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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Royal Consorts
Matilda of Flanders. Matilda was only 4'3" tall. William was well over six feet. They had nine children together and both were known for their explosive tempers.
Matilda of Scotland. Matilda was the granddaughter of King Duncan I of Scotland, who is mostly famous for being murdered by MacBeth in 1040. Henry married her partly because he wanted to protect his northern border--he was concerned about a possible invasion from Normandy and the last thing he needed was an attack from Scotland too. Matilda and Henry had two children together, but Henry also had at least 20 illegitimate children throughout England and France.
Berengaria of Navarre. Berengaria is the only known Queen of England never to have actually set foot in England. There was said to have been some marital disharmony--she had to put up with the snide rumours of Richard's alleged homosexuality (though he did father a son with another woman). Berengaria was reconciled to Richard on Continent (1196), and from this point onwards they were never parted for long. There were no children from this marriage. When Richard died in France, Berengaria was present at his death (1198). So devoted to Richard, Berengaria never remarried. Instead she entered a convent, and from then-on devoted her life and (considerable) income to charitable works.
Eleanor of Castile. They had at least 16 children together, mostly daughters. Unusual for Royal married couples at the time, they were very much in love. Eleanor was travelling with Edward in central England when she suddenly became ill and died. Edward was devastated. He ordered her embalmed, and her body was then carried in a procession to Westminster Abbey in London. At each place where the procession stopped for the night, Edward built a memorial cross in her honour. Today only the crosses at Waltham Crossin (Hertfordshire) and at Geddington and Hardingstone in Northamptonshire remain, but the cross at Charing is remembered only in the name Charing Cross.
Isabella. She was also known as "Isabella the Fair." She was married to Edward at a very young age, but he showed little interest in her, thinking of her as nothing more than a breeding machine. He was almost certainly homosexual, and carried on his affairs right in front of Isabella, which must have been very hard for her. Edward was not a very competent ruler, and civil war eventually broke out. Isabella met Roger Mortimer, and began an affair with him. She tricked Edward into sending her to France, where she and Roger raised an army (aided by her brother the King of France) which deposed Edward and then he mysteriously died (Isabella most likely had him murdered). This made his young son, Edward III, King of England and Isabella regent. When Edward III came of age, he had Mortimer executed and his mother imprisoned in Castle Rising - for 31 years. When she died her body was buried next to Roger Mortimer's.
Katherine of Valois. Henry married Katherine purely for dynastic reasons. She was the daughter of Charles VI ("The Mad") of France, and Henry and her father agreed that Henry would become King of France on his father-in-law's death. However, Henry died one month before Charles did, leaving his nine month old son as King of England and nominal King of France. Katherine after a few years entered into a liaison with Owen Tudor, and it is from her that the Tudor and Stewart dynasties were descended. However, it is also from her that the hereditary disease porphyria (which can bring periodic insanity) was thought to have been introduced into the English royal family. Certainly her son Henry VI did have periods of insanity, and other decendants from Katherine thought to have had the disease include Margaret Tudor, Mary Queen of Scots, James I, George III, and (some speculate) Queen Victoria.
Elizabeth Woodville. When Edward revealed that he had married a commoner, and for love, people were horrified. It led to him being deposed, and having to win back the throne. Elizabeth and her large family were extremely ambitious and greedy, and not well liked by the nobles or the common people. However, Edward adored her and they had many children together. Their daughter, Elizabeth of York, would marry Henry VII and found the Tudor dynasty.
King Philip of Spain. Mary and Philip were second cousins, and both were religious fanatics. It was in Mary's reign that more than 300 people were burned at the stake for being "heretics," which to his credit Philip did his best to stop. Although Mary was convinced twice that she was pregnant, they did not have any children. After Mary's death Philip wanted to marry her sister Elizabeth I, who typically pretended to be interested, but then refused. Many years later he tried to invade England, but his Armada was defeated by the weather and the skill of the English sailors.
Anne of Denmark. Jane Grey was "The Nine Days Queen of England" between Edward VI and Mary I. Anne Hyde and Mary of Modena were the first and second wives of James II, James I's grandson.
Catherine of Braganza. Nell Gwynne and Lady Barbara were two of Charles' mistresses. Henrietta Maria was his mother. Catherine was a Portuguese princess who did not fit in well in England, and had to put up with all of Charles' infidelities. They did not have any children together, although Charles had numerous children with other women.
Elswitha. Elswitha of the Gaini and Alfred were married in 868 or 869. She outlived him by three years, dying in 905. The name Elgifu was shared by the first queen of Edmund the Elder, and the wife of Edwy the Fair. Judith was the second queen of Ethelwulf, and Wulfryth was either the second wife, or the mistress, of Edgar the Peaceful.
Emma of Normandy. Emma of Normandy was the queen of Ethelred the Unready, and after his death she married his enemy, Canute, who ruled England from 1016-1035. Her sons were Hardecanute and Edward the Confessor, who ruled England from 1040-1042 and 1042-1066 respectively. Edith was the queen of Edward the Confessor; they had no children because he had taken a vow of chastity. Matilda of Scotland was the first queen of Henry I, and their son was drowned in the sinking of 'The White Ship'. Another of Henry I's sons, Richard, was also killed in this incident, but opinion is divided as to whether he was a legitimate child. Eleanor of Aquitaine was also wife of two kings and mother to two kings. She was married to King Louis VII of France, eventually divorced him, and soon after married Henry II of England. She was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and John.
Berengaria of Navarre. Richard I neglected his bride, Berengaria of Navarre, because, apart from the fact that he was absorbed in the Crusades, he was also gay. After his death she founded an abbey and became a nun. Eleanor of Aquitaine was Richard's mother, and Isabella of Angouleme married his youngest brother John. Adela of Louvain was the second queen of Henry I.
Eleanor of Castile. Edward and Eleanor of Castile were married in 1254, when she was just 10 years old. She was an active queen, and accompanied her husband on crusade. After her death, he commissioned twelve crosses to be built in her honour. He also ordered that two large candles should burn forever by her tomb. Unfortunately, after burning for over 200 years, they were extinguished during the Reformation. Eleanor of Provence was Edward's mother, and was extremely unpopular with the people for her extravagance. There has never been a queen of England called Eleanor of Anjou.
| One queen of England detested her husband so much that she plotted with her lover to have him deposed, and then murdered. She and her lover then ruled England, until her eldest son came of age and overthrew them both. Who are the King and Queen in question? | England's Royal Consorts, 868-1837
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Edward II and Isabella of France. Isabella's time as queen was miserable. Her husband lavished favour on his gay partner, who was eventually executed by the barons. If Isabella expected her husband to pay her more attention, she was to be disappointed. Edward soon found new favourites and Isabella eventually took a lover of her own; Roger Mortimer. They plotted the grisly murder of Edward after he was deposed. Mortimer was executed on the order of Isabella's son, Edward III, and Isabella herself was imprisoned at Castle Rising, where she eventually went mad.
Edward I and Eleanor of Castile appear to have been happily married. Although Eleanor of Aquitaine allied herself with her sons against her husband, she never plotted to have him killed. Isabella of Valois was only eight years old when she was sent to be married to Richard II, and was just 11 when her husband was deposed.
Catherine and Isabella of Valois. Catherine, who married Henry V, was twelve years younger than Isabella. After the death of her husband, Catherine formed a clandestine relationship with Owen Tudor. When news of their marriage became public, Owen was arrested, and Catherine was sent to a nunnery. Even so, their union created the famous Tudor dynasty.
Anne and Mary Boleyn were indeed sisters, but only one became a queen. Mary Boleyn was one of Henry VIII's mistresses, and is said to have borne him two children, one of whom was a son. Joan of Navarre, the queen of Henry IV, lived two hundred years after Berengaria, the ill-fated wife of Richard the Lionheart. Margaret of Anjou was the queen of Henry VI, and Eleanor of Anjou is fictional.
| At sixteen, this future consort was a willing pawn in their father's plan to put them on the English throne. This ambitious plan failed spectacularly, and the royal couple lost their heads. Who was the consort? | England's Royal Consorts, 868-1837
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Guilford Dudley. Lady Jane Grey did not wish to marry Guilford Dudley, but her parents forced her into the match. Edward VI died six weeks after their marriage, and Guilford's father, the Duke of Northumberland, announced that Jane would become Queen. Of course, the aim of this plan was to put his son on the throne. However, Jane was extremely intelligent: She made the best of a bad situation and told her husband that she would not make him King without parliament's permission. Guilford reputedly had a tantrum.
Jane only ruled for nine days, before being imprisoned in the Tower of London by Mary Tudor. Months later, both Jane and her husband were executed.
Catherine of Braganza. Catherine tolerated her husband's philanderings; she had no choice. On his deathbed, Charles begged her forgiveness. Henrietta Maria was Charles' mother and Mary of Modena was his brother James II's second wife. Lucy Walter was one of Charles' many mistresses; her son by Charles was created Duke of Monmouth, and he attempted to snatch the throne after his father died. His grounds for this was the claim that Charles had married his mother in secret, which made him the legitimate heir to the throne.
Sophia Dorothea of Zelle. George I sent his wife into exile when she was 28, after discovering her adultery with a Swedish count. Her husband was invited to become King of England twenty years later, and the fact that his wife remained imprisoned made him extremely unpopular in England. Sophia died at the age of 60, after spending 32 years in confinement.
Mary de Bohun was never a queen, as she died before her husband, Henry IV, deposed Richard II. However, her son became Henry V. Caroline of Brunswick was the queen of George IV, and a famed adulteress. George of Denmark appeared to be faithful to his wife Queen Anne, and it was generally thought that he was too dull to ever attract another woman.
| William IV never expected to become king, and lived happily with his mistress and their ten illegitimate children. However, when his brother's only heir, Princess Charlotte, died in childbirth, William decided to marry. Who was his mistress, and who was his queen? | England's Royal Consorts, 868-1837
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Mrs Jordan and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. Mrs Jordan was William IV's long-standing mistress while he was still the Duke of Clarence. They led quite a good life together with their ten children, all surnamed Fitz-Clarence. When it became apparent that he would become king, he searched desperately for a wife, and was eventually accepted by Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. Adelaide was kind to William's illegitimate children, though she was destined to have none of her own.
William apparently fell desperately in love with Miss Wykeham, an heiress, just before his marriage to Adelaide. Caroline of Ansbach was the queen of George II, Mrs Fitzherbert was secretly married to George IV, and Mrs Wheeler was one of Edward VII's many conquests.
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