The Wives of Kings Edward Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bessie Wallis Warfield

Wallis Simpson was born Bessie Wallis Warfield in Pennsylvania in 1896. She married her first husband, Earl Winfield Spencer, in 1916 but the marriage ended in divorce in 1927. It was during her second marriage to Ernest Simpson that she first met the Prince of Wales, who was later to become King Edward VIII.

Following his accession to the throne (and Wallis's decision to divorce Simpson) he declared his plan to marry her but was thwarted when the government, led by prime minister Stanley Baldwin, refused to support him. He chose to abdicate on the 11th December 1936, broadcasting that decision to the nation with the statement: "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love."

Answer: Denmark

Princess Alexandra of Denmark (known to her family as Alix) was one of the six children of King Christian IX of Denmark. While Alexandra eventually became queen consort of the United Kingdom and empress consort of India, most of her siblings also became high profile European royals. Her elder brother was King Frederick VIII of Denmark, another brother became King George I of Greece and her sister Dagmar changed her name to become the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Alexandra's son, King George V, and Dagmar's son, Tsar Nicholas II, were particularly noted for sharing a close family resemblance.

Answer: Mary, Queen of Scots

Edward VI was only six years old and Mary was just six months old when plans for their marriage were made under the terms of the Treaty of Greenwich. The treaty was supposed to ensure peace between England and Scotland by uniting the two kingdoms with the marriage of the heir to the throne of England to the infant Queen of Scotland. The terms were proposed by Edward's father, King Henry VIII, but despite initial agreement from the Scots, the treaty was thrown out by the Scottish Parliament and the marriage plans were cancelled.

The war that followed lasted about eight years but the name 'The Rough Wooing' was not applied to it until around the mid-19th century. Although the exact origin of the term is unclear, it has been suggested that Sir Walter Scott may have been responsible for popularising the description of the conflict as a 'wooing'.

Mary was Edward's first cousin once removed. She was the granddaughter of Queen Margaret of Scotland, who was the elder sister of Edward's father, King Henry VIII of England. The alternative answers were all other female cousins of King Edward VI.

Answer: Sir John Grey

Elizabeth Woodville lived during the time of the War of the Roses - the 15th century civil war between rival houses of the English royal family. Prior to her marriage her family were supporters of the Lancastrian King Henry VI, and her first husband, Sir John Grey, was killed fighting for Henry at the Second Battle of St Albans. The family had to change sides quickly when Elizabeth later married the Yorkist King Edward IV.

Elizabeth faced many difficulties as queen. Her husband was briefly deposed during the period 1470-1471, her father was executed and her mother was put on trial for witchcraft.

Answer: Eleanor Talbot

Lady Eleanor Talbot was a daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury. She had married Sir Thomas Butler in 1449, but was a young widow by the time Edward IV seized the throne. She died in 1468, fifteen years before her disputed relationship with the king was used to the change the line of succession and put Richard III on the throne in place of his young nephew, Edward V.

Historical opinion of whether Edward IV ever had a genuine contract of pre-marriage with Eleanor is divided, and is likely to remain so when there is very little chance of hard evidence either way being discovered over 500 years after the event.

Elizabeth Lucy and Jane Shore were known mistresses of Edward IV. Alice Perrers was Edward III's mistress.

Answer: Philippa

Philippa of Hainault (or Hainaut) lived from 1314 to 1369 and her marriage to King Edward III took place formally in 1328. The County of Hainault was then a part of the Holy Roman Empire and consisted of parts of modern day Belgium and northern France. Philippa was popular with the English people as she was known for her compassion and often interceded with her husband to obtain mercy for those accused of various crimes.

The Queen's College (commonly known as "Queen's") was founded by Robert de Eglesfield, chaplain to Queen Philippa. It is one of the 38 colleges that make up the University of Oxford, which dates back to around the late 12th century (the date of its formal foundation is unknown) and is the oldest university in England. (This college should not be confused with Queens' College, Cambridge, which is named in honour of Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville).

Joan and Blanche were the names of two of Queen Philippa's daughters-in-law, the mothers of King Richard II and King Henry IV respectively. Isabella was the name of Philippa's eldest daughter.

Answer: The She-Wolf of France

Isabella, the youngest daughter of King Philip IV of France, married King Edward II at the age of 12. Her husband was known for his relationships with his 'favourites', including Piers Gaveston and Hugh Despenser, and soon became estranged from his wife. The term 'She-Wolf of France' was first applied to Isabella by the 18th century poet, Thomas Gray, although it actually originates from the Shakespeare play 'Henry VI, part III', where it was used to describe Henry's wife, Margaret of Anjou.

The other nicknames mentioned actually belong to various historical rulers: 'Mrs Brown' was used to refer to Queen Victoria after rumours about her close relationship with her servant John Brown were reported in the press; 'the Terrible' has been used to refer to several historical leaders, but is most famously associated with Ivan the Terrible of Russia; and Mauregatus the Usurper was an 8th century king of Asturias.

Answer: Margaret was an unexpected replacement for her elder sister

King Philip IV of France betrothed his sister Blanche to Prince Edward of Caernarfon, the son and heir of King Edward I of England, in order to try and achieve a lasting peace between the warring nations. However, on later hearing that Blanche was incredibly beautiful, Edward I asked to marry her himself. Philip initially agreed but at the last minute offered up his other sister, Margaret, in Blanche's place. The result was a very disgruntled King of England and five more years of conflict before Margaret finally became his queen.

Blanche was not as fortunate as her younger sister. She was married to Rudolf, Duke of Austria, lost both her children and then suffered a miscarriage that probably led to her death, aged about 27. Her husband went on to become King of Bohemia and Poland after her death, but died himself only 2 years after his wife.

Answer: Spain

Modern day Castile is part of Castile and Leon, an autonomous community located in the north-west of Spain, which includes the cities of Valladolid and Burgos. The former Kingdom of Castile began in the 11th century in northern Spain, but ended up covering the majority of the modern day country. The kingdom existed within the wider Kingdom of Spain from the mid-16th century until it was finally made obsolete by the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714).

Despite Edward and Eleanor's marriage having been arranged for political gain, it is believed to have been a happy one. Edward is not known to have had any mistresses or illegitimate children during their marriage (unlike most medieval English kings) and his daughter from his second marriage was named Eleanor, in honour of his first wife.

Answer: Harold II (Harold Godwinson)

Edith was the daughter of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, one of the most powerful lords of late Anglo-Saxon England. There is much uncertainty surrounding the details of the lives of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs and noble families, but it is probable that she was originally named Gytha, after her mother, and changed her name to Edith on her marriage to the king.

Prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066, although the succession of the English monarchy often followed the rules of primogeniture (the system where titles are inherited by the first-born male child), the formal appointment of a new king was made by a group known as the Witenagemot. This was a group of noblemen and senior clergyman who, theoretically at least, acted as advisers to the king. Harold Godwinson's appointment as King Harold II was approved by the Witenagemot in January 1066, but his reign was short-lived as it ended with his death at the Battle of Hastings in October of the same year.

Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871-899, Edmund Ironside was King of England for a short period in 1016, and Harold Harefoot reigned from 1035-1040.