17 September
17 September 1767
Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany died
Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, (born. 25 March 1739) was the younger brother of king George III & the second son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, & Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha.
As a boy, Prince Edward, with his brother, went through long hours of schooling in arithmetic, Latin, geometry, writing, religion, French, German, Greek & even dancing to be well rounded. For the future George III, the young Prince Edward was his only constant companion, but it was Edward who was their mother's favourite. Prince Edward showed an interest in naval affairs & sought permission to serve with the Royal Navy. He participated in the naval descents against the French coast taking part in the failed Raid on St Malo, which ended in the Battle of St. Cast in 1758. He was promoted to captain of HMS Phoenix on 14 June 1759. He was made Rear-Admiral of the Blue in 1761, vice-admiral of the blue in 1762, & in 1766, only a year before his death, rising to the rank of Admiral of the Blue.
He was created Duke of York and Albany & Earl of Ulster by his paternal grandfather, George II, on 1 April 1760. When Edward's brother ascended the throne on 25 October 1760 as George III, he named Edward a privy counsellor.
From the time his brother became king & until the birth of the king's first child, the future George IV, on 12 August 1762, the duke was heir presumptive to the British throne. In the late summer of 1767, on his way to Genoa, the duke fell ill & had to be landed in the harbour of Monaco. He died in the Palace of Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, on 17 September. The state bedchamber where the ill duke died has since been known as the York Room. After his death, his body was returned to London aboard HMS Montreal, & is interred in Westminster Abbey.
18 September
18 September 1066
Norwegian king Harald Hardrada lands with Tostig Godwinson at the mouth of the Humber River with 10,000 troops & 300 long ships & begins his invasion of England. Both would die at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September 1066.
18 September 1714
George I arrives in Great Britain
George was elector of Hanover and, from 1 August 1714, the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain.
George was born on 28 Mary 1660 in Hanover, Germany. He was the eldest son of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg & his wife, Sophia of the Palatinate. Sophia was the granddaughter of King James I of England through her mother, Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia
In 1682, George married his cousin Sophia Dorothea of Celle & they had two children. A decade later, he divorced her for alleged infidelity & imprisoned her in a castle until her death in 1726.
In 1701, under the Act of Settlement, George's mother Sophia was nominated heiress to the English throne if the reigning monarch William III & his heir Queen Anne died without issue. The Act sought to guarantee a Protestant succession & George's mother was the closest Protestant relative, although there were at least 50 Catholic relatives whose claims were stronger. The Electress Sophia & Anne died in quick succession & George became king in August 1714.
19 September
19 September 1356
Battle of Poitiers
The Battle of Poitiers was fought between a French army commanded by King John II & an Anglo-Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince, (the son & heir of Edward III of England) during the Hundred Years' War. It took place in western France, 5 miles south of Poitiers, when approximately 14,000 to 16,000 French attacked a strong defensive position held by 6,000 Anglo-Gascons.
Nineteen years after the start of the war the Black Prince, the eldest son & heir of the English King, set out on a major campaign in south-west France. His army marched from Bergerac to the River Loire, which they were unable to cross. John gathered a large & unusually mobile army & pursued the Anglo-Gascons, whom he brought to battle. The Anglo-Gascons established a strong defensive position near Poitiers & after unsuccessful negotiations were attacked.
The first French assault included two units of heavily armoured cavalry, a strong force of crossbowmen & many infantry & dismounted men-at-arms. They were driven back by the Anglo-Gascons, who were fighting entirely on foot. A second French attack by 4,000 men-at-arms on foot under John's son & heir Charles, the Dauphin, followed. After a prolonged fight this was also repulsed. As the Dauphin's division recoiled there was confusion in the French ranks: about half the men of their third division, under Philip, Duke of Orléans, left the field, taking with them all four of John's sons. Some of those who did not withdraw with Philip launched a weak & unsuccessful third assault. Those Frenchmen remaining gathered around the King & launched a fourth assault against the by now exhausted Anglo-Gascons, again all as infantry. The French sacred banner, the Oriflamme, was unfurled, the signal that no prisoners were to be taken. Battle was again joined, with the French slowly getting the better of it. Then a small, mounted, Anglo-Gascon force of 160 men, who had been sent earlier to threaten the French rear, appeared behind the French. Believing themselves surrounded, some Frenchmen fled, which panicked others, & soon the entire French force collapsed.
King John II was captured, as was one of his sons & between 2,000 & 3,000 men-at-arms. Approximately 2,500 French men-at-arms were killed. Additionally, either 1,500 or 3,800 French common infantry were killed or captured. The surviving French dispersed, while the Anglo-Gascons continued their withdrawal to Gascony. The following spring a two-year truce was agreed & the Black Prince escorted John to London. Populist revolts broke out across France. Negotiations to end the war & ransom John dragged out. In response Edward launched a further campaign in 1359. During this, both sides compromised & the Treaty of Brétigny was agreed in 1360 by which vast areas of France were ceded to England, to be ruled by the Black Prince, & John was ransomed for three million gold écu. At the time this seemed to end the war, but the French resumed hostilities in 1369 & recaptured most of the lost territory. The war eventually ended with a French victory in 1453.
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20 September
20 September 1066
Battle of Fulford
The Battle of Fulford was fought on the outskirts of the village of Fulford near York in England, on 20 September 1066, when King Harald III of Norway, also known as Harald Hardrada ("harðráði" in Old Norse, meaning "hard ruler"), & Tostig Godwinson, his English ally, fought & defeated the Northern Earls Edwin & Morcar.
Tostig was Harold Godwinson's banished brother. He had allied with King Harald of Norway. The battle was a victory for the Viking army. The earls of York could have hidden behind the walls of their city but instead they met the Viking army across a river. All day the English desperately tried to break the Viking shield wall but to no avail. Tostig was opposed by Earl Morcar who had displaced him as Earl of Northumbria.
20 September 1486
Arthur, Prince of Wales was born
Arthur was Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester & Duke of Cornwall. As the eldest son & heir apparent of Henry VII of England, Arthur was viewed by contemporaries as the great hope of the newly established House of Tudor. His mother, Elizabeth of York, was the daughter of Edward IV, & his birth cemented the union between the House of Tudor & the House of York.
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21 September.
21 September 1327
King Edward II died
On 23 September Edward III was informed that his father the deposed king Edward II had died at Berkeley Castle during the night of 21 September.
The king had been imprisoned Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, since around 5 April 1327. Most historians believe that Edward probably was murdered on the orders of the new regime, although it is impossible to be certain. If Edward did die from natural causes, his death may have been hastened by depression following his imprisonment.
Edward's body was embalmed at Berkeley Castle, where it was viewed by local leaders from Bristol & Gloucester. It was then taken to Gloucester Abbey on 21 October, & on 20 December Edward was buried by the high altar, the funeral having probably been delayed allowing Edward III to attend in person. Gloucester was probably chosen because other abbeys had refused or been forbidden to take the King's body, & because it was close to Berkeley. The funeral was a grand affair & cost £351 in total, complete with gilt lions, standards painted with gold leaf & oak barriers to manage the anticipated crowds.
A temporary wooden effigy with a copper crown was made for the funeral; this is the first known use of a funeral effigy in England & was probably necessary because of the condition of the King's body, which had been dead for three months. Edward's heart was removed, placed in a silver container, & later buried with Isabella at Newgate Church in London. His tomb includes a very early example of an English alabaster effigy, with a tomb-chest & a canopy made of oolite & Purbeck stone. Edward was buried in the shirt, coif & gloves from his coronation, & his effigy depicts him as king, holding a sceptre & orb, & wearing a strawberry-leaf crown. The effigy features a pronounced lower lip & may be a close likeness of Edward.
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22 September
22 September 1515
Anne of Cleves was born
Anne was born on 22 September 1515 in Düsseldorf, the second daughter of John III of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jülich jure uxoris, Cleves, Berg jure uxoris, Count of Mark, also known as de la Marck & Ravensberg jure uxoris (often referred to as Duke of Cleves) who died in 1538, & his wife Maria, Duchess of Julich-Berg (1491–1543).
Anne of Cleves was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. The marriage was annulled, never consummated, & as a result, she was not crowned queen consort.
Following the annulment of their marriage, Anne was given a generous settlement by the King, & thereafter referred to as the King's Beloved Sister. She lived to see the coronation of Queen Mary I, outliving the rest of Henry's wives. Anne died at Chelsea Old Manor on 16 July 1557.
22 September 1761
George III coronation
George III & Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King & Queen, respectively, of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
George III (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain & Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland until his death in 1820. George III was married to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818)
23 September
23 September 1896
Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest reigning monarch in British history.
On 23 September 1896, Victoria surpassed her grandfather George III as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. With a reign of 63 years, seven months, & two days, Victoria was the longest-reigning British monarch & the longest-reigning queen regnant in world history until her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II surpassed her on 9 September 2015. She was the last monarch of Britain from the House of Hanover. Her son and successor Edward VII belonged to her husband's House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha.
23 September 1951
King George VI had surgery to have his left lung removed
The stress of the second world war had taken its toll on the King's health, exacerbated by his heavy smoking & subsequent development of lung cancer among other ailments, including arteriosclerosis & thromboangiitis obliterans. A planned tour of Australia & New Zealand was postponed after the King suffered an arterial blockage in his right leg, which threatened the loss of the leg & was treated with a right lumbar sympathectomy in March 1949.
His elder daughter Elizabeth, the heir presumptive, took on more royal duties as her father's health deteriorated. The delayed tour was re-organised, with Elizabeth & her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, taking the place of the King & Queen. The King was well enough to open the Festival of Britain in May 1951, but on 23 September 1951, his left lung was removed by Clement Price Thomas after a malignant tumour was found.
In October 1951, Princess Elizabeth & the Duke of Edinburgh went on a month-long tour of Canada; the trip had been delayed for a week due to the King's illness. At the State Opening of Parliament in November, the King's speech from the throne was read for him by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Simonds. His Christmas broadcast of 1951 was recorded in sections, & then edited together.
On 31 January 1952, despite advice from those close to him, the King went to London Airport to see off Princess Elizabeth, who was going on her tour of Australia via Kenya. On the morning of 6 February, George VI was found dead in bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk. He had died from a coronary thrombosis in his sleep at the age of 56. His daughter Elizabeth flew back to Britain from Kenya as Queen Elizabeth II.
24 September
24 September 1645
The Battle of Rowton Heath was fought during the English Civil War
The Battle of Rowton Heath, also known as the Battle of Rowton Moor, occurred on 24 September 1645 during the English Civil War. Fought by the Parliamentarians, commanded by Sydnam Poyntz, & the Royalists under the personal command of King Charles I, it was a significant defeat for the Royalists with heavy losses & prevented Charles from relieving the siege of Chester.
24 September 1950
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine died
Princess Victoria Alberta Elizabeth Mathilde Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven was the eldest daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (1837–1892), & his first wife, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (1843–1878), daughter of Queen Victoria & Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Her mother died while her brother & sisters were still young, which placed her in an early position of responsibility over her siblings. Over her father's disapproval, she married his morganatic first cousin Prince Louis of Battenberg, an officer in the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, & lived most of her married life in various parts of Europe at her husband's naval posts & visiting her many royal relations. She was perceived by her family as liberal in outlook, straightforward, practical & bright.
During World War I, she & her husband abandoned their German titles and adopted the British-sounding surname of Mountbatten, which was simply a translation into English of the German "Battenberg". Two of her sisters Elisabeth & Alix, who had married into the Russian imperial family were killed by communist revolutionaries.
She was the maternal grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, & mother-in-law of Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden.
25 September
25 September 1066
The Battle of Stamford Bridge
The Battle of Stamford Bridge. Harald Hardrada (or Harald III), the invading King of Norway, is defeated by King Harold II of England.
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26 September
26 September 1087
William II is crowned King of England
William II (c. 1056 – 2 August 1100), the third son of William the Conqueror, was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100. William is commonly referred to as William Rufus (Rufus being Latin for "the Red"), perhaps because of his ruddy appearance or, more likely, due to having red hair as a child that grew out in later life.
27 September
27 September 1066
William the Conqueror & his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England.
William assembled a large invasion fleet & an army gathered from Normandy & all over France, including large contingents from Brittany & Flanders. He mustered his forces at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme & was ready to cross the Channel by about 12 August. The exact numbers & composition of William's force are unknown. A contemporary document claims that William had 726 ships, but this may be an inflated figure. Figures given by contemporary writers are highly exaggerated, varying from 14,000 to 150,000 men. Modern historians have offered a range of estimates for the size of William's forces: 7000–8000 men, 1000–2000 of them cavalry; 10,000–12,000 men; 10,000 men, 3000 of them cavalry; or 7500 men. The army would have consisted of a mix of cavalry, infantry, & archers or crossbowmen, with about equal numbers of cavalry and archers & the foot soldiers equal in number to the other two types combined.
27 September 1915
Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon was killed in action at the Battle of Loos
28 September
28 September 1066
William the Conqueror lands in England, beginning the Norman conquest.
They landed at Pevensey in Sussex on 28 September & erected a wooden castle at Hastings, from which they raided the surrounding area. This ensured supplies for the army, & as Harold & his family held many of the lands in the area, it weakened William's opponent & made him more likely to attack to put an end to the raiding.
28 September 1106
King Henry I of England defeats his brother Robert Curthose at the Battle of Tinchebray.
The Battle of Tinchebray took place in Tinchebray (today in the Orne département of France), Normandy, between an invading force led by King Henry I of England, & the Norman army of his elder brother Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy. Henry's knights won a decisive victory: they captured Robert, & Henry imprisoned him in England (in Devizes Castle) & then in Wales until Robert's death (in Cardiff Castle) in 1134.
Henry invaded Normandy in 1105 in the course of an ongoing dynastic dispute with his brother. He took Bayeux & Caen, but broke off his campaign because of political problems arising from an investiture controversy. With these settled, he returned to Normandy in the spring of 1106. After quickly taking the fortified abbey of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives (near Falaise), Henry turned south & besieged Tinchebray Castle, on a hill above the town. Tinchebray is on the border of the county of Mortain, in the southwest of Normandy, & was held by William, Count of Mortain, who was one of the few important Norman barons still loyal to Robert. Duke Robert then brought up his forces to break the siege. After some unsuccessful negotiations, Duke Robert decided that a battle in the open was his best option.
Henry's army was organized into three groups. Ranulf of Bayeux, Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, & William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, commanded the two primary forces. A reserve, commanded by Elias I of Maine, remained out of sight on the flank. The battle lasted an hour. Henry dismounted & ordered most of his knights to dismount. This was unusual given Norman battle tactics, & meant the infantry played a decisive role. William, Count of Évreux, charged the front line, with men from Bayeux, Avranches & the Cotentin. Henry's reserve proved decisive.
Most of Robert's army was captured or killed. Those captured included Robert, Edgar Atheling (uncle of Henry's wife), & William, Count of Mortain. Robert de Bellême, commanding the Duke's rear guard, led the retreat, saving himself from capture or death. Most of the prisoners were released, but Robert Curthose & William of Mortain spent the rest of their lives in captivity.
29 September
29 September 1766
Charlotte, Princess Royal was born
Charlotte, was Queen of Württemberg as the wife of King Frederick I.
Princess Charlotte was born on 29 September 1766 at Buckingham House, London, to British monarch, King George III & Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Charlotte was officially designated as Princess Royal on 22 June 1789. Like her siblings, the Princess Royal was educated by tutors & spent most her childhood at Buckingham House, Kew Palace, & Windsor Castle, where her wet nurse was Frances, wife of James Muttlebury.
On 18 May 1797, the Princess Royal was married at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, London, to Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg, the eldest son & heir apparent of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg & his wife, Margravine Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt.
Did you know? Frederick I was known for his size: at 2.12 m (6 ft 11 in) & about 200 kg (440 lb).
The younger Frederick succeeded his father as the reigning Duke of Württemberg on 22 December 1797. Duke Frederick II had two sons & two daughters by his first marriage to the late Princess Augusta (1764 – 1788), the daughter of Duke Karl II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel & Princess Augusta of Great Britain (the elder sister of George III) & thus Charlotte's first cousin; Princess Augusta was also the elder sister of Caroline of Brunswick, the estranged wife of the future George IV (then Prince of Wales). The marriage between Duke Frederick & the Princess Royal produced one child: a stillborn daughter on 27 April 1798.
Charlotte was a godmother (by proxy) at the christening of her niece, Princess Victoria of Kent (the future Queen Victoria), in 1819. In 1827, she returned to Britain for the first time since her wedding in 1797 in order to have surgery for dropsy. She died at Ludwigsburg Palace on 6 October 1828 and is buried in its royal vault.
29 September 1791
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (son of George III) married Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia.
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom & Hanover, & his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A soldier by profession, from 1764 to 1803 he was Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück in the Holy Roman Empire. From the death of his father in 1820 until his own death in 1827 he was the heir presumptive to his elder brother, George IV, in both the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland & the Kingdom of Hanover.
Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (7 May 1767 – 6 August 1820) was a Prussian & British princess. She was the eldest daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia & Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
30 September
30 September 1399
Henry IV is proclaimed king of England.
Henry IV (April 1367 – 20 March 1413) was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the first English ruler since the Norman Conquest, over three hundred years prior, whose mother tongue was English rather than French. He was known as Henry Bolingbroke before ascending to the throne.
Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, & his first wife Blanche. Gaunt was the third son of King Edward III. Blanche was the daughter of the wealthy royal politician & nobleman Henry, Duke of Lancaster. Henry was involved in the revolt of the Lords Appellant against his nephew king Richard II in 1388. He was later exiled by the king. After Gaunt died in 1399, Richard did not allow Henry to inherit his father's duchy. That year, Henry rallied a group of supporters, overthrew & imprisoned Richard II, & usurped the throne.
As king, Henry faced a number of rebellions. Owain Glyndŵr, the self-proclaimed ruler of Wales, revolted against the king. Henry IV defeated Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. The king suffered from poor health in the latter part of his reign, & his eldest son, Henry of Monmouth, assumed the reins of government in 1410. Henry IV died in 1413 and was succeeded by his son.
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