read. The institution of the
British monarchy and its 1,000-year history are like an
inextinguishable well, always springing up new surprises. It is a
national saga with a dozen incarnations, hundreds of traditions, and
a cast of thousands. What you will find in here is just a sketch of it.
To paraphrase Marco Polo’s introduction to his account of his
wonders-filled trip to medieval China, what you read in this book is
not even half of what I learned…

Alex David

London, June 2017.

16

Monarchs

17

The First King of England

It can be difficult to determine exactly who was the first King of

England. Unlike other countries, England’s

unification was achieved in stages, and the English monarchy

developed by degrees, between the 8th and
11th centuries. There are several Anglo-Saxon monarchs who can be
said to have been the first to reign over a unified country, or a
unified English people, between the 790s and 970s. They include:

Offa, 790s

Offa, King of Mercia, (c.730- 796) is sometimes called the first king
of England because he established lordship over most of the English
territories towards the end of his reign in the 790s. He never ruled
over Northumbria

however, and his dominions were broken up after his death.

18

Alfred the Great, 880s

Alfred (849-899) was the first monarch to be given the title ‘King of
the English’. Originally King of Wessex (roughly Southern England)
from 871, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded that after he led the
English against Viking invaders in the 880s “all of the English people
not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King

Alfred.” He is therefore traditionally acknowledged as the first king

who ruled over the English people, however his dominions excluded
most of Eastern and Northern

England.

Aethelstan, 920s

The grandson of Alfred of the Great, Aethelstan (c.895-939) was the

first king who, after conquering Northern England, ruled over the
whole modern English territory.

On 12 July 927 he was recognized ‘King of England and Overlord of

Britain’ by the other rulers of the island, and this day is taken by
some as the foundation date of England. After his death however
York and Northumbria escaped royal control and became
independent again.

19

Eadred, 950s

Half brother of Aethelstan, Eadred (923-955) was the English king

under whom the kingdoms of York and

Northumbria permanently lost their independence and became part

of the Kingdom of England around the year 952. The permanent
unification England under one crown therefore dates back from his
reign. Sadly, Eadred died shortly of illness after this unification and is
almost forgotten today, overshadowed in importance by the

other monarchs in this list.

Edgar the Peaceful, 959-975

The nephew of Eadred, Edgar (c.943-975) was the last great unifier
of the English nation. After pacifying the country from the internal
divisions that had arisen under Eadred’s successor, Edgar centralised
the state, the church and the currency, and divided the country into
the familiar counties of today. Most significantly, his achievements
were recognised when he became the first monarch to receive an
official coronation as King of the English in 973. No local kingdoms
or internal divisions arose again in England after his death.

20
Royal Dynasties

Listed below are the 10 dynastic Royal Houses that have ruled in
England/Britain since the Kingdom of England began to be unified by
Alfred the Great in the 880s.

House of Wessex

Named after the local kingdom in Southern England from which the
first Anglo-Saxon kings of a unified Kingdom of England emerged.

RULED: 880s to 1013, 1014 to 1016, 1042 to 1066

MONARCHS: 11

Alfred the Great, Edward the Elder, Aethelstan, Edmund the Elder,
Eadred, Eadwig, Edgar the Peaceful, Edmund the Martyr, Aethelred
the Unready, Edmund Ironside, Edward the Confessor

21
House of Denmark

Named after the Danish invader kings who ruled the

country briefly in the 11th century.

RULED: 1013 to 1014, 1016 to 1042

MONARCHS: 4

Sweyn Forkbeard, Cnut, Harold Harefoot, Hartacnut House of

Godwin

Named after Harold Godwinson (meaning ‘son of

Godwin’), an Anglo-Saxon earl who reigned as king in 1066 after the

rule of the House of Wessex came to an end, and before the
Norman Conquest.

RULED: 1066

MONARCHS: 1

Harold Godwinson

22
House of Normandy

Named after the place of origin of William the Conqueror, Duke of

Normandy, who conquered England in 1066.

RULED: 1066 to 1154

MONARCHS: 4

William I, William II, Henry I, Stephen

House of Plantagenet

Named after Geoffrey Plantagenet, the father of the first Plantagenet

King, Henry II. The name itself refers to the Planta Genista, a broom
flower Geoffrey adopted as his personal emblem.

RULED: 1154 to 1485

MONARCHS: 14

Henry II, Richard I, John, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward
III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV, Edward V,
Richard III

23
In the 15th century, the House of Plantagenet split in the following
two branches that ruled England separately over an 85-year period:

House of Plantagenet—Lancaster Branch

Named after John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster,

father of the first Lancastrian King.

Ruled: 1399 to 1461, 1470 to 1471

Monarchs: 3

Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI

House of Plantagenet—York Branch

Named after Richard, Duke of York,

father of the first Yorkist King.

Ruled: 1461 to 1470, 1471 to 1485

Monarchs: 3

Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III

24
House of Tudor

Named after Owen Tudor, the Welsh paternal

grandfather of the first Tudor King, Henry VII. Henry himself was
known as Henry Tudor before his accession.

RULED: 1485 to 1603

MONARCHS: 5

Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Jane (disputed), Mary I, Elizabeth
I

House of Stuart

Named after the Scottish royal dynasty, called Stewart in Scotland,

that inherited the English throne after the death of the last Tudor
monarch because of their descent from Henry VII. The name was
changed from Stewart to Stuart by Mary Queen of Scots and Lord
Darnley, parents of James I, the first Stuart monarch of England.

RULED: 1603 to 1714

MONARCHS: 7

James I, Charles I, Charles II, James II, William III and Mary II,
Anne

25
House of Hanover

Named after the Electorate of Hanover, the German state whose

Protestant ruling family inherited the British throne after the death of
the last Stuart monarch,

because of their descent from James I. Although the Electorate was

formally known as the Electorate of

Brunswick-Luneburg, it was more commonly referred to by the name

of its capital city, Hanover.

RULED: 1714 to 1901

MONARCHS: 6

George I, George II, George III, George IV, William IV, Victoria

House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

Named after the German duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, to whose

ducal family Prince Albert, husband to Queen

Victoria, belonged. With Queen Victoria’s approval, Albert passed on

his family name to their children and descendants.

26
RULED: 1901 to 1917

MONARCHS: 2

Edward VII, George V

House of Windsor

Named after the town of Windsor, Berkshire that is the location of

Windsor Castle, the oldest inhabited royal castle in Britain. King
George V, who belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,
officially changed the

German-sounding name of his dynasty to the more

acceptable English name of Windsor in 1917, during the First World

War.

RULED: 1917 to present

MONARCHS: 4

George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II

Note: George V is listed in two different dynasties as he was both a

member of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1910-1917) and the
House of Windsor (1917-1936).

27
The Monarchs

of Anglo-Saxon England

From Alfred the Great

to 1066

Listed below are the monarchs who reigned in Anglo-

Saxon England from Alfred the Great, the first king to be

acknowledged King of the English, to Harold Godwinson, the last
king to reign before the Norman Conquest.

Monarch

Reigned:

(Date of Birth/Death)

House of Wessex

Alfred the Great

(849-899)

880s-899

Edward the Elder

(c.874/77-924)

899-924

28

Aethelstan

(895-939)
924-939

Edmund The Elder

(c.921-946)

939-946

Eadred

(c.923-955)

946-955

Eadwig

(c.940-959)

955-959

Edgar the Peaceful

(c.943-975)

959-975

Edmund the Martyr

(c.962-978)

975-978

Aethelred the Unready

(c.968-1016)

978-1013, 1014-1016

House of Denmark
Sweyn Forkbeard

(c.960-1014)

1013-1014

29

House of Wessex

Edmund Ironside

(c.993-1016)

1016

House of Denmark

Cnut

(c.995-1035)

1016-1035

Harold Harefoot

(c.1016-1040)

1035-1040

Harthacnut

(1018-1042)

1040-1042

House of Wessex

Edward the Confessor

(c.1003-1066)

1042-1066

House of Godwin

Harold Godwinson

(c.1020-1066)

1066

30

The Monarchs of Scotland

From Kenneth MacAlpin

to 1707

Listed below are the monarchs who reigned in Scotland from

Kenneth MacAlpin, the traditional first King of Scots in the 9th
century, to Queen Anne, the last monarch of an independent
Scotland before the Act of Union with

England was passed in 1707.

Note: exact dates of birth for many monarchs of the House of Alpin
are not known.
Monarch

Reigned:

(Date of Birth/Death)

House of Alpin

Kenneth I MacAlpin

(c.810-858)

c.843-858

31

Donald I

(c.812-862)

858-862

Constantine I

(? - 877)

862-877

Aedh

(c.850s-878)

877-878

Giric

(?-889)

878-889
Donald II

(?-900)

889-900

Constantine II

(c.870s-952)

900-943

Malcolm I

(c.900-954)

943-954

Indulf

(?-962)

954-962

Duff

(?-967)

962-967

Colin

(?-971)

967-971

32

Amlaib
(?-977)

971-977

Kenneth II

(c.950s-995)

971-995

Constantine III

(c.960s-997)

995-997

Kenneth III

(c.960s-1005)

997-1005

Malcolm II

(c.954-1034)

1005-1034

House of Dunkeld

Duncan I

(c.1001-1040)

1034-1040

Macbeth

(c.1005-1057)
1040-1057

Lulach

(c.1030-1058)

1057-1058

33

Malcolm III

(c.1031-1093)

1058-1093

Donald III

(c.1033-1099)

1093-1094, 1094-1097

Duncan II

(c.1060-1094)

1094

Edgar

(c.1074-1107)

1097-1107

Alexander I

(c.1078-1124)

1107-1124
David I

(1084-1153)

1124-1153

Malcolm IV

(1141-1165)

1153-1165

William I

(c.1143-1214)

1165-1214

Alexander II

(1198-1249)

1214-1249

Alexander III

(1241-1286)

1249-1286

34

House of Norway (Disputed)

Margaret

(1283-1290)

1286-1290
First Interregnum

1290-1292

Scotland is administered by the Guardians of Scotland whilst Edward

I of England arbitrates between different claimants to the Scottish
throne.

House of Balliol

John Balliol

(c.1249-1314)

1292-1296

Second Interregnum

1296-1306

Scotland is administered again by the Guardians of

Scotland after John Balliol is deposed and the Scots fight against
Edward I of England who wishes to conquer the country. Between
1304-1306 Scotland is occupied

militarily by Edward I’s English forces.

35

Monarch

Reigned:

(Date of Birth/Death)

House of Bruce
Robert I, the Bruce

(1274-1329)

1306-1329

David II

(1324-1371)

1329-1371

House of Balliol (Disputed)

Edward Balliol

(c.1283-1367)

1332-1336

House of Stewart

Robert II

(1316-1390)

1371-1390

Robert III

(1337-1406)

1390-1406

James I

(1394-1437)

1406-1437
36

James II

(1430-1460)

1437-1460

James III

(1451-1488)

1460-1488

James IV

(1473-1513)

1488-1513

James V

(1512-1542)

1513-1542

Mary I

(1542-1587)

1542-1567

James VI

(1566-1625)

1567-1625
In 1603 Scottish monarchs also became monarchs of
England. The crowns of the two monarchies were kept
separate.

Charles I

(1600-1649)

1625-1649

Charles II

(1630-1685)

1649-1651

37

Third Interregnum

1651-1660

Scotland is incorporated by Oliver Cromwell into the Republican

Commonwealth of England.

Charles II

(re-instated)

1660-1685

James VII

(1633-1701)

1685-1688

Mary II
(1662-1694)

1689-1694

&

William II

(1650-1702)

1689-1702

Anne

(1665-1714)

1702-1707

Scotland and England ceased to have separate

monarchies in 1707 after the Act of Union was passed

establishing the Kingdom of Great Britain.

38

The Monarchs of England/

Great Britain/

United Kingdom
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