User:Blakestyger/sandbox

The English throne has been contested for most of its history. This article focuses on the disputed claims to the line from 1066. These lineages are purely academic as the right to rule England (from William I and even before) has always been a mix of the strength of the claim and the power of the claimant.

William I-Henry II: Norman Rule William had three sons but declared no heir. Robert, the oldest, was never king. He was succeeded first by William "Rufus" II and then by the youngest son Henry. Henry's son Adelin died in the White Ship disaster leaving a daughter Matilda as his heir. Matilda was usurped by Stephen.

Stephen was of maternal decent being the son of Adela of Normandy one of the many daughters of William the Conqueror and his wife Matilda of Flanders, though only Adela was known to have had children.

Stephen had three son's and two daughters but his line went no further. At any rate, Stephen had conceded the succession in 1153 when he had named Matilda's son, Henry II, as his rightful successor. Henry II is an interesting case, as he was descended from both the Saxon Kings and William of Normandy. His grandfather, the aforementioned Henry I married Matilda of Scotland who was the daughter of the most likely Saxon claimant to the English throne, Margaret of Wessex. The Saxon, Scottish, and Norman thrones thus were intertwined and at times claims were made to all three.

One might argue that Robert--as eldest son--was the rightful King, but his bloodline ended with his only child, William Clito, and thus reverted to Henry of Anjou.

Henry II-Eleanor of Brittany: Angevin Empire Henry and his queen Elenore would have five sons (William, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John) and three daughters (Matilda, Duchess of Saxony, Eleanor, Queen of Castile, and Joan, Queen of Sicily and Countess of Toulouse). William died in childhood. The young Henry (who was crown King of England while his father lived) and his younger brothers would eventually seek to depose their father. Henry II, however, was one of the great military and political leaders of history and managed to outlast and thwart his progeny.

Richard did outlive his father and became King in 1189. His reign was famous, celebrated, and short--only ten years.

His brother Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany died in 1186, during Henry II's reign, but had a son Arthur who was designated as Richard's heir. Arthur, born 8 months after his fathers death, was only three when Richard declared him his heir but when Richard died he was deemed too young--at 12--to rule. His uncle King John, the youngest of Henry II's legitimate children became King and imprisoned Arthur in 1203. Arthur was never heard from again so further issue is doubtful.

Eleanor the "Fair Maid of Brittany" was Arthur's elder sister and had a strong claim to the the crown. She was imprisoned in 1202 at just 18 and would remain a prisoner for 39 years. Though she was reputed to be one of the most beautiful and charming women of the age, she would never marry. She died imprisoned in Corfe Castle in 1241.

King John was never popular, but he would have a son. And so the succession passed from father to son four times. This is all the more strange when one recalls that this was one of the most tumultuous times in British history. John's great great grandson Edward III, for example, was placed on the throne after his mother, a French Princess sometimes called "She-wolf of France," and her lover murdered his father.

Richard II to Richard III: Wars of the Roses Edward III had ruled for 50 years and outlived his two eldest sons--he had five. When he died in 1377 he was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II. Richard II father was the eldest son of Edward III, Edward "the Black Prince," who had died only a year earlier. His reign was begun under the regency of his uncle--John of Gaunt, the oldest of Edward III's surviving sons. Richard II would eventually have one of his three surviving uncles--Thomas Duke of Gloucester--imprisoned in Calais where he was murdered. John of Gaunt would die in 1399 leaving a son, Henry Bolingbroke. Richard would have John's son Henry (already exiled) disinherited. This act and political would cause Henry to return to England to assert his claim to the Dukedom of Lancaster. As a result, Richard II was disposed and died (how remains unclear).

Richard, a child himself, had no children. This left the succession in turmoil. There were three strong claims to the throne:


 * 1) Edmond Mortimer, 5th Earl of March and 7th Earl of Ulster was the heir presumptive of Richard II. He was the great grandson of Edward III through Edward's second son.
 * 2) Edmond's eldest sister who had a 7 year old boy named Henry Percy--the future.
 * 3) Henry Bolingbroke, grandson of Edward III by John of Gaunt--Edward's III son.

Edmund died childless in 1425; however, his claim passed to his nephews Richard of York and to Henry Percy. Richard of York's mother and father were both descended from Edward III as his father was the son of Edward III's fourth son.

While this would seem to give Richard of York the best claim, Henry Percy was the son of Edward Mortimer's eldest sister and his line continues to the present Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland. Though one of the strongest claims to the throne of Edward III, no Percy has been crowned King or Queen. However, Princess Diana and Kate Middleton are both descendants the Percy line.

What handicap Henry's claim had was compensated for by his relative power. He would rule as Henry IV and his son Henry V would have a short but storied reign. Henry VI would succeed them as king, but military and political failings would cause him to lose the throne in 1461 when Edward IV (son of Richard of York) deposed Henry.

Henry VI would dispose Edward IV 1470, but in the Spring of 1471 Edward again deposed Henry and made him a prisoner. During his imprisonment Henry's only child, the 17 year-old Prince Edward, was killed in battle. Henry VI died (likely murdered) shortly there after.

Edward IV (disputes of parentage, bastardy, and marriage choices aside) had a strong claim. Descended from Edward III though Richard of York on his father's side he was deemed the legitimate heir to the Mortimer claim.

Edward would rule until his death in 1483. However, his 12 year-old son would rule in name only as Edward V. His rule was under the guardianship of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who Edward IV had named Protector. Richard may or may not have had Edward V and his younger brother murdered in the Tower, but nothing more is known for certain about their fate. Edward V's uncle Richard became Richard III, but had only one son who died in childhood. Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor (see Henry VII below).

If the rumors of Edward IV and/or his progeny's illegitimacy are true and the claim of Richard of York to the throne is correct, then the rightful King is Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun, the heir to Edward III through the claim of Edmond Mortimer and to Henry VI (through a 1471 law passed by Henry).

Henry VII-James I: The Tudor Dynasty Henry Tudor had one of the weakest claims. His claim went back to John of Gaunt. Born a bastard in 1373, John Beaufort was legitimized at seventeen and his parents married six years later. He had a son and that son a daughter, Margaret. Margaret would marry Edmond Tudor, Earl of Richmond. Their son Henry VII invaded England, defeated Richard III, and married Edward IV's heir and daughter.

Henry's claim was conquest and act of parliament recognizing his rule.

Henry was succeeded by his second son Henry VIII (the elder having died before him). Henry would make a sport of fathering bastards or declaring his children illegitimate. By act of succession, the youngest child Edward VI would fallow his father. The succession would then pass to his daughters Mary and Elizabeth. If All three of his children died childless--which seemed very unlikely--the crown would skip the children of his elder sister Margaret and pass instead to his favored, younger sister, Mary of France.

Edward would attempt to have his elder sisters de-legitimized, but would die before a new act of succession could pass Parliament. This would have made his cousin (through his aunt Mary of France) Jane Grey queen. The attempt to crown Jane Grey failed and Henry's daughters Mary and Elizabeth would follow him in turn.

Neither Mary or Elizabeth would have children and the succession would rely on an act of Parliament. The Act of succession of Henry VIII might have given the throne to Edward Seymour, Viscount Beauchamp. While he may or may not have been born a bastard, Henry's Act of Succession had explicitly allowed that bastardy was was not an exclusion to succession. In point of fact, the Act declared that while Mary and Elizabeth were both bastards, they had a legitimate right to the thrown.

Many in England and abroad (mostly Catholics) did not accept Elizabeth as a legitimate daughter and queen. Those who did not accept Elizabeth rallied around Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, the elder sister that Henry VIII had excluded. Margaret had married James IV of Scotland and was mother to his heir James V and a daughter by a second marriage, Margaret Douglas. Mary, James V's only legitimate child at his death, married the son of her half aunt Margaret Douglas. This made her son James VI the great great grandson of King Henry (Tudor) and Elizabeth of York, twice over.

Mary was executed in 1578 and James became King James I of England on Elizabeth's death in 1603 as the first Stuart King of England.

James I to George I: Stuart Kings Religious and political strife would continue for a century, erupting in spectacular fits of violence. However, even the judicial murder of a King and a quasi-theocratic republic did not alter the line of succession.

The last Stuart king was James II. James had converted to Catholicism after the restoration of the monarchy under his brother Charles II. Mistrust of Catholicism led many to fear James would become king if Charles died without a legitimate heir (he had at least eight bastards). Charles did die without an heir and James did become King. However, James had no son and it was hoped by some that his thrown would pass to his eldest daughter Mary. Mary was the Protestant wife (and cousin) of William of Orange.

In 1688, the Centennial of the Spanish Armada, disputes over church doctrine and the birth of a male Catholic heir forced the issue of succession. At the invitation of protestant nobles, William and Mary invaded England and James fled. The nearly bloodless "Glorious Revolution" ended with the exile of James and his family to France.

William and Mary would rule as co-sovereigns until Mary's death in 1694. William would continue alone until his death in 1702. Mary's younger sister Anne would be the last monarch of the Stuart line to rule in England, but her half brother James and his son would threaten her successors for another half century.

The Stuart line passed either to Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia--who was a descendent of James II father, the beheaded Charles I--in 1807 or lived on through illegitimate children at least until 1854. The current heir of the Stuart line is Fraz, Duke of Bavaria, though he has made no assertion of that claim.

Parliament passed the 1701 Act of Settlement excluding all of Charles I's heirs including Charles Emmanuel IV. This forced the line to revert back to James I descendents through his daughter Elizabeth of Bohemia.

Even with this exclusion, at Anne's death in 1714 the throne was offered to the descendants of the eighth child of James I, the protestant Sophia of Hanover.

George I through Victoria I: The House of Hanover George I had one son (George II) and one daughter (Sofia of Prussia). Both children had famous children with illustrious military carriers. The most notable of these are including Fredrick the Great of Prussia and William "Butcher" Cumberland.

George II, like Edward III and Henry II, had many children and outlived many of them. On his death in 1760, his grandson George III became the King of England and a vast global empire. However, two centuries of political and economic change had greatly enhanced the power of Parliament at the expense of the throne. These political and cultural changes would cause George III's long reign to be one remember for the loss of the American colonies.

Though plagued by illness, George III would rule England from 1760-1811, longer than any other English King. His later years were spent in seclusion and the heir apparent was declared Prince Regent.

George IV would follow his father to the throne and then to the grave. He had one legitimate daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte was clearly a woman who knew her own mind and might have been a great queen had she lived. She married a minor German price (the future Leopold I, King of the Belgians) rather than her father's preferred match, William II of the Netherlands. It seems to have been a good match, but was short-lived. Charlotte and her son died in childbirth in 1817, leaving Leopold distraught.

By the time George IV died in 1830, George III second son was already dead. The third son William IV was crowned at the advanced age of 64 and died only a few days short of seven years later.

Amazingly the line of George III's (who had had fifteen children) seemed destined to end. After the unfortunate death of Charlotte, a rush to produce a legitimate heir ensued. Edward, Duke of Kent, the fifth child of George III would father a girl, Victoria I. Victoria would be the longest ruling English monarch to date (more than 63 years).

Victoria I-Elizabeth II: Modern Monarchy Victoria would have many children. On her death her eldest son Edward VII became King and would be followed by his eldest living son, George V. Edward's eldest son Became Edward VIII in 1936, but his decision to wed an American socialite who had been twice divorced compelled him to abdicate in favor of his younger brother George VI.

George VI had two daughters, the eldest of whom is Elizabeth II, the reigning Queen of England.

The Future Monarchs: Kate Middleton and her husband (through his mother) are a descendant of Thomas Fairfax who was a descendant of Edward III through the Percy line.