 Heroes and Villains of the British Monarchy
Heroes and Villains of the British Monarchy
Deadly deeds in the tower, brutal
executions, illicit affairs, illegitimate children and political
intrigues within the Royal court – the history of the British Monarchy
has more plot twists and thrills than a Dan Brown novel and boasts
characters to match!
 Britain has one of the most
famous, prestigious and longest running monarchies in the world. Over
the course of its often turbulent history, the British throne has been
filled by some illustrious characters, some are remembered for their
devotion to their subjects, for their fair and prosperous rule, or
their ability to lead the country against adversity. While others are
remembered for their ruthlessness, their abuse of power, their cruelty
or their downright dastardly deeds.
 There are a
few contenders to the crown of the monarchy’s biggest villain. If
you’ve seen the film Braveheart and certainly if you have any Scottish
blood, then Edward Longshanks – King Edward I aka Hammer of Scots would
take the title. Born in 1239, Edward’s chief ambition as King was to
bring the territories of Britain under one rule. After Edward fought
and defeated the Welsh , he had a number of mighty castles built in
North Wales , Caernarfon , Conwy and Harlech to keep the Welsh to heel.
Then Edward turned his attentions to Scotland , trying
diplomacy at
first by attempting to marry his son to the future Queen of Scotland.
But when she died Edward attempted to set up a puppet ruler on the
Scottish throne. When the Scottish revolted he sought to take control
by brutal force. Though Edward ruthlessly suppressed those against him,
famously including William Wallace , he failed in his ambitions and
Scotland gained independence shortly after his death in 1309.
Though no doubt ruthless, Edward’s ambitions were aimed at
strengthening and uniting his kingdom, whereas, our bad boy number two,
caused deep divisions through his actions and infidelities. King Henry
VIII is one of Britain’s best-known monarchs, who famously had six
wives – along with countless mistresses. To divorce his first wife
Catherine of Aragon and marry mistress Anne Boleyn, Henry split from
Rome and in 1534 established his own Protestant church – the Church of
England – creating a religious divide that was to taint British history
throughout the following centuries. When Henry tired of Anne, he
accused her of adultery and treason and had her beheaded at the Tower
of London . Soon after, Henry married Jane Seymour, who died shortly
after giving birth to their son. Henry’s next wife was Anne of Cleeves
in an arranged marriage that lasted just seven months! But Anne faired
well, she was pensioned off, while the man who arranged the marriage
was executed. This fate was to befall Henry’s next wife Catherine
Howard, who was beheaded at the tower, for adultery. Henry’s sixth and
last wife was Catherine Parr, who narrowly escaped the chop, by
managing to out-live Henry.
Although Henry divided the nation, he didn’t succeed in provoking
Civil War, like his Stuart successor, Charles I did. Born in 1600
Charles was the second king of the Stuart dynasty, his father James I ,
became king of England (though he was already King James VI of
Scotland), when Elizabeth I (daughter of Henry VIII) died childless.
Charles I shared his father’s belief in the Divine Right of Kings -
that the King was chosen by God and everybody, including Parliament,
should do as he says. Charles is regarded as a deeply arrogant and
despotic ruler and his constant fighting with Parliament eventually
brought about the English Civil War of 1642 – 1648. He was eventually
defeated by Oliver Cromwell’s Roundhead army and was tried for treason.
Even during his trial, Charles was defiant, refusing to recognise the
authority of the court and refusing to enter a plea. Charles I was
beheaded outside the Banqueting Hall in London on January 30 th 1649.
But the ultimate villain, the all time bad boy of the British monarchy
is Richard III . Depicted by William Shakespeare as a power mad hunch
back, Richard III was the archetypal evil uncle. Richard came to power
after the death of his brother King Edward IV, when he was Lord
Protector of the Realm, and guardian of his two young nephews and
rightful heirs to the throne Edward V, aged 12 and Richard aged 9.
Seeing his opportunity to seize the throne himself, Richard, had the
boys placed in the Tower of London, ‘for their own safety’, and had
their maternal family rounded up and executed on trumped up charges of
treason. With his nephews locked away and his enemies dead, Richard
launched a propaganda campaign, claiming that his brother’s marriage
had been bogus and that his nephews were illegitimate and therefore
that Richard was the rightful heir to the throne.
The campaign was successful, the Princes were declared illegitimate and
on July 6, 1483 Richard was crowned king. The two Princes of the Tower
were never seen again, it is widely assumed they were murdered at the
hands of their uncle, but their remains have never been found. Richard
reigned for just two years before his enemies rose against him and
killed him in the Battle of Bosworth Field.
But
they weren’t all bad and many monarchs are remembered for their
greatness - Alfred the Great for example. Alfred was the 8th Century
King of Wessex and is regarded as the first real King of England.
Alfred famously roused the Saxons against Viking invaders. Despite the
odds, Alfred defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington and freed
London from Viking occupation. After which he baptised the Viking
leaders and established the Saxon Kingdom and the Danelaw territories
in the East of England.
While her father Henry
VIII can be seen as something of a villain, Elizabeth I is held as
England’s great heroine and her reign is regarded as something of a
golden age known as the Elizabethan era. Born in 1533, Elizabeth was
the daughter of Anne Boleyn who was executed when Elizabeth was just
two and grew up estranged form her father. After the death of her half
sister Mary , Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England at the age of 25.
Though Elizabeth was responsible for some cruel deeds including the
persecution of Catholics and the imprisonment and execution of Mary
Queen of Scots , her own cousin, her reign is remembered for the
prosperity and renaissance it brought to England. The Elizabethan era
was a time of Shakespeare and England’s first colonial expansion into
Ireland and the New World with the settlement of Virginia. But
Elizabeth’s defining moment came with the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
As England faced invasion from the overwhelming forces of the world’s
dominant power at the time – Spain, Elizabeth delivered her rousing
speech before her troops at Tilbury, stating, “ I know I have the body
of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a King,
and of a King of England too!’
Powerful words – Britain’s most popular monarch, however, was a
woman renowned for few words. Queen Victoria is the longest reigning
British monarch and her Victorian era is regarded as the golden age of
the British Empire. At the age of 18, Victoria ascended to the throne
in 1837, her reign was to run for the rest of the decade, reviving the
monarchy, ushering in an era of social upheaval and establishing
Britain as the dominant world power with the expansion of the British
Empire to include territories in Africa, Australia, Canada, India, and
the South Pacific. Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of
Wight on 22nd January 1901, aged 81. Having reigned for 63 years, 7
months and 2 days, Victoria was and still is Britain’s longest serving
monarch.
So what of Britain’s present monarch –
heroine or villainess? Though she may have received some bad press
following the death of Princess Diana , Queen Elizabeth II is regarded
as a highly respected head of state throughout the world and is much
loved in Britain. Elizabeth II has reigned over some testing times both
for the Royal Family and for the British monarchy, as it has sought to
adapt to modern times under the ever-intrusive glare of the world’s
media. Elizabeth II has managed to preserve the popularity and
pageantry of the monarchy and visitors still flock to her London home
of Buckingham Palace each day to see the Changing of the Guard at 12 noon.
Indeed Elizabeth will prove a tough act to follow for her heirs, son
Prince Charles and grandson Prince William.
Heroes
or villains, the many monarchs of Britain help create a fascinating
history of this great nation, and their names and deeds are associated
with many of the great places to visit in Britain.
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