'Twas the Night Before.... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henri IV of France

Henri was originally King of Navarre. He became King of France on the death of Henri III in 1589. However, he was not crowned until 27 February 1594, after he had embraced Catholicism, allegedly stating 'Paris is well worth a mass'.

He was murdered by a Catholic fanatic, François Ravaillac, on 14 May 1610, the day after the coronation of his queen, Marie de Medici.

Answer: King John of England

King John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He ruled England from 1199 to 1216. The document in question was was the Magna Carta, originally drawn up as a peace treaty between King John and the rebellious barons. It was accepted and sealed in Runnymede, Surrey.

Answer: James IV of Scotland

James IV ruled Scotland from 11 June 1488 to 9 September 1514. He was married to Margaret, the sister of Henry VIII.

His cunning plan was scuppered by English troops led by the Earl of Surrey at the battle of Flodden Field. James became the last British monarch to die in battle, alongside several thousand of his countrymen.

Answer: Joanna of Castile

Joanna (or Juana) (b. 1479) was the third child of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Although she had six children with Philip (Duke of Burgundy) the marriage was not a happy one, due to his unfaithfulness and his attempts to ursurp her power. Joanna's older brother and sister and their offspring all died, leaving her as Queen of Castile on the death of her mother Isabella. Philip died in 1506 and her father took power in Castile. Poor Joanna was said to be heartbroken at the death of faithless Philip. Her father had her shut away in a convent and assumed power on Castile. She became known as Joanna the Mad, possibly as a justification for her confinement.

Her son Charles eventually inherited both Castile and Aragon and became Holy Roman Emperor. He continued his mother's cruel confinement and poor Joanna eventually died in 1555 after nearly fifty years of confinement.

Answer: Charles I of England

Charles I believed in the absolute power of the monarch. His Parliament were demanding a constitutional monarchy. After nearly seven years of civil war, Charles was captured and put on trial. He refused to acknowledge the authority of the court, saying that no court had jurisdiction over a monarch.

He did not attend court after the first three days and was found guilty of high treason in his absence. He was beheaded on 30 January 1649.

Answer: John of Gaunt

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, was the third son of Edward III. His nephew, Richard II, reigned at the time of the Peasant's Revolt. John wielded considerable power while Richard was young and was responsible for the introduction of the Poll Tax, which penalised the poorest members of society.

Much of the anger of the revolting peasants was directed at him and the Savoy Palace was destroyed by rioters. Today the Savoy Hotel and the Savoy Theatre stand on the site.

Answer: Mary (May) of Teck

Mary of Teck was married to King George V. Although she was a princess of Teck in Germany, Mary was born and bought up in England. She was first engaged to George's oldest brother. After his death, she married George.

The marriage was to all intents and purposes a happy one, especially by royal standards. Mary has sometimes been portrayed as a cold and distant figure to her children. However, prior to ascending the throne, she and George undertook several state tours lasting for months at a time, and she found it very difficult to leave her children. The long separations couldn't have helped family relationships, though. She died in 1952 at the age of 85, shortly after her son, King George VI.

The troublesome Edward was of course Edward VIII, who refused to give up his American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, and abdicated later in 1936.

Answer: Richard III

The Battle of Bosworth Field took place on 22 August 1485, the last battle in the Wars of the Roses. Richard III was killed on the battlefield and Henry Tudor took the crown of England, becoming Henry VII.

In 2012 a skeleton was unearthed in a car park in Leicester, on the site of the former Greyfriars Church. After undergoing extensive study, the skeleton was declared to be that of Richard III. There was some argument about where the skeleton should be interred, with Leicester Cathedral and York Minster both making claims. At the time of writing this quiz, it is planned that he will be re-interred in Leicester Cathedral in March 2015.

Answer: Charles II

The Great Fire of London broke out on 2 September 1666 and burned until 5 September. It started in a baker's shop in Pudding Lane. Many factors contributed to the fire's longevity - a long dry summer, strong winds, houses built close together being only a few. Attempts to fight the fire were hampered by unwillingness to be held responsible for pulling down houses, and the difficulty the rudimentary fire fighting force had in reaching the fire due to the exodus of people fleeing the fire. The gunpowder stored in the Tower of London came in handy as it was used to blow up neighbouring houses and create firebreaks.

Although the documented deaths from the fire are in single figures, it is likely the number is far higher. Poor people could have disappeared unnoticed or been incinerated in the extreme heat. Add to that deaths from hunger and disease among the dispossessed and the true number of deaths is likely to be far higher.

Answer: Lady Jane Grey

Alas, the Duke of Northumberland had ambitions for his son and persuaded Jane to claim the crown of England after the death of Edward VI. Mary Tudor (Mary I) raised an army and the privy council decided to support her instead of Jane.

How much persuading it actually took is debatable. Jane professed that she had been reluctant to take the crown but then she would, wouldn't she? She was a staunch Protestant and Mary a Catholic, so it must have been tempting to keep the religion that her cousin Edward VI had followed.

Poor Jane was only around seventeen years of age when she was beheaded for high treason on 12 February 1554. It was said that Mary I was reluctant to execute her, but as long as she was alive she was a strong rallying point for protestant rebellion.