On this date in History. July 17, 1918. Murder of the Czar and his family.

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Assassination, Czarevich Alexei of Russia, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess Marie of Russia, Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia, Princess Alix of Hesse by Rhine, Russia, Russian Revolution

Today is the 100th Anniversary of the Murder of Czar Nicholas II of Russia and his entire family. My apologies for being a day late.

Late on the night of July 16, Nicholas, Alexandra, their five childre, Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Alexei and four servants, personal physician Eugene Botkin, his wife’s maid Anna Demidova, and the family’s chef, Ivan Kharitonov, and footman, Alexei Trupp, were ordered to dress quickly and go down to the cellar of the house in which they were being held. There, the family and servants were arranged in two rows for a photograph they were told was being taken to quell rumors that they had escaped. Suddenly, a dozen armed men burst into the room and gunned down the imperial family in a hail of gunfire. Those who were still breathing when the smoked cleared were stabbed to death.

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Mecklenburg-Strelitz raised to a Grand Duchy by the Congress of Vienna June 28, 1815.

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Carl II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg- Strelitz, Congress of Vienna, Germany, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Holy Roman Empire, Napleon

On this date in History: June 28, 1815. Today in 1815 the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz is raised to a Grand Duchy by the Congress of Vienna. Duke Carl II, pictured, therefore becomes the first Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Carl II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Carl II (October 10, 1741 – November 6, 1816) was ruler of the state of Mecklenburg-Strelitz from 1794 until his death. Originally ruling as duke, he was raised to the rank of grand duke in 1815.

Duke Carl Ludwig Friedrich of Mecklenburg was born in Mirow the second son of Duke Carl Ludwig Friedrich of Mecklenburg, and his wife Princess Elisabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. On December 11, 1752 his uncle Adolph-Friedrich III died and as a result Carl’s older brother succeeded him becoming Adolph-Friedrich IV. With his brother’s ascension Carl was taken with the rest of the family from Mirow to the capital Strelitz.

Following the childless death of his older brother Adolph-Friedrich IV on June 2, 1794, Carl succeeded him as the ruling Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Consort of Great Britain.

Carl’s sister, Charlotte, married King George III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the Elector of Hanover, on September 8, 1761. Carl II made frequent visits to his sister in Great Britain and he ultimately entered the service of his brother-in-law the Elector of Hanover with a chief military appointment at Hanover following service in Spain. Prior to succeeding to the throne of Mecklenburg-Strelitz he served as Governor of Hanover from 1776 to 1786.

Marriages and children

After unsuccessful attempts to marry a Princess of Denmark and a Princess of Saxe-Gotha, Carl II married as his first wife Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt, a daughter of Prince Georg-Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt on September 18, 1768 in Darmstadt. They had ten children together. Two of the daughters became German queens consort.

Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1769–1818) married Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
Duchess Caroline Auguste of Mecklenburg (1771–1773)
Duke Georg-Carl of Mecklenburg (1772–1773)
Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg (1773–1839) married Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Duke Friedrich-Georg of Mecklenburg (1774–1774)
Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg (1776–1810) married Friedrich-Wilhelm III of Prussia
Duchess Frederica of Mecklenburg (1778–1841) married (1) Prince Ludwig-Carl of Prussia (2) Friedrich-Wilhelm, Prince of Solms-Braunfels (3) Ernst-August I of Hanover
Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1779–1860)
Duke Friedrich-Karl of Mecklenburg (1781–1783)
Duchess Auguste Albertine of Mecklenburg (1782–1782)

After Friederike’s death in 1782, Carl II married her sister Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Darmstadt on September 28 1784 in Darmstadt. Charlotte died on December 12, 1785 shortly after giving birth to their son Duke Carl of Mecklenburg (1785–1837).

In the summer of 1816 Carl II went on a tour of Rebberg, Schwalbach and Hildburghausen. Shortly after returning he was taken ill with inflammation of the lungs. He died in Neustrelitz after suffering a fit of apoplexy. He was succeeded by his eldest son Georg.

The name Louis and the British Monarchy: III

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Frederick the Great of Prussia, Frederick William I of Prussia, King George I of Great Britain, Kingdom of Prussia, Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Louis, Prince Louis of Cambridge, Sophia Dorothea of Great Britain

As we continue to examine the name Louis and its association with the British monarchy this next entry does stray a bit from a rigid definition of the British Royal Family. For these next examples they were not members of the British Royal Family technically speaking; they were members of the king’s family. This is a distinction that does have a difference. Though these examples were members of the German House of Hanover that ruled over Prussia, they were also the grandchildren of King George I of Great Britain.

Sophia-Dorothea of Great Britain and Hanover

King George I had one daughter, Sophia Dorothea. On November 28, 1706, she married her paternal cousin, Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia, heir apparent to the Prussian throne. The Crown Prince’s mother, was Princess Sophia of Hanover, brother of King George I of Great Britain, and wife of King Frederick I in Prussia. Sophia -Dorothea and Frederick-William had met as children when Frederick-William had spent some time in Hanover under the care of their grandmother. Sophia-Dorothea disliked him, however, Frederick-William had reportedly felt an attraction to her early on.

Sophia-Dorothea was described as tall, with a beautiful slender figure, graceful and dignified with big blue eyes. She was seen as quite attractive at the time of her marriage and was described as charming in her manners, and made a good impression in Berlin.

Sophia-Dorothea and Frederick-William were different from one another and were ill suited for one another and the marriage suffered as a result. Sophia-Dorothea was a cultured princess with a strong interested in art, science, literature and fashion, while Frederick-William was described as an unpolished, uneducated and spartan military man with rough manners. Sophia Dorothea loved entertainment, something he regarded to be frivolous and this was a major source of friction between them.

Frederick-William I, King in Prussia

Though Frederick-William was never unfaithful to her, a rare trait in a Royal prince of those days, he was unable to win her affection. At one point Frederick-William contemplated divorcing her the same year they married and, judging by her letters, accused her of not wanting to be married to him. It seems that was a correct assumption. Despite great animosity between the couple they seemed to be compatible in the bedroom. Between 1707 and 1730 the couple had 14 children, 10 survived to adulthood.

The name Louis was found among three of their sons, and the feminine form Louise was found among the names of two of their daughters. The first child, a son, was born in 1707 and christened Frederick-Louis, and his birth was celebrated greatly in Prussia. Sadly the next year, 1708 Frederick-Louis died. Sophia-Dorothea’s physicians declared was not likely to conceive again.

This declaration of her possible future barrenness prompted her father-in-law, Frederick I, King in Prussia, to marry Sophia-Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, to insure the succession to the Prussian throne. However, Sophia-Louise had no children by him. It is interesting to note that shortly before wedding the king had been informed that his daughter-in-law (Sophia-Dorothea) was pregnant, and answered that had he been aware of this, he would not have married again. Despite the declaration by her physicians Sophia-Dorothea did give birth to several children, as previously mentioned, including Frederick II The Great, King of Prussia (1740-1786).

The next child of Sophia-Dorothea of Great Britain and Hanover and Frederick-William I, King in Prussia which had with the name of Louis among them was HRH Prince Frederick-Henry-Louis of Prussia, January 18, 1726 and died August 3, 1802, was commonly known as Henry. He also served as a general and statesman, leading Prussian armies in the Silesian Wars and the Seven Years’ War, having never lost a battle in the latter. In 1786, he was suggested as a candidate for a monarch for the United States, prior to the decision to become a Republic.


The last child of Sophia-Dorothea of Great Britain and Hanover and Frederick-William I, King in Prussia which had with the name of Louis among them was HRH Prince Louis-Charles-Wilhelm, born in 1717 and died sadly in 1719 at the age of two.

This concludes a look at the grandchildren of King George I of Great Britain, Elector of Hanover and its association with the name Louis.

Part IV coming soon!

The name Louis and the British Monarchy

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Adela of Normandy, Alexander II of Scotland, Alfonso VIII of Castile, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Eleanor of England, Isabelle of Hainaut, King Henry II of England, King John of England, King Louis VIII of France, King Philippe II of France, King Richard I of England, Kings and Queens of England, Kings and Queens of France, Prince Louis of Cambridge, The Barons War, William the Conqueror

Though I’m a bit late with this, I wanted to look at the name Louis given to the new Prince born to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It isn’t a name that has a large history within the British Royal Family (this includes both England and Scotland), Louis has never been used as a first name in the British Royal Family, but it does have some history as a secondary name and a name associated, or connected to, other relatives of the British Royal Family.

Today will be Part I of examining the name Louis and it’s association with the British Royal Family. The name Louis has a long tradition within the French Monarchy and various German States in its long history of monarchy.


Before I get into detail about that, did you know there was almost a King Louis of England? The future King Louis VIII of France (1223-1226) laid claim to the English throne in 1216-1217 during the First Barons’ War of 1215–17. Here is his story.

King Louis VIII of France

Throughout the reign of King John of England he has a tumultuous relationship with the English Barons. Things ignited in 1215 when King John marched against Alexander II of Scotland, who had allied himself with the rebel cause. In a swift turn of events John took back Alexander II’s possessions in northern England and in a rapid campaign and pushed up towards Edinburgh. This was all accomplished over a ten-day period.

The rebel barons responded to John’s actions by inviting the French prince Louis to lead them. Louis was the son of King Philippe II of France and Isabelle of Hainaut. Louis laid claim to the English throne by virtue of his marriage to Blanche of Castile. Blanche was the daughter of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England, (Eleanor was the sixth child and second daughter of Henry II of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine and the sister of King Richard I and King John of England) thus making Blanche of Castile a granddaughter of Henry II of England and nice of King Richard I and King John. In those days succession to the thrones of many European countries were often claimed by husbands in right of their wives who were technically in the line of succession but often did not have succession rights themselves. However, Louis was also the great-great-great grandson of William I “the Conqueror,” King of England via William’s daughter Adela of Normandy.

King John of England

Prince Louis’ father, Philippe II of France, may have provided him with private support but refused to openly support Louis. The reason for the lack of public support was that Pope Innocent III excommunicated Louis for taking part in the war against John. Louis’ planned arrival in England presented a significant problem for John, as the prince would bring with him naval vessels and siege engines essential to the rebel cause. Once John contained Alexander II in Scotland, he marched south to deal with the challenge of the coming invasion.

Prince Louis intended to land in the south of England in May 1216, and John assembled a naval force to intercept him. Unfortunately for John, his fleet was dispersed by bad storms and Louis landed unopposed in Kent. John hesitated and decided not to attack Louis immediately, either due to the risks of open battle or over concerns about the loyalty of his own men. Louis and the rebel barons advanced west and John retreated, spending the summer reorganising his defences across the rest of the kingdom. John saw several of his military household desert to the rebels, including his half-brother, William Longespée. By the end of the summer the rebels had regained the south-east of England and parts of the north.

The barons offered the throne to Prince Louis, who landed unopposed on the Isle of Thanet in eastern Kent, England, at the head of an army on May 21, 1216. There was little resistance when the prince entered London, and Louis was proclaimed “King of England” at Old St Paul’s Cathedral with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London on June 2, 1216. Even though he was not crowned, many nobles, as well as King Alexander II of Scotland on behalf of his English possessions, gathered to give homage. By June 14, 1216, Louis captured Winchester and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom.

With full control of England within his grasp, suddenly it all slipped away from Louis. King John died on the night of 18/19 October. Numerous – probably fictitious – accounts circulated soon after his death that he had been killed by poisoned ale, poisoned plums or a “surfeit of peaches”. With King John suddenly and unexpected gone, so was the motivation for the revolt. The Barons swiftly deserted Louis in favour of John’s nine-year-old son, the new king, Henry III.

The Earl of Pembroke was now acting regent, called for the English “to defend our land” against the French. Louis’ army was beaten at the Battle of Lincoln on May 20, 1217 and his naval forces were defeated at the Battle of Sandwich in August of 1217. Then after a failed attempt to conquer Dover Castle, Louis was forced to make peace on English terms.

The principal provisions of the Treaty of Lambeth were an amnesty for English rebels, a pledge from Louis not to attack England again, and 10,000 marks to be given to Louis. In return for this payment, Louis agreed that he never had been the legitimate king of England. Despite his losses in England, his military prowess earned him the epithet “Louis the Lion.” On July 14, 1223 Philippe II of France died and Louis the Lion became King Louis VIII of France.


This does not end the association between the name Louis and the British monarchy. Join me later this week for Part II.



Death of Kaiser Wilhelm II: June 4, 1941.

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Friedrich III of Germany, German Emperor, German Empire, Huis Doorn, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kingdom of Prussia, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Queen Victoria, Wilhelm II of Germany

On this date in History: June 4, 1941. Death of former German Emperor and King of Prussia Wilhelm II at his home in exile, Huis Doorn, the Netherlands.

Wilhelmina II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern; January 27, 1859 – June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from June 15, 1888 to his abdication November 9, 1918. He was the eldest grandchild of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe, most notably King George V of the United Kingdom and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.

Wilhelm was born on January 27, 1859 at the Crown Prince’s Palace, Berlin, to Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm of Prussia (the future Friedrich III) and his wife, Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of Britain’s Queen Victoria. At the time of his birth, his great-uncle Friedrich-Wilhelm IV was king of Prussia, and his grandfather and namesake Wilhelm was acting as Regent. He was the first grandchild of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, but more important, as the first son of the Crown Prince of Prussia, Wilhelm was second in the line of succession to Prussia, from 1861 onwards and also, after 1871, to the newly created German Empire, which, according to the constitution of the German Empire, was ruled by the King of Prussia.

Wilhelm died of a pulmonary embolus in Doorn, Netherlands, on June 4, 1941, at the age of 82, just weeks before the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. German soldiers had been guarding his house. Hitler, however, was angered that the former monarch had an honor guard of German troops and nearly fired the general who ordered them when he found out. Despite his personal animosity toward Wilhelm, Hitler wanted to bring his body back to Berlin for a state funeral, as he regarded Wilhelm a symbol of Germany and Germans during World War I. Hitler felt that such a funeral would demonstrate to the Germans the direct descent of the Third Reich from the old German Empire, thereby giving his regime a sense of continuity.

However, Wilhelm’s wished to return to Germany only after the restoration of the monarchy. The Nazi occupational authorities granted him a small military funeral, with a few hundred people present. The mourners included August von Mackensen, fully dressed in his old imperial Life Hussars uniform, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, and Reichskommissar for the Netherlands Arthur Seyss-Inquart, along with a few other military advisers. However, Wilhelm’s request that the swastika and other Nazi regalia be not displayed at his funeral was ignored, and they are featured in the photographs of the event taken by a Dutch photographer.

Wilhelm was buried in a mausoleum in the grounds of Huis Doorn, which has since become a place of pilgrimage for German monarchists. Small but enthusiastic and faithful numbers of them gather there every year on the anniversary of his death to pay their homage to the last German Emperor.

Charles II: Anniversary of his birth and restoration.

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Charles I of England, Charles II, Charles II of England and Scotland, Declaration of Breda, English Civil War, Henri IV of France, Henrietta Maria de Bourbon, Kings and Queens of England, Kings and Queens of Ireland, kings and queens of Scotland, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Louis XIII of France, Louis XIV, Oliver Cromwell

On this date in history: May 29, 1630. The birth of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. On this date in history, May 29, 1660 the restoration of Charles II.


The future Charles II was born at St James’s Palace on May 29, 1630. His parents were Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland) and Henrietta Maria de Bourbon of France, the youngest daughter of Henri IV, King of France and Navarre and Marie de’ Medici. This made Henrietta Maria the sister of the French king Louis XIII and aunt of Louis XIV. Charles was their second child. Their first son was Charles James, Duke of Cornwall born and died on March 13, 1629.


Charles was baptized in the Chapel Royal, on June 27, 1630 by the Anglican Bishop of London, William Laud. The three kingdoms were experiencing great religious diversity at this time. England was predominantly Anglican, while Scotland was staunchly Presbyterian and Ireland was dominantly Catholic. He was brought up in the care of the Protestant Countess of Dorset, though his godparents included his maternal uncle Louis XIII and his maternal grandmother, Marie de’ Medici, the Dowager Queen of France, both of whom were Catholics. With his mother being Catholic this would heavily influence Charles throughout his life.

Upon his birth Charles automatically became inherited the titles Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. When he became eight he was designated Prince of Wales, though he was never formally invested. Despite never being formally vested with that title he was officially referred to as the Prince of Wales and is counted as one of the 21 heirs to the throne that borne that prestigious title.


At the end of the Second English Civil (1648–1649) his father, Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on January 30, 1649. Shortly thereafter the monarchy was officially abolished in England. Charles was publicly proclaimed King Charles II of Scotland on February 5, 1649 in Edinburgh. On the Isle of Jersey on February 17, 1649 in the Royal Square in St. Helier the former Prince of Wales was proclaimed King. Despite the Parliament of Scotland proclaiming Charles II king, England entered the period known as the English Interregnum or the English Commonwealth, and the country was a de facto republic, led by Oliver Cromwell.


The new king was still willing to fight for his crown. The Parliamentary Army proved to be the greater force and Cromwell defeated Charles II at the Battle of Worcester on September 3, 1651, and Charles fled to mainland Europe. Cromwell became virtual dictator of England, Scotland and Ireland. Charles spent the next nine years in exile in France, the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands. Life was difficult for the king-in-name-only as finances were slim and he relied on the good graces of others.


A political crisis followed the death of Cromwell in 1658. Cromwell’s son, Richard, ruled as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Richard’s regime soon collapsed and as the three kingdoms teetered on the brink of anarchy, General George Monck, Governor of Scotland under the Cromwells, believed the only one that could restore order was the King. Monck marched south with his army from Scotland and communications with Charles began.

On April 4, 1660, Charles II released the Declaration of Breda, which made known the conditions of his acceptance of the Crown of England, Scotland and Ireland. Monck organised the Convention Parliament, which met for the first time on April 25, 1660. On May 8, 1660, the Convention Parliament declared that King Charles II had reigned as the lawful monarch since the execution of Charles I in January 1649. Charles returned from exile on May 23, 1660. On May 29, 1660, the populace in London acclaimed him as king. It was his 30th Birthday. A new era had begun.

Birth of Queen Victoria

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Edward Duke of Kent, George IV, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, The Prince Regent, William IV of the United Kingdom

On this date: May 24, 1819. Birth of future Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India. She was the daughter Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (4th son of King George III of the United Kingdom) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on June 24, 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace. She was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina (or Georgiana), Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Duke’s eldest brother, George, the Prince Regent.

At birth, Victoria was fifth in the line of succession after the four eldest sons of George III: George, the Prince Regent (later George IV); Frederick, the Duke of York; William, the Duke of Clarence (later William IV); and Victoria’s father, Edward, the Duke of Kent.

The Prince Regent had no surviving children, and the Duke of York had no children; further, both were estranged from their wives, who were both past child-bearing age, so the two eldest brothers were unlikely to have any further children. The Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarence’s daughters (born in 1819 and 1820) died as infants. Victoria’s father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old.

A week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827. When George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive. The Regency Act 1830 made special provision for the Duchess of Kent (Victoria’s mother) to act as regent in case William died while Victoria was still a minor. King William IV distrusted the Duchess’s capacity to be regent, and in 1836 he declared in her presence that he wanted to live until Victoria’s 18th birthday, so that a regency could be avoided.

In 1837 she succeeded to the throne on the death of her uncle King William IV. She reigned over her vast Empire until her death on January 22, 1901 and a reign of 63 years. At the time she was Britains longest ruling monarch until she was surpassed by her great-great granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II in 2015...

James I, King of Scots: Part IV.

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Archibald Douglas, Duke of Albany, Duke of Mar, Edinburgh Castle, James I of Scotland, kings and queens of Scotland, Melrose Abbey, Murdoch Stewart, Robert of Albany

So far in our examination of the life of James I, King of Scots we have had some empathy for this boy king who was captured by the English and held in captivity for 18 years under a ransom. This view of James is about to change.

Throughout the 15th century, Scottish kings suffered from a lack of crown revenue and James’s reign was no exception. The Albany regency had also been constrained with Duke Robert owed his fees of governorship. For the nobility, royal patronage ceased entirely following James’s capture; irregular forms of political favours emerged with Albany allowing nobles such as the earl of Douglas and his brother James to remove funds from the customs. It was against this backdrop that James’s coronation took place at Scone on May 21, 1424.

The coronation parliament of the Three Estates witnessed the king perform a knighthood ceremony for eighteen prominent nobles including Alexander Stewart, Murdoch’s son; an event probably intended to foster loyalty to the crown within the political community. Called primarily to discuss issues surrounding the finance of the ransom payments, the parliament heard James underline his position and authority as monarch. He ensured the passing of legislation designed to substantially improve crown income by revoking the patronage of royal predecessors and guardians. The earls of Douglas and Mar were immediately affected by this when their ability to remove large sums from the customs was blocked. Despite this, James was still dependent on the nobility—especially Douglas—for its support and initially adopted a less confrontational stance. The early exception to this was Walter Stewart, Albany’s son. Walter was the heir to the earldom of Lennox and had been in open revolt against his father during 1423 for not giving way to his younger brother Alexander for this title. He also disagreed with his father’s acquiescence to the return of James to Scotland.

James had Walter arrested on May 13, 1424 and imprisoned on the Bass Rock—at this time, this was probably in Murdoch’s interests as well as James’s. It is probable that the king felt unable to move against the rest of the Albany Stewarts while Murdoch’s brother, John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, and Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas, were fighting the English on the Dauphinist cause in France. Buchan, a leader with an international reputation, commanded the large Scottish army but both he and Douglas fell at the Battle of Verneuil in August 1424 and the Scottish army routed. The loss of his brother and the large fighting force left Murdoch politically exposed.

A ruthless and acquisitive king

Douglas’s death at Verneuill was to weaken the position of his son Archibald, the 5th earl. On October 12, 1424, the king and Archibald met at Melrose Abbey ostensibly to agree the appointment of John Fogo, a monk of Melrose, to the abbacy. The meeting may also have been intended as an official acceptance of Douglas but it signalled a change in the Black Douglas predominance vis-a-vis the crown and other nobles. Important Douglas allies died in France and some of their heirs realigned with rival nobles through blood ties while at the same time Douglas experienced a loosening of allegiances in the Lothians and, with the loss of his command over Edinburgh Castle, this all served to improve James’s position. Even though, James continued to retain Black Douglas support allowing him to begin a campaign of political alienation of Albany and his family. The king’s rancor directed at Duke Murdoch had its roots in the past—Duke Robert was responsible for his brother David’s death and neither Robert nor Murdoch exerted themselves in negotiating James’s release and must have left the king with the suspicion that they held aspirations for the throne itself. lands did not fall to the Albany Stewarts but were forfeited by the crown, Albany’s father-in-law, Duncan, Earl of Lennox was imprisoned and in December the duke’s main ally Alexander Stewart, 1st Earl of Mar, settled his differences with the king. An acrimonious sitting of parliament in March 1425 precipitated the arrest of Murdoch, Isabella, his wife, and his son Alexander—of Albany’s other sons Walter was already in prison and James, his youngest, also known as James the Fat, escaped into the Lennox.

James the Fat led the men of Lennox and Argyll in open rebellion against the crown and this may have been what the king needed to bring a charge of treason against the Albany Stewarts. Murdoch, his sons Walter and Alexander and Duncan, Earl of Lennox were in Stirling Castle for their trial on 18 May at a specially convened parliament. An assize of seven earls and fourteen lesser nobles were appointed to hear the evidence that linked the prisoners to the rebellion in the Lennox. The four men were condemned, Walter on 24 May and the others on 25 May and immediately beheaded in ‘front of the castle’. James demonstrated a ruthless and avaricious side to his nature in the destruction of his close family, the Albany Stewarts, that yielded the three forfeited earldoms of Fife, Menteith and Lennox. An enquiry set up by James in 1424 into the dispersal of crown estates since the reign of Robert I exposed legal defects in a number of transactions where the earldoms of Mar, March and Strathearn together with the Black Douglas lordships of Selkirk and Wigtown were found to be problematic. Strathearn and March were forfeited in 1427 and 1435 respectively. Mar was forfeited in 1435 on the earl’s death without heir which also meant that the lordships of Garioch and Badenoch reverted to the crown. James sought to boost his income further through taxation and succeeded in getting parliament to pass legislation in 1424 for a tax to go towards paying off the ransom—£26,000 was raised but James sent only £12,000 to England. By 1429, James stopped the ransom payments completely and used the remainder of the taxation on buying cannons and luxury goods from Flanders. Following a fire in the castle of Linlithgow in 1425, funds were also diverted to the building of Linlithgow Palace which continued until James’s death in 1437 and absorbed an estimated one tenth of royal income.

Part V: Downfall. Coming soon!

Happy Birthday Your Majesty!

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Duke of Edinburgh, Kings and Queens of England, kings and queens of Scotland, kings and queens of the United Kingdom, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, the prince of Wales, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Today is the 92nd birthday of Her Majesty, The Queen.

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms.

Elizabeth was born in London as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and she was educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she has four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Andrew, Duke of York; and Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Happy 92nd Birthday Your Majesty, long may you reign!

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James I, King of Scots: Part Three.

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Duke of Albany, Edward III of England, James I of Scotland, King and Queens of Scotland, Kings and Queens of England, Lady Joan Beaufort, Louis XI of France, Murdoch Stewart, Queen of Scotland, Scottish Parliament

One of the political negotiations for the release of James I of Scotland was his marriage to Lady Joan Beaufort and this will be the focus of today’s posting.

The regency council of the infant King Henry VI was inclined to have James released as soon as possible. In the early months of 1423 their attempts to resolve the issue met with little response from the Scots, clearly influenced by the Albany Stewarts and adherents.

The marriage of King James I of Scotland and Lady Joan Beaufort was a true love match and to some degree political. The regency council of Henry VI made the marriage between James and Joan part of the agreement for his release from captivity. It was believed that an English bride would make James more immalleable toward English policies and whims. Further, an alliance with the Beauforts was meant to establish his country’s alliance with the English, rather than the French, the Scots traditional ally. Negotiations resulted in Joan’s dowry of 10,000 merks being subtracted from James’s substantial ransom that was part of the demands on the Scots for the king’s release.

Background and early life

Joan Beaufort (c. 1404 – 15 July 1445) was a daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, a legitimated son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (a son of Edward III of England) by his mistress (and later wife) Kathryn Swynford. Joan’s mother was Margaret Holland, the granddaughter of Joan of Kent (wife of Edward “the Black Prince” Prince of Wales, eldest son of Edward III of England) by her marriage to Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent. This made Joan an extended member of the English Royal Family being she was also a half-niece of King Henry IV of England, great-niece of Richard II and  great-granddaughter of Edward III. Her uncle, Henry Beaufort, was a cardinal and Chancellor of England.

King James I of Scotland met Joan during his time as a prisoner in England, and knew her from at least 1420. James was with the court at Windsor, when he saw Joan for the first time while walking her little lap-dog in the garden, below his window. His narrow window afforded him only a limited view, but the Lady Joan walked the same route every morning. James, it seems was immediately smitten with Joan and wrote of her in his poem famous long poem, The Kingis Quair:

“Beauty, fair enough to make the world to dote, Are ye a worldy creature? Or heavenly thing in likeness of nature? Or are ye Cupid’s own priestess, come here, To loose me out of bonds”

One morning James managed to drop a plucked rose down to Lady Joan, which he saw her wearing the following evening at dinner. Their romance blossomed Lady Joan grieved over James’s imprisonment and even pleaded for him to be released. Soon they were parted as James accompanied Henry V in his dealings in France.

On September 3, 1420, Robert, Duke of Albany died at the age of around 80. His eldest son, 1420, Murdoch, now aged 58, inherited the Dukedom of Albany. He also inherited the Earldom of Fife and the Earldom of Menteith, and at last became Governor of Scotland in his own right. He would hold this position from 1420 to 1424, while King James I was still held captive in England. Few serious attempts appear to have been made by Duke Albany to return James to Scotland, but eventually political pressure compelled Murdoch to agree to a general council.

In August 1423 it was agreed that an embassy should be sent to England to negotiate James’s release. The marriage of James and Joan was part of the negotiations. On February 12, 1424, Joan Beaufort and King James were wed at St Mary Overie Church in Southwark. They were feasted at Winchester Palacethat year by her uncle Cardinal Henry Beaufort.

On March 28, 1424 A ransom treaty of 60,000 marks (an enormous sum) was agreed at Durham onto which James attached his own seal—he and his queen, accompanied by an escort of English and Scottish nobles, proceeded to Melrose Abbey, arriving on April 5, 1424, where he met the Duke of Albany to receive the governor’s seal of office. Upon the return of James I to Scotland, the Duke of Albany lost his position as Regent.

Murdoch, Duke of Albany, was arrested, along with his sons Walter and Alexander, and Duncan, Earl of Lennox were in Stirling Castle for their trial set for May 18, 1425, in front of a prorogued Parliament in the presence of the King. An assize of seven earls and fourteen lesser nobles heard the evidence and in a trial lasting just one day the four men were found guilty of treason.

The jury which condemned them was composed of 21 knights and Peers, including the Duke of Albany’s cousin Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas, Alexander, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles, and Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar. Murdoch, Duke of Albany and his sons All the prisoners were publicly beheaded on Heading Hill at Stirling Castle. The title Duke of Albany was attainted and all of his peerage titles were forfeited and reverted to the crown. Murdoch, Duke of Albany was buried at Blackfriars’ Church, Stirling.

Queen Joan of Scotland accompanied her husband on his return from captivity in England to Scotland, and was crowned alongside her husband at Scone Abbey. As queen, she often pleaded with the king for those who might be executed.

The royal couple had eight children, including the future James II, and Margaret of Scotland, future spouse of Louis XI of France.

Issue with James I of Scotland

* Margaret Stewart, Princess of Scotland (1424–1445) married Prince Louis, Dauphin of Viennois (later King Louis XI of France)
* Isabella Stewart, Princess of Scotland (1426–1494) married Francis I, Duke of Brittany
* Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan (died 1465) married Wolfart VI van Borsselen
* Joan of Scotland, Countess of Morton (c. 1428–1486) married James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton
* Alexander Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (born and died 1430); Twin of James
* James II of Scotland (1430–1460)
* Annabella Stewart, Princess of Scotland married and divorced 1. Louis of Savoy, and then married and divorced 2. George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly
* Eleanor Stewart, Princess of Scotland (1433–1484) married Sigismund, Archduke of Austria.