On this day in royal history - 1 July
Photo credit: Government Art Collection
1 July 1690
The Battle of the Boyne
Fought on 1 July 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II & his successor, King William III, the Battle of the Boyne was the largest engagement ever to take place on Irish soil.
King James II's (1633-1701) attempts to secure religious toleration for Roman Catholics, & the dismissal of Protestant officers from his Army, led a small group of Protestant statesmen & Army officers to invite his son-in-law, William of Orange, to England. James fled &, in the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688, a Protestant monarchy was reinstated under King William III & Queen Mary II.
The deposed king still had many supporters in Ireland. On 12 July 1690 (Modern Calendar; 1 July 1690 Old Style), his army met the forces of William III (1650-1702) by the Boyne River near the town of Drogheda, about 32 miles north of Dublin. Despite stiff resistance, William's forces eventually broke through the Jacobite centre & right, causing a general retreat.
Although the Battle of the Boyne was later celebrated as a decisive victory for William, Jacobite casualties were comparatively light & the greater part of James's army escaped. The battle is a key event for the Protestants of Northern Ireland, particularly the 'Orange Order', but the celebratory marches marking the anniversary are seen by Republicans and Nationalists as highly provocative. As a result they were often marred by violent confrontations during the height of the 'Troubles'.
1 July 1862
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, marries Prince Louis of Hesse, the future Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (b.1843 – d.1878; later Princess Louis of Hesse & Grand Duchess of Hesse & by Rhine) was the third child & second daughter of Queen Victoria & Albert, Prince Consort.
Louis IV (b.1837 – d.1892), was the Grand Duke of Hesse & by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death. He was the first son & child of Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine (1809 – 1877) & Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (1815 – 1885), granddaughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia.
Between the engagement & the wedding, Alice's father Prince Albert died on 14 December 1861. Despite the Queen's grief, she ordered that the wedding should continue as planned. On 1 July 1862, Alice & Louis were married privately in the dining room of Osborne House, which was converted into a temporary chapel. The Queen was ushered in by her four sons, acting as a living screen blocking her from view, & took her place in an armchair near the altar. Alice was given away by her uncle, Albert's brother Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha, & was flanked by four bridesmaids: her younger sisters, Princesses Helena, Louise & Beatrice, as well as Louis's sister Princess Anna.
For the ceremony, Alice wore a white dress with a veil of Honiton lace, but was required to wear black mourning clothes before & after the ceremony. The Queen, sitting in an armchair, struggled to hold back her tears, & was shielded from view by the Prince of Wales & Prince Alfred, her second son, who cried throughout the service. The weather at Osborne was dreary, with winds blowing up from the Channel. The Queen wrote to her eldest daughter, Victoria, that the ceremony was "more of a funeral than a wedding", & remarked to Alfred, Lord Tennyson that it was "the saddest day I can remember". The Queen gave her daughter a gold, diamond & pearl bracelet, inscribed as a gift from both parents To dear Alice from her loving parents Albert and Victoria R who though visibly parted are ever united, April 25, 1863. The ceremony described by Gerard Noel as "the saddest royal wedding in modern times" was over by 4 pm, & the couple set off for their honeymoon at St Claire in Ryde, a house lent to them by the Vernon Harcourt family. Alice's entourage consisted of Lady Churchill, General Seymour & Baron Westerweller (a Hessian courtier). Alice was careful not to displease the Queen after her marriage. When the Queen visited the couple at St Claire, Alice tried not to appear "too happy". Despite this, Alice's displays of romantic bliss made the Queen jealous of her daughter's happiness.
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1 July 1961
Diana Princess of Wales was born (d.1997)
Diana was born on 1 July 1961, in Park House, Sandringham, Norfolk. The Honourable Diana Spencer was born into a family of British nobility with royal ancestry as The Honourable Diana Spencer. She was the fourth child and third daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp and the Honourable Frances Roche. She grew up in Park House, situated on the Sandringham estate, and was educated in England and Switzerland. In 1975, after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer, she became Lady Diana Spencer.
1 July 1969
Prince Charles Investiture as Prince of Wales
Prince Charles (now King Charles III) was made the Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester by letters patent on 26 July 1958, but the official investiture was not held until 1 July 1969. The ceremony, at Caernarfon Castle, was well received by many Welsh people.
Previous investitures had taken place at various locations, including the Palace of Westminster, the seat of Parliament. The Welsh borough of Swansea was granted city status to mark the occasion. Taught by Welsh-nationalist politician Edward Millward, Prince Charles spent ten weeks leading up to his investiture learning about Welsh culture, history & language, & during the ceremony he gave his replies in both English & Welsh. He gave his address in Welsh. The investiture was watched by millions on television, & attracted large & excited crowds in Caernarfon.
The investiture of the Prince of Wales is the ceremony formally acknowledging a new Prince of Wales. The prince is presented & invested with the insignia of his rank & dignity, in the manner of a coronation. An investiture is purely ceremonial, as the title is created via letters patent. Investitures fell into abeyance & the revival of investing the Prince of Wales in 1911 was largely due to the instigation of David Lloyd George, a Welsh politician.
The tradition of investing the heir apparent of the English, & subsequently the British, monarch with the title of "Prince of Wales" began in 1301, when King Edward I of England, having completed the conquest of Wales, gave the title to his heir apparent, Prince Edward (later King Edward II of England). In 1911, the future King Edward VIII was invested in Caernarfon Castle in Wales. Prince Charles, was also invested there in 1969.
The ceremony in 1969 began with Prince Charles, led by the regalia bearers, entering the Chamberlain Tower, to await the arrival of Her Majesty. Once the royal family had arrived, the lesser members took their seats in the gallery, but the Queen & Duke of Edinburgh, led by the Earl of Snowdon, the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Earl Marshal & the Gentleman Usher carrying the Great Sword of State, made their way to the stage where the investiture was to be conducted. After reaching the podium, where the Secretary of State for Wales, carrying the letters patent, was already standing, the Earl Marshal instructed Garter to conduct the Prince & his cortège from the tower. As they came to the stage Prince Charles knelt before the three thrones on the stage. During the reading of the letters patent in Welsh, the Queen invested Charles with the girdle, sword, coronet, ring, rod & kingly mantle, in that order. Prince Charles then declared,
"I, Charles, Prince of Wales, do become your liege man of life & limb & of earthly worship, & faith & truth I will bear unto thee, to live & die against all manner of folks."
Charles then customarily kissed the Queen's cheek & they embraced. Charles then took his place in the throne at his mother's right, before standing to give two speeches, one in Welsh & one in English. A brief religious service was then conducted & the Queen led the Prince of Wales to Queen Eleanor's Gate, to receive the homage of his adopted nation. The numerous banners & standards of the Prince of Wales were hung from the balcony.
The letters patent stated that Charles Philip Arthur George would receive the title, style, honour & privilege of the Principality of Wales & Earldom of Chester.
Visit: Caernarfon Castle
2 July
2 July 1492
Elizabeth Tudor was born (d.1495)
Elizabeth Tudor was the second daughter & fourth child of Henry VII of England & Elizabeth of York. She was born on 2 July 1492 at Sheen Palace in Surrey (later rebuilt by her father as Richmond Palace, the remains of which are now part of Richmond-Upon-Thames, London). Elizabeth spent much of her short life at the royal nursery of Eltham Palace, Kent, with her older siblings Margaret (later Queen of Scotland) & Henry (the future Henry VIII of England). Elizabeth's oldest brother, Arthur, was heir to the English throne & so lived separately in his own household. Just before Elizabeth's death, her father proposed a marriage alliance between Elizabeth & the French prince Francis, who later became king as Francis I of France.
Elizabeth died at Eltham Palace in Kent on 14 September 1495. She was brought from Eltham in state & buried on the north side of the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey on 27 September. Elizabeth was the first of four of Henry & Elizabeth's children to die prematurely, & they were greatly affected. The large sum of £318 (more than £155,000 in today's money) was spent on her funeral, & Henry erected a small tomb to his daughter in the abbey made from Purbeck & black marble. On top of the monument is a finely polished slab of black Lydian, upon which were placed inscriptions to Elizabeth & her effigy of copper gilt, both of which have now disappeared with time. The Latin from the inscription can be translated:
'Elizabeth, second child of Henry the Seventh King of England, France & Ireland & of the most serene lady Queen Elizabeth his consort, who was born on the second day of the month of July in the year of Our Lord 1492, & died on the 14th day of the month of September in the year of Our Lord 1495, upon whose soul may God have mercy. Amen.'
The plate at the feet of her effigy is translated:
'Hereafter Death has a royal offspring in this tomb viz. the young & noble Elizabeth daughter of that illustrious prince, Henry the Seventh, who swayed the sceptre of two kingdoms, Atropos, the most severe messenger of Death, snatched her away but may she have eternal life in Heaven.'
The following year in 1496, Henry & Elizabeth had another daughter, Mary, who became the Queen of France. Their final two children, Edmund (who died in 1500 at the age of 15 months) & her younger sister Katherine (who died in 1503 shortly after birth) were laid to rest by young Elizabeth's side.
2 July 1903
Olav V king of Norway was born in Appleton House on the royal Sandringham Estate, Flitcham, England.
Born Prince Alexander of Denmark; Olav was King of Norway from 1957 until his death on 17 January 1991.
Olav was the only child of King Haakon VII of Norway & Maud of Wales (daughter of King Edward VII & Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom). He became heir apparent to the Norwegian throne when his father was elected King of Norway in 1905. He was the first heir to the Norwegian throne to be brought up in Norway since Olav IV in the fourteenth century, & his parents made sure he was given as Norwegian an upbringing as possible. In preparation for his future role, he attended both civilian & military schools. In 1929, he married his first cousin Princess Märtha of Sweden. During World War II his leadership was much appreciated & he was appointed Norwegian Chief of Defence in 1944. Olav became king following the death of his father in 1957. Owing to his considerate, down-to-earth style, King Olav was immensely popular, resulting in the nickname Folkekongen ("The People's King"). In a 2005 poll by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, Olav was voted "Norwegian of the Century".
Olav was a 1st cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II. Their common ancestor is Edward VII.
Did You Know? Olav was an accomplished athlete. He jumped from the Holmenkollen ski jump in Oslo & competed in sailing regattas. He won a gold medal in sailing at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam & remained an active sailor into old age.
3 July
3 July 1449
James II of Scotland married Mary of Guelders at Holyrood Abbey.
Negotiations for a marriage to Mary of Guelders began in July 1447, when a Burgundian envoy came to Scotland, & were concluded by an embassy under Crichton the chancellor in September 1448. Her great-uncle, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, settled sixty thousand crowns on his kinswoman, & her dower of ten thousand was secured on lands in Strathearn, Athole, Methven, & Linlithgow. A tournament took place before James at Stirling, on 25 February 1449, between James, master of Douglas, another James, brother to the Laird of Lochleven, & two knights of Burgundy, one of whom, Jacques de Lalain, was the most celebrated knight-errant of the time. The marriage was celebrated at Holyrood on 3 July 1449. A French chronicler, Mathieu d'Escouchy, gives a graphic account of the ceremony & the feasts which followed. Many Flemings in Mary's suite remained in Scotland, & the relations between Scotland & Flanders, already friendly under James I, consequently became closer.
They had seven children;
Unnamed son (19 May 1450).
James III (10 July 1451 - 11 June 1488), James's successor as King of Scots.
Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran (13 May 1453 - May 1488)
Alexander, Duke of Albany (c. 1454 - 7 August 1485)
David, Earl of Moray (c. 1455 Bef. - July 1457
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Mar and Garioch (c. 1456 - c. 1479
Margaret (1453 to 1460, death unknown)
Margaret of York (3 May 1446 – 23 November 1503)—also by marriage known as Margaret of Burgundy—was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Charles the Bold & acted as a protector of the Burgundian State after his death. She was a daughter of Richard, 3rd Duke of York, & Cecily Neville, & the sister of two kings of England, Edward IV & Richard III. She was born at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, in the Kingdom of England, & she died at Mechelen in the Low Countries.
On 27 June 1468, Margaret met Charles for the first time, & the pair were privately married between 5am and 6am on 3 July, in the house of a wealthy merchant of Damme. Charles then left for Bruges, allowing the new Duchess the honour of entering separately a few hours later.
The celebrations that followed were extravagant even by the standards of the Burgundians, who were already noted for their opulence & generous festivities. The bride made her Joyous Entry in a golden litter drawn by white horses, wearing upon her head a coronet. During this procession, she charmed the burghers of Bruges when she chose to wave to them rather than shut herself away from the wind & rain. In the city itself, wine spurted freely from sculpted archers & artificial pelicans in artificial trees; the canals were decorated with torches, & the bridges decked with flowers; the arms of the happy couple were displayed everywhere, accompanied by the mottoes of the pair: Charles's Je l'ay emprins ("I have undertaken it") & Margaret's Bien en aviengne ("May good come of it"). The celebrations also included the "Tournament of the Golden Tree" that was arranged around an elaborately detailed allegory, designed to honor the bride.
When the Duke & Duchess appeared there, both wore magnificent crowns. Margaret's crown was adorned with pearls, & with enamelled white roses for the House of York set between red, green & white enamelled letters of the Latinization of her name ("Margarita de York", m ar ga ri ta de yo rk), with gold Cs & Ms, entwined with lovers' knots (Pictured, it can still be seen in the treasury at Aachen Cathedral). The removal of the crown to Aachen was significant, since it allowed its survival from the ravages of the later English Civil War which involved the destruction of all the main English Crown Jewels. It thus remains one of only two medieval royal British crowns still surviving, the other being the Crown of Princess Blanche. "Margaret wore this crown at her wedding to Charles the Bold in Bruges in 1468...The leather case belonging to the crown still bears traces of old gilt. The initials CM as well as the coats of arms of York & Burgundy are again found on the lid. The rest of the case is decorated with tendrils & small dragons embossed in the leather. Margaret presented the crown to the Church of Our Lady during a visit to Aachen in 1475. Today the statue of Our Lady, placed next to the altar in the cathedral, wears the crown on festive days. In 1475 a matching crown was fashioned for the child."
Charles wore an equally splendid crown, accompanied by a golden gown encrusted with diamonds, pearls & great jewels. The parades, the streets lined with tapestry hung from houses, the feasting, the masques & allegorical entertainments, the jewels, impressed all observers as "the marriage of the century". It is re-enacted at Bruges for tourists every five years with the next event in 2022, the last one having taken place in August 2017.
The couple had no children, & Charles died at the Battle of Nancy* in 1477 at the hands of Swiss mercenaries fighting for René II, Duke of Lorraine.
*The Battle of Nancy was the final & decisive battle of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy on 5 January 1477 by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, against René II, Duke of Lorraine, & the Swiss Confederacy. René's forces won the battle, & Charles' mutilated body was found three days later.
4 July
4 July 1942
Prince Michael of Kent was born at Coppins, Iver, Buckinghamshire.
His father was the Duke of Kent, fourth son of King George V & Queen Mary, & was killed in a plane crash near Caithness, Scotland, on 25 August 1942, just six weeks after his third child was born.
His mother was Princess Marina of Greece & Denmark, Duchess of Kent, a daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece & Denmark & of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. (The Duchess of Kent's parents were second cousins to one another, being that Nicholas' mother Olga Constantinovna of Russia & Elena's father Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia were first cousins through the line of Nicholas I of Russia.)
As a grandchild of a British sovereign in the male line, he is styled as a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland with the prefix His Royal Highness. Michael was christened on 4 August 1942 in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle. Among his godparents were King George VI (his paternal uncle); the Queen of the Netherlands; the King of Norway (his great-uncle); US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, & the Hereditary Princess of Greece (who was not present), the wife of Paul of Greece, his first cousin-once-removed. He is named after Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, the younger brother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, & a first cousin of three of Michael's grandparents. Since his mother was a cousin of Prince Philip, he is also a second cousin to Prince Charles & his siblings
Did you know? At the age of five, Prince Michael was a page boy at the wedding of his cousins Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizbaeth II) & Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
Prince Michael of Kent is 52nd in the line of succession to the British throne as of February 2022. Michael occasionally represents the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom. Otherwise, he manages his own consultancy business & undertakes various commercial work around the world. He has also presented some television documentaries on the royal families of Europe. He married Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz (b.1945) in 1978. They have two children; Lord Frederick Windsor (b.1979) & Lady Gabriella Kingston (b.1981).
5 July
5 July 1321
Joan of the Tower was born.
The youngest daughter of King Edward II of England & Isabella of France, Joan was born in the Tower of London on 5 July 1321. Her siblings were the future Edward III, King of England, John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, & Eleanor of Woodstock. In accordance with the Treaty of Northampton, Joan was married on 17 July 1328 to David, the son & heir of Robert the Bruce, at Berwick-upon-Tweed. She was a very young seven years old & he was only four at the time of their marriage. Their marriage lasted 34 years, but it was childless & apparently loveless. On 7 June 1329, Robert I of Scotland died & David became king. He was crowned at Scone Abbey in November 1331.
After the victory of Edward III of England & his protégé Edward Balliol at the Battle of Halidon Hill near Berwick-upon-Tweed in July 1333, David & Joan were sent for safety to France. They reached Boulogne-sur-Mer in May 1334, where they were received by Philip VI, her mother's cousin. Little is known about the life of the Scottish king & queen in France, except that they took up residence at Château Gaillard & Philip treated them with regard.
Meanwhile, David's representatives had obtained the upper hand in Scotland, & David & Joan were thus enabled to return in June 1341, when he took the reins of government into his own hands. David II was taken prisoner at the Battle of Neville's Cross in County Durham on 17 October 1346, & remained imprisoned in England for eleven years. Although Edward III allowed Joan to visit her husband in the Tower of London a few times, she did not become pregnant. After his release in 1357, she decided to remain in England. Joan was close to her mother, whom she nursed during her last days.
Joan died in 1362, aged 41, at Hertford Castle, Hertfordshire. By that time, she had been estranged from David II for many years. She was buried in Christ Church Greyfriars, London, which was heavily bombed in the Blitz. No trace of her tomb now survives.
5 July 1866
Princess Helena married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
5 July 1917
George V visited the Western Front with King Albert I of Belgium
During the First World War King George V took his ceremonial duties seriously. Along with, Queen Mary, he made hundreds of official tours to review troops, inspect factories & shipyards, & visit hospitals.
On a tour of the Western Front in 1915, during an inspection of British troops, he was thrown from a horse & injured to the point that he endured pain & discomfort for the rest of his life.
"The king rode along the first three or four ranks, then crossed the road to the other three of four ranks on the other side, speaking to an officer there. Our instructions had been that at the end of the conclusion of the parade we were to put our caps on the points of our fixed bayonets & wave & cheer. So that's what we did - 'Hip, hip, hooray.' Well, the King’s horse reared & he fell off. He just seemed to slide off & so the second 'Hip, hip, hooray' fizzled out. It was quite a fiasco & you should have seen the confusion as these other high-ranking officers rushed to dismount & go to the King’s assistance. They got him up & the last we saw of him was being hurriedly driven away!
- Corporal Edward Glendinning, 12th Battalion, Notts & Derby Regiment.
- Extract from Forgotten Voices of the Great War by Max Arthur.
The war directly affected the Royal Family in many other ways. The king’s two eldest sons both served in uniform: the Prince of Wales, the later Edward, Duke of Windsor (1894-1972), in a staff position with the army behind the Western Front, Prince Albert, the future George VI, King of Great Britain (1895-1952), on HMS Collingwood during the Battle of Jutland.
Anti-German hysteria in Britain led the king to change the name of his dynasty from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a legacy of the marriage of his grandmother Victoria, Queen of Great Britain (1819-1901), to the quintessentially English House of Windsor. He also implemented an austerity regime in the Royal Household & rarely wore anything during the war other than military uniform. To his regret, he allowed himself to be talked into giving up alcohol for the duration to set an example for factory worker!
5 July 2015
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge christening
Princess Charlotte, the second child of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, was born at 08:34 BST on 2 May 2015 in Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, London. On 4 May, her name was announced as Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, honouring her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II & grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales. She has been affectionately called "Lottie" & "Mignonette" by her parents.
On 5 July 2015, Charlotte was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, the same church where her paternal grandmother was christened in 1961. Her godparents are her parents' cousins Laura Fellowes & Adam Middleton, & family friends Thomas van Straubenzee, James Meade, & Sophie Carter. Princess Charlotte wore the royal christening gown, & the ceremony used the Lily Font, which was made for Princess Victoria, with water from the River Jordan.
6 July
6 July 1189
Henry II died (b. 5 March 1133)
Henry II was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. He was the first king of the House of Plantagenet.
King Louis VII of France made him Duke of Normandy in 1150. Henry became Count of Anjou & Maine upon the death of his father, Count Geoffrey V, in 1151. His marriage in 1152 to Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122 – 1 April 1204), whose marriage to Louis VII had recently been annulled, made him Duke of Aquitaine. He became Count of Nantes by treaty in 1185. Before he was 40 he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the eastern half of Ireland & the western half of France; an area that was later called the Angevin Empire. At various times, Henry also partially controlled Scotland & the Duchy of Brittany. Henry became actively involved by the age of 14 in the efforts of his mother Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, to claim the throne of England, then occupied by Stephen of Blois. Stephen agreed to a peace treaty after Henry's military expedition to England in 1153, & Henry inherited the kingdom on Stephen's death a year later. Henry was an energetic & sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands & privileges of his grandfather Henry I. During the early years of his reign the younger Henry restored the royal administration in England, re-established hegemony over Wales & gained full control over his lands in Anjou, Maine & Touraine. Henry's desire to reform the relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s & resulted in Becket's murder in 1170. Henry soon came into conflict with Louis VII, & the two rulers fought what has been termed a "cold war" over several decades. Henry expanded his empire at Louis's expense, taking Brittany and pushing east into central France & south into Toulouse; despite numerous peace conferences & treaties, no lasting agreement was reached.
Henry & Eleanor had eight children—three daughters & five sons. Three of his sons would be king, though Henry the Young King was named his father's co-ruler rather than a stand-alone king. As the sons grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge, encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II. In 1173 Henry's heir apparent, "Young Henry", rebelled in protest; he was joined by his brothers Richard (later king) & Geoffrey & by their mother, Eleanor. France, Scotland, Brittany, Flanders, & Boulogne allied themselves with the rebels. The Great Revolt was only defeated by Henry's vigorous military action & talented local commanders, many of them "new men" appointed for their loyalty & administrative skills. Young Henry & Geoffrey revolted again in 1183, resulting in Young Henry's death. The Norman invasion of Ireland provided lands for his youngest son John (later king), but Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy all his sons' desires for land & immediate power. By 1189, Young Henry & Geoffrey were dead, & Philip successfully played on Richard's fears that Henry II would make John king, leading to a final rebellion. Decisively defeated by Philip & Richard & suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry retreated to Chinon Castle in Anjou. He died soon afterwards & was succeeded by Richard. Henry's empire quickly collapsed during the reign of his son John (who succeeded Richard), but many of the changes Henry introduced during his long rule had long-term consequences. Henry's legal changes are generally considered to have laid the basis for the English Common Law, while his intervention in Brittany, Wales, & Scotland shaped the development of their societies & governmental systems.
Henry II & Eleanor had eight children;
William IX, Count of Poitiers (17 August 1153 - April 1156), died in infancy.
Henry the Young King 28 February (1155 - 11 June 1183) married Margaret of France.
Matilda, duchess of Saxony & Bavaria (June 1156 - 13 July 1189), married Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony & Bavaria her son Otto IV,became Holy Roman Emperor.
Richard I of England (8 September 1157 - 6 April 1199), married Berengaria of Navarre.
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (23 September 1158 - 19 August 1186), married Constance, Duchess of Brittany.
Eleanor, queen of Castile (13 October 1162 - 31 October 1214), married Alfonso VIII of Castile; their children included, Henry I, king of Castile, Berengaria, queen regnant of Castile and queen of León, Urraca, queen of Portugal, Blanche, queen of France, Eleanor, queen of Aragon.
Joan, queen of Sicily (October 1165 - 4 September 1199), married 1) William II of Sicily 2) Raymond VI of Toulouse.
John, King of England (27 December 1166 - 19 October 1216), married 1) Isabella, countess of Gloucester 2) Isabella, countess of Angoulême; their children included Henry III, King of England, Richard, king of the Romans, Joan, queen of Scotland, & Isabella, Holy Roman Empress.
6 July 1189
Richard I accession
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine & Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, & Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, & Nantes, & was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of King Henry II of England & Eleanor of Aquitaine & seemed unlikely to become king, but all his brothers except the youngest, John, predeceased their father. Richard is known as Richard Cœur de Lion (Norman French: Le quor de lion) or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader & warrior.
By the age of 16, Richard had taken command of his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father. Richard was an important Christian commander during the Third Crusade, leading the campaign after the departure of Philip II of France & achieving considerable victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin, although he finalized a peace treaty & ended the campaign without retaking Jerusalem.
Richard probably spoke both French & Occitan. He was born in England, where he spent his childhood; before becoming king, however, he lived most of his adult life in the Duchy of Aquitaine, in the southwest of France. Following his accession, he spent very little time, perhaps as little as six months, in England. Most of his life as king was spent on Crusade, in captivity, or actively defending his lands in France.
6 July 1483
Richard III is crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey alongside his wife Anne Neville.
At the ceremony, Richard, wearing ‘Robes of Purple Velvett’ & his wife, Anne of Warwick, wearing a ‘rich Coronett set with Stones & Pearle’ walked with bare feet into the abbey for what has been described as the most magnificent coronation of the century. At the mass which followed, they were ‘both housled with one host devided betwene them’, they shared a piece of communion bread, & the service ended as they both made an offering at the shrine of Edward the Confessor.
The banquet afterwards in Westminster Hall began at four o’clock & lasted well into the evening. As expected, the king’s champion, Sir Robert Dymoke, entered the hall, his horse draped with white & crimson silk; but, with sharp memories of what had happened to Lord Hastings (executed) less than a month before, it isn’t surprising that no one dared pick up the gauntlet which Sir Robert flung down before the guests.
6 July 1553
Edward VI died aged 15
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was the King of England & Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII & Jane Seymour, & England's first monarch to be raised as a Protestant.
The cause of Edward VI's death is not certain. As with many royal deaths in the 16th century, rumours of poisoning abounded, but no evidence has been found to support these. Another theory held that Edward had been poisoned by Catholics seeking to bring Mary to the throne. The surgeon who opened Edward's chest after his death found that "the disease whereof his majesty died was the disease of the lungs". The Venetian ambassador reported that Edward had died of consumption in other words, tuberculosis a diagnosis accepted by many historians.
It is now believed that Edward contracted the tuberculosis after a bout of measles & smallpox in 1552 that suppressed his natural immunity to the disease. Loach suggests instead that his symptoms were typical of acute bronchopneumonia, leading to a "suppurating pulmonary infection" or lung abscess, septicaemia, & kidney failure.
He was buried in Henry VII Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey on 8 August 1553, with reformed rites performed by Thomas Cranmer.
The procession was led by "a grett company of chylderyn in ther surples" & watched by Londoners "wepyng & lamenting"; the funeral chariot, draped in cloth of gold, was topped by an effigy of Edward, with crown, sceptre, & garter.
6 July 1893
The wedding of Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), & Princess Mary of Teck (later Queen Mary) took place at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace
Prince George, Duke of York & Princess Mary of Teck were married at 12:30 on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace. On the morning of their wedding, George accidentally caught sight of his fiancée down a long corridor of Buckingham Palace; he proceeded to make a "low & courtly bow," a gesture Mary never forgot. .
Princess Mary was attended by ten bridesmaids: George's sisters Princesses Victoria & Maud of Wales; & his first cousins Princesses Victoria Melita, Alexandra, & Beatrice of Edinburgh; Princesses Margaret & Patricia of Connaught; Princesses Alice & Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg; & Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein.
The royal parties were brought in large carriage processions, consisting of open landaus. Mary entered in the final procession with her father the Duke of Teck & her eldest brother Prince Adolphus of Teck. Mary greeted the crowds' applause with her "side-ways smile," & with "a little nervous gesture of her white-gloved right hand". As royal weddings were historically popular spectacles, the wedding attracted large crowds, many of which gathered in the route from Buckingham Palace to St James's Palace to give the couple an "enthusiastic reception.
7 July
7 July 1307
Edward I died
Edward I (born.17 June 1239) was King of England from 1272 to 1307.
In February 1307, On his way to fight the Scots, the 68 year old king developed dysentery, & his condition deteriorated. On 6 July he encamped at Burgh by Sands, just south of the Scottish border. When his servants came the next morning to lift him up so that he could eat, he died in their arms. The new king, Edward II, remained in the north until August, but then abandoned the campaign & headed south. He was crowned king on 25 February 1308.
Edward I's body was brought south, laying in state at Waltham Abbey, before being buried in Westminster Abbey on 27 October. There are few records of the funeral, which cost £473. Edward's tomb was an unusually plain sarcophagus of Purbeck marble, without the customary royal effigy, possibly the result of the shortage of royal funds after the King's death. The sarcophagus may normally have been covered over with rich cloth, & originally might have been surrounded by carved busts & a devotional religious image, all since lost.
The Society of Antiquaries opened the tomb in 1774, finding that the body had been well preserved over the preceding 467 years, & took the opportunity to determine the King's original height. Traces of the Latin inscription Edwardus Primus Scottorum Malleus hic est, 1308. Pactum Serva ("Here is Edward I, Hammer of the Scots, 1308. Keep the Vow"), which can still be seen painted on the side of the tomb, referring to his vow to avenge the rebellion of Robert Bruce.
This resulted in Edward being given the epithet the "Hammer of the Scots" by historians, but is not contemporary in origin, having been added by the Abbot John Feckenham in the 16th century.
Key facts
Reign: King of England - 20 November 1272 – 7 July 1307.
Coronation: 19 August 1274, Westminster Abbey.
Edward I was also known as Edward Longshanks. Edward I was a tall man for his era, at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), hence the nickname "Longshanks".
Born: 17/18 June 1239, Palace of Westminster.
Parents: King Henry III & Eleanor of Provence.
House of: Plantagenet.
Married (1.): Eleanor of Castile in 1254. Eleanor (1241 – 28 November 1290), was the daughter of Ferdinand III of Castile & Joan, Countess of Ponthieu.
Children;
A daughter (May 1255 – 29 May 1255), stillborn or died shortly after birth.
Katherine (before 17 June 1264 – 5 September 1264).
Joanna (Summer or January 1265 – before 7 September 1265).
John (13 July 1266 – 3 August 1271).
Henry (6 May 1268 – 14 October 1274).
Eleanor (c. 18 June 1269 – 19 August 1298), in 1293 she married Henry III, Count of Bar.
Juliana (after May 1271 – 5 September 1271), born & died while Edward & Eleanor were in Acre.
Joan of Acre (1272 – 23 April 1307), married (1) in 1290 Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, who died in 1295, & (2) in 1297 Ralph de Monthermer.
Alphonso, Earl of Chester (24 November 1273 – 19 August 1284).
Margaret (c.15 March 1275 – after 11 March 1333), married John II of Brabant in 1290.
Berengaria (May 1276 – between 7 June 1277 & 1278).
Daughter (December 1277 – January 1278)
Mary of Woodstock (11 March 1278– before 8 July 1332), a Benedictine nun in Amesbury.
Son (1280/81 – 1280/81), little evidence exists for this child.
Elizabeth of Rhuddlan (c. 7 August 1282 – 5 May 1316), married (1) in 1297 John I, Count of Holland, (2) in 1302 Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford.
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), married Isabella of France.
Married (2.): Margaret of France (c. 1279 – 14 February 1318) in 1299, the daughter of Philip III of France & Maria of Brabant.
Children;
Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1 June 1300 – 4 August 1338). Married (1) Alice Hales; (2) Mary Brewes.
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (5 August 1301 – 19 March 1330), married Margaret Wake, 3rd Baroness Wake of Liddell.
Eleanor (6 May 1306 – 1310).
Died: 7 July 1307, Burgh by Sands, Cumberland.
Burial: 27 October 1307, Westminster Abbey.
Successor: Edward II (son).
Groat of Edward I (4 pence). Two coins showing obverse & reverse of same denomination. On left is the obverse, showing a head with a coronet. Surrounding text says, in abbreviated Latin, "Edward, by the grace of God King of England". The reverse shows a cross & the text "Duke of Aquitaine & Lord of Ireland", & "Made in London".
8 July
8 July 975
Edgar the Peaceful (Ēadgār), king of the English died
Reign: 1 October 959 – 8 July 975.
Born: 943 or 944, England.
Parents: Edmund I & Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury.
House of: Wessex.
Marriages & children;
(1.) Æthelflæd Eneda (the 'white duck')
Children:
Edward the Martyr (born c. 962 - died 978)
(2.) Wulfthryth of Wilton. (d. c.1000)
Children:
Edith of Wilton also known as Saint Edith (c. 961 – 16 September 984)
(3.) Ælfthryth (c. 945 – 1000 or 1001). She was the daughter of Ealdorman Ordgar. Her mother was a member of the royal family of Wessex. The family's power lay in the west of Wessex.
Children:
Edmund Atheling (born c. 966 - died c.970)
Æthelred the Unready (born c. 968 - d. 23 April 1016)
Edgar the Peaceful died: 8 July 975 (aged 30-32), Winchester, Hampshire, England.
Burial: Glastonbury Abbey
Successor: Edward the Martyr (son).
Edgar became king of all England on his brother's death in 959. A chronological account of Edgar's reign is not possible, because only a few events were recorded by chroniclers & monastic writers were more interested in recording the activities of the leaders of the church.
Edgar mainly followed the political policies of his predecessors, whereas there were major changes in the religious sphere & the English Benedictine Reform, which he strongly supported, became a dominant religious & social force. It is seen by historians as a major achievement, & it was accompanied by a literary & artistic flowering, mainly associated with Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester.
England had suffered from Viking invasions for over a century when he came to power, but there were none during his reign, which fell in a lull in attacks between the mid-950s & the early 980s. After his death the throne was disputed between the supporters of his two surviving sons, & the elder one, Edward the Martyr, was chosen with the support of Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Three years later Edward was murdered & succeeded by his younger half-brother, Æthelred the Unready. Later chroniclers presented Edgar's reign as a golden age when England was free from external attacks & internal disorder, especially compared with Æthelred's disastrous rule.
8 July 1972 - Prince Richard married Birgitte Van Deurs
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (born 26 August 1944) is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester & Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as well as the youngest of the nine grandchildren of King George V & Queen Mary. At birth, he was fifth in the line of succession to the British throne; currently he is 30th & the highest person on the list who is not a direct descendant of King George VI, who was his uncle. He practised as an architect until the death of his elder brother placed him in direct line to inherit his father's dukedom of Gloucester, which he assumed in 1974. He is a paternal first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.
On 8 July 1972, Richard married the Danish-born Birgitte van Deurs (20 June 1946) in St Andrew's Church at Barnwell, Northamptonshire; they have three children:
Alexander Patrick Gregers Richard Windsor, Earl of Ulster (born 24 October 1974 at St Mary's Hospital, London)
Lady Davina Elizabeth Alice Benedikte Windsor (born 19 November 1977 at St Mary's Hospital, London)
Lady Rose Victoria Birgitte Louise Gilman (born 1 March 1980 at St Mary's Hospital, London.
9 July
9 July 1540
King Henry VIII annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves
Anne was commanded to leave the Court on 24 June 1540, & on 6 July she was informed of her husband's decision to reconsider the marriage. Witness statements were taken from a number of courtiers & two physicians which register the king's disappointment at her appearance. Henry had also commented to Thomas Heneage & Anthony Denny that he could not believe she was a virgin. Shortly afterwards, Anne was asked for her consent to an annulment, to which she agreed. Thomas Cromwell, the moving force behind the marriage, was attainted for treason.
The marriage was annulled on 9 July 1540, on the grounds of non-consummation & her pre-contract to Francis of Lorraine. On 28 July Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard: on the same day Thomas Cromwell was executed, in theory for treason, but in practice as a scapegoat for the doomed marriage.
The former queen received a generous settlement, including Richmond Palace, & Hever Castle, home of Henry's former in-laws, the Boleyns. Anne of Cleves House, in Lewes, Sussex, is just one of many properties she owned; she never lived there. Henry & Anne became good friends she was an honorary member of the King's family & was referred to as "the King's Beloved Sister". She was invited to court often &, out of gratitude for her not contesting the annulment, Henry decreed that she would be given precedence over all women in England save his own wife & daughters.
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9 July 1947
Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) & Philip Mountbatten officially announce their engagement.
The couple became secretly engaged in 1946, when Philip asked King George VI for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King granted his request providing any formal engagement was delayed until Elizabeth's 21st birthday the following April. Their engagement was officially announced on 9 July 1947. Philip proposed to Elizabeth with a 3-carat round diamond ring consisting of "a centre stone flanked by 10 smaller pave diamonds." The diamonds were taken from a tiara that belonged to Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, & were also used to create a quatrefoil bracelet for Elizabeth. The King gave his formal consent to the marriage in his British Privy Council, in accordance within the Royal Marriages Act 1772. The same was done in Canada at a meeting of the King's Canadian Privy Council, with the Chief Justice of Canada, Thibaudeau Rinfret, standing in as deputy to the King's representative, the Governor General of Canada
They married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey.
10 July
10 July 1553
Lady Jane Grey becomes Queen of England
Lady Jane Grey (1536 or 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) & as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman & de facto Queen of England & Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553.
House of: Grey
Coronation: never crowned
Born: 1536 or 1537, Either London or Bradgate Park, Leicestershire.
Parents: Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset (17 January 1517 – 23 February 1554), & Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (née Lady Frances Brandon; 16 July 1517 – 20 November 1559), an English noblewoman, the second child & eldest daughter of King Henry VIII's younger sister, Princess Mary, & Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
Marriage: Lord Guildford Dudley (c. 1535 – 12 February 1554), an English nobleman, in 1553.
Died: 12 February 1554, executed at the Tower of London
Burial: Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London
Successor: Mary I (cousin).
"My devise for the Succession" by Edward VI. The draft will was the basis for the letters patent which declared Lady Jane Grey successor to the Crown. Edward's autograph shows his alteration of his text, from "L Janes heires masles" to "L Jane and her heires masles". Inner Temple Library, London.
11 July
11 July 1751
Caroline Matilda, British princess, queen consort of Denmark was born
11 July 1818
William IV married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
William & Adelaide had no surviving children.
Princess Charlotte Augusta Louisa of Clarence (27 March 1819), Princess Adelaide caught pleurisy & gave birth prematurely at the Fürstenhof Palace in Hanover.
A Stillborn child (5 September 1819). Born dead at Calais or Dunkirk.
Princess Elizabeth Georgiana Adelaide of Clarence (10 December 1820 - 4 March 1821). Elizabeth seemed strong but died less than three months old on 4 March 1821 of "inflammation in the Bowels".
Stillborn twin boys (8 April 1822). Born dead at Bushy Park.
William was survived by eight of the ten illegitimate children he had by the actress Dorothea Jordan, with whom he cohabited for twenty years, prior to his marriage to Princess Adelaide.
12 July
12 July 1472
The Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) married Anne Neville
Following a decisive Yorkist victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury, Richard married Anne Neville on 12 July 1472. By the end of 1470 Anne had previously been wedded to Edward of Westminster, only son of Henry VI, to seal her father's allegiance to the Lancastrian party. Edward died at the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May 1471, while Warwick had died at the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471. Richard & Anne had one son, Edward of Middleham, who was born between 1474 & 1476. He was created Earl of Salisbury on 15 February 1478, & Prince of Wales on 24 August 1483, & died in March 1484, less than two months after he had been formally declared heir apparent.
12 July 1543
Henry VIII married Catherine Parr
Henry married his sixth & last wife, the wealthy twice widowed Catherine Parr, 12 July 1543 at Hampton Court Palace.
A reformer at heart, she argued with Henry over religion. Ultimately, Henry remained committed to an idiosyncratic mixture of Catholicism & Protestantism; the reactionary mood which had gained ground following the fall of Thomas Cromwell had neither eliminated his Protestant streak nor been overcome by it. Catherine enjoyed a close relationship with Henry's three children & was personally involved in the education of Elizabeth & Edward. She was influential in Henry's passing of the Third Succession Act in 1543 that restored both his daughters, Mary & Elizabeth, to the line of succession to the throne.
Henry died on 28 January 1547. After the king's death Catherine was allowed to keep her jewels & gowns & until her own death was possibly considered queen dowager.
Six months after Henry's death, she married her fourth & final husband, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley. The marriage was short-lived, as she died in September 1548, probably of complications of childbirth.
13 July
13 July 1807
Henry Benedict Stuart died (b.1725)
Henry Benedict Thomas Edward Maria Clement Francis Xavier Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York,
He was a Roman Catholic cardinal, as well as the fourth & final Jacobite heir to publicly claim the thrones of England, Scotland, France, & Ireland. Unlike his father, James Francis Edward Stuart, & brother, Charles Edward Stuart, Henry made no effort to seize the throne. After Charles's death in January 1788 the Papacy did not recognise Henry as the lawful ruler of England, Scotland, & Ireland, but referred to him as the Cardinal Duke of York.
He spent his life in the Papal States & had a long career in the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church, rising to become the Dean of the College of Cardinals & Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia & Velletri. At the time of his death he was (& still is) one of the longest-serving cardinals in the Church's history. In his youth, Henry's father made him Duke of York (in the Jacobite Peerage), & it was by this title that he was best known. Upon the death of his brother in 1788, Henry became known by Jacobites, & within his personal entourage, as Henry IX of England & Ireland, & Henry I of Scotland, although publicly he referred to himself as Cardinal-Duke of York nuncupatus.
13 July 1966
Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha died (b.1884)
Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was a member of the British royal family, a male-line granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She later married into the Spanish royal family, & was the wife of Prince Alfonso de Orleans y Borbón, Infante of Spain. Her father was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria & Albert, Prince Consort. Her mother was Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, the only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia & Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.
14 July
14 July 1486
Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scots died
Margaret of Denmark (b.23 June 1456 – ) was Queen of Scotland from 1469 to 1486 by marriage to King James III.
Margaret was born in Denmark to King Christian I & Queen Dorothea of Denmark, Norway & Sweden. Not much is known about Margaret's upbringing. By the time she was four years old there were talks about her marriage to the Scottish Prince James. In 1468 Margaret was betrothed to James of Scotland as a means to stop a feud regarding the debt Scotland owed Denmark over the taxation of the Hebrides & Isle of Man. The marriage was arranged on the recommendation of king Charles VII of France. In July 1469, at the age of 13 she married James III at Holyrood Abbey. Upon their marriage all of the Scottish debt was cancelled. William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, was at that time the Norse Earl of Orkney. In 1472 he was made to exchange his Orkney fief for Ravenscraig Castle, so the Scottish throne took the earl's rights to the islands too.
Queen Margaret was given the largest jointure allowed by Scottish law in her marriage settlement. She was interested in clothes & jewellery, & known for always being dressed in the latest fashions of the time. Following the birth of her son James, in 1473 she went on a pilgrimage to Whithorn. She may have taught her son James to speak Danish. She became a popular queen in Scotland & was described as beautiful, gentle, & sensible. The relationship between Margaret & James III was not described as a happy one. Reportedly, she was not very fond of her husband & had intercourse with him only for procreation, though she did respect his position as a monarch. One reason for their estrangement was the fact that James favoured their second son over their eldest. In 1476, James had decided that he wanted the Earldom of Ross for his second son & accused John MacDonald, the Earl, of treason. Macdonald was then put on trial before the Parliament, but upon Margaret's request he was allowed to remain as Lord of Parliament. During the crisis of 1482, when James III was deprived of power by his brother for several months, Margaret was said to have shown more interest in the welfare of her children than her spouse, which led to a permanent estrangement. Politically, she worked for the reinstatement of her spouse in his powers as monarch during this incident. After the crisis of 1482, the couple lived apart: James III lived in Edinburgh, while queen Margaret preferred to live in Stirling with her children.
Margaret died at Stirling Castle on 14 July 1486 after falling ill, & was buried in Cambuskenneth Abbey. Her husband, James III, was interred with her after his death in 1488. The abbey has mostly been reduced to ruins, apart from its bell-tower, which is still standing today. The grave was enclosed & restored in 1865 at the expense of Margaret's descendant, Queen Victoria.
15 July
15 July 1381
John Ball, a leader in the Peasants' Revolt, is hanged, drawn & quartered in the presence of King Richard II of England.
An illustration of the priest John Ball ("Jehã Balle") on a horse encouraging Wat Tyler's rebels ("Waultre le tieulier") of 1381, from a ca. 1470 manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles in the British Library. There are two flags of England (St. George's cross flags) & two banners of the Plantagenet royal coat of arms of England (quarterly France ancient & England), & an implausible number of unmounted soldiers wearing full plate armour among the rebels.
John Ball (c. 1338 – 15 July 1381) was an English priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381*. Although he is often associated with John Wycliffe & the Lollard movement, Ball was actively preaching 'articles contrary to the faith of the church' at least a decade before Wycliffe started attracting attention.
Ball was imprisoned in Maidstone, Kent, at the time of the 1381 Revolt. What is recorded of his adult life comes from hostile sources emanating from the religious & political social order. He is said to have gained considerable fame as a roving preacher without a parish or any link to the established order by expounding the doctrines of John Wycliffe, & especially by his insistence on social equality. He delivered radical sermons in many places, including Ashen, Billericay, Bocking, Braintree, Cressing Temple, Dedham, Coggeshall, Fobbing, Goldhanger, Great Baddow, Little Henny, Stisted & Waltham. His utterances brought him into conflict with Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, & he was thrown in prison on several occasions. He also appears to have been excommunicated; owing to which, in 1366 it was forbidden for anyone to hear him preach. These measures, however, did not moderate his opinions, nor diminish his popularity, & he took to speaking to parishioners in churchyards after official services. Shortly after the Peasants' Revolt began, Ball was released by the Kentish rebels from his prison.
When the rebels had dispersed, Ball was taken prisoner at Coventry, given a trial in which, unlike most, he was permitted to speak. He was hanged, drawn & quartered at St Albans in the presence of King Richard II on 15 July 1381. His head was displayed stuck on a pike on London Bridge, & the quarters of his body were displayed at four different towns.
*The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic & political tensions generated by the Black Death in the 1340s, the high taxes resulting from the conflict with France during the Hundred Years' War, & instability within the local leadership of London. The final trigger for the revolt was the intervention of a royal official, John Bampton, in Essex on 30 May 1381. His attempts to collect unpaid poll taxes in Brentwood ended in a violent confrontation, which rapidly spread across the south-east of the country. A wide spectrum of rural society, including many local artisans & village officials, rose up in protest, burning court records & opening the local gaols. The rebels sought a reduction in taxation, an end to the system of unfree labour known as serfdom, & the removal of King Richard II's senior officials & law courts.
15 July 1685
James Scott, Duke of Monmouth executed
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, (9 April 1649 – 15 July 1685) was a Dutch-born English nobleman & military officer. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II of England, Scotland, & Ireland with his mistress Lucy Walter.
He served in the Second Anglo-Dutch War & commanded English troops taking part in the Third Anglo-Dutch War before commanding the Anglo-Dutch brigade fighting in the Franco-Dutch War. He led the unsuccessful Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, an attempt to depose his uncle King James II & VII. After one of his officers declared Monmouth the legitimate king in the town of Taunton in Somerset, Monmouth attempted to capitalise on his Protestantism & his position as the son of Charles II, in opposition to James, who was a Roman Catholic. The rebellion failed, & following the battle a reward of £5,000 was offered for his capture. On 8 July 1685, Monmouth was captured & arrested near Ringwood in Hampshire, by tradition "in a field of peas".
Parliament passed an Act of Attainder, 1 Ja. II c. 2:
'Treason. Whereas James Duke of Monmouth has in an hostile Manner Invaded this Kingdom & is now in open Rebellion Laying War against the King contrary to the Duty of his Allegiance, Be it enacted by the Kings most Excellent Majesty by & with the Advice & Consent of the Lords Spiritual & Temporal & Commons in this Parliament assembled & by the Authorities of the same, That the said James Duke of Monmouth Stand & be Convicted & Attainted of High-Treason & that he suffer Paines of Death and Incurr all Forfeitures as a Traitor Convicted & Attainted of High Treason'
The King took the unusual step of allowing his nephew an audience, despite having no intention of extending a pardon to him, thus breaking with a longstanding tradition that the King would give an audience only when he intended to show clemency. The prisoner unsuccessfully implored his mercy, & even offered to convert to Catholicism, but to no avail. The King, disgusted by his abject behaviour, coldly told him to prepare to die, & later remarked that Monmouth "did not behave as well as I expected". Numerous pleas for mercy were addressed to the King, but he ignored them all, even that of his sister-in-law, the Dowager Queen Catherine.
Monmouth was beheaded by Jack Ketch on 15 July 1685, on Tower Hill. Shortly beforehand, Bishops Turner of Ely & Ken of Bath & Wells visited the Duke to prepare him for eternity, but withheld the Eucharist, for the condemned man refused to acknowledge that either his rebellion or his relationship with Lady Wentworth had been sinful. It is said that before laying his head on the block, Monmouth specifically bade Ketch finish him at one blow, saying he had mauled others before. Disconcerted, Ketch did indeed inflict multiple blows with his axe, the prisoner rising up reproachfully the while – a ghastly sight that shocked the witnesses, drawing forth execrations & groans. Some say a knife was at last employed to sever the head from the twitching body. Sources vary; some claim eight blows, the official Tower of London fact sheet says it took five blows, while Charles Spencer, in his book Blenheim, puts it at seven. His execution was alluded to in the film Kind Hearts & Coronets, where the executioner says "The last execution of a duke in this country was very badly botched. But that was in the days of the axe." He was buried in the Church of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London.
16 July
16 July 1377
King Richard II of England is crowned
Richard's grandfather King Edward III, died after a 50-year reign on 21 June 1377. The 10-year-old Richard succeeded to the throne. He was crowned on 16 July 1377 at Westminster Abbey.
Richard II (6 January 1367 – c. 14 February 1400), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399.
16 July 1557
Anne of Cleves died (b.1515)
When Anne's health began to fail, Queen Mary I allowed her to live at Chelsea Old Manor, where Henry's last wife, Catherine Parr, had lived after her remarriage. Here, in the middle of July 1557, Anne dictated her last will. In it, she mentions her brother, sister, & sister-in-law, as well as the future Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of Suffolk, & the Countess of Arundel. She left some money to her servants & asked Mary & Elizabeth to employ them in their households. She was remembered by everyone who served her as a particularly generous & easy-going mistress. Anne died at Chelsea Old Manor on 16 July 1557, eight weeks before her forty-second birthday. The most likely cause of her death was cancer.
Anne was buried in Westminster Abbey, on 3 August, in what has been described as a "somewhat hard-to-find tomb" on the opposite side of Edward the Confessor's shrine & slightly above eye level for a person of average height.
Anne's epitaph in Westminster Abbey, which is in English, reads simply:
ANNE OF CLEVES
QUEEN OF ENGLAND
BORN 1515 * DIED 1557
Anne also has the distinction of being the last of Henry VIII's wives to die, as she outlived Henry's last wife, Catherine Parr, by nine years. She was not the longest-lived, however, since Katharine of Aragon was 50 at the time of her death.
Anne of Cleves (German: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen Consort of England from 6 January to 9 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of Bar, son & heir of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine, although their marriage did not proceed. In March 1539, negotiations for Anne's marriage to Henry began, as Henry believed that he needed to form a political alliance with her brother, William, who was a leader of the Protestants of western Germany, to strengthen his position against potential attacks from Catholic France & the Holy Roman Empire. Anne arrived in England on 27 December 1539 & married Henry on 6 January 1540, but after six months, the marriage was declared unconsummated &, as a result, she was not crowned queen consort. Following the annulment, Henry gave her a generous settlement, & she was thereafter known as the 'King's Beloved Sister'.
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