So, here's part two of the rundown of the heirs apparent that never became king. From here on in, it gets a bit bloody...
7) Edward of Woodstock, 'the Black Prince' (1330-1376)
It's easy to get a bit excited when talking about the Black Prince, so I'll try to cut it short! Paragon of chivalry; the perfect knight; one of the most trusted generals of his father, Edward III. He fought his first battle in his teenage years, and fought and victored with his father at Crecy in 1346. Ten years later, he commanded his own army and defeated the French again at Poitiers. He was given Aquitaine to rule by his father, which he governed well, and its court considered one of the finest in Europe. He later fought in Spain, winning a great victory at Najera. However, Spain would be his undoing. He contracted dysentry, which plagued him for years, and he died in 1376, a year before his ailing father. The title of Prince of Wales, and the heir to the throne, passed to the Black Prince's only son and child, Richard. His disastrous and tyrannical reign would end in his incarceration and death, and the rise of the House of Lancaster, paving the way for the Glyn Dwr Rebellion, and the future Wars of the Roses.
8) Edward of Westminster (1453-1471)
Son of the mad king, Henry VI, and his wife, the domineering Margaret of Anjou. The only son of the sad king, Edward drawn into the intrigues and open warfare between the Houses of Lancaster and York from an early age. When his father was captured at the battle of Northampton in 1460, Edward fled with his mother, only to rise again, and their armies defeating the Yorkists at Wakefield (with the Duke of York himself being killed), and also at St Albans, where they routed an army under the Earl of Warwick. Edward himself ordered the beheading of two of Warwick's knights in the battle's aftermath. He was seven. Soon after, they were defeated at Towton, the biggest and bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil, and escaped into exile. During this period of exile in France, he developed into a bloodthirsty and generally unpleasant person. He married the turncoat Warwick's daughter, Anne Neville, and he and his mother invaded England with the help of the traitorous Lord Warwick. Warwick was defeated at the battle of Barnet, and the Queen's army in turn was annihilated at Tewkesbury. Edward, the Prince of Wales, was killed in battle, although some sources say he was executed shortly after it. The direct Lancastrian line had now been extinguished, leaving the Yorkists in absolute power. Only an indirect line, through the Beaufort and Tudor lines, now existed.
9) Edward of Middleham (1473-1484)
The only son of Richard III and his wife, Anne Neville, the widow of the above heir. A sickly child, his father was still Duke of Gloucester when he born, and a loyal subject of his brother Edward IV. Upon the latters death, Richard became first Protector of Edward V and his brother, and on their claimed illegimatacy and disappearance, became king himself, thus making Edward Prince of Wales. He was, however, a sickly child, missed the coronation, and soon died. The only heir of Richard III, it appeared that the short-lived Yorkist dynasty would come to an end.
10) Arthur Tudor (1486-1502)
The eldest son of the Tudor king Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, was a triumph for his father. Not only had he won the crown on the field of battle, and united two warring Houses with his union with the daughter of Edward IV, he also now had a son, and thus a stronger grip on the throne, and a dynasty to follow. He was betrothed and later married Katherine of Aragon, in a political alliance his father has manufactured between England and Spain. He was a bright child, if not a little quiet, and also prone to illness. It was illness that killed him, a year after he married Katherine, leaving her a widow, but not for long, as Henry VII arranged for her to marry his next heir, the young Henry. And from there, I think you can work out what happens.
11) Henry Frederick Stuart (1594-1612)
The son of James I and VI, he became Prince of Wales when his father became King of England in 1603. Well-loved throughout the united Kingdoms, he was a handsome young man, gifted with leadership qualities, and was a keen lover and patron of the arts. He was also interested in military affairs, and was said to have a sharp martial mind. He was showing himself to be a truly capable and popular future king. But then he died of thyphoid fever at age 18. The nation felt a terrible loss, and outpourings of grief could be compared to the public reaction to Lady Diana's death in 1997. The duty of heir-apparent now fell to his younger, and less able, brother, Charles.
12) James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1766)
Just by being born, James' future, and the downfall of his father, had already been written. Born to James II and his wife, Mary of Modena, at a time of great political upheaval and religious strife, James was born into a strongly Catholic Royal Family in a strongly Protestant country. Parliament and the nation in general has reacted badly at James II's insistence in placing Catholics into positions of trust and power throughout the kingdom. On James' birth, which brought the threat of a future and continued line of Catholic monarchs, Parliament invited the eldest daughter of James II, Anne, and her husband, William of Orange, to replace James II. The Royal Family fled into exile, and the young James later became known as the 'Old Pretender' as he and his family, including his future son, 'Bonnie Prince' Charles Stuart (the 'Young Pretender') fought for their right to the throne against Stuart, Orange and Hanover monarchs for sixty years of Jacobite risings, to no avail. His reign, should he have become king upon the death of his father, would have been the longest in British history.
More in a few days!
7) Edward of Woodstock, 'the Black Prince' (1330-1376)
It's easy to get a bit excited when talking about the Black Prince, so I'll try to cut it short! Paragon of chivalry; the perfect knight; one of the most trusted generals of his father, Edward III. He fought his first battle in his teenage years, and fought and victored with his father at Crecy in 1346. Ten years later, he commanded his own army and defeated the French again at Poitiers. He was given Aquitaine to rule by his father, which he governed well, and its court considered one of the finest in Europe. He later fought in Spain, winning a great victory at Najera. However, Spain would be his undoing. He contracted dysentry, which plagued him for years, and he died in 1376, a year before his ailing father. The title of Prince of Wales, and the heir to the throne, passed to the Black Prince's only son and child, Richard. His disastrous and tyrannical reign would end in his incarceration and death, and the rise of the House of Lancaster, paving the way for the Glyn Dwr Rebellion, and the future Wars of the Roses.
8) Edward of Westminster (1453-1471)
Son of the mad king, Henry VI, and his wife, the domineering Margaret of Anjou. The only son of the sad king, Edward drawn into the intrigues and open warfare between the Houses of Lancaster and York from an early age. When his father was captured at the battle of Northampton in 1460, Edward fled with his mother, only to rise again, and their armies defeating the Yorkists at Wakefield (with the Duke of York himself being killed), and also at St Albans, where they routed an army under the Earl of Warwick. Edward himself ordered the beheading of two of Warwick's knights in the battle's aftermath. He was seven. Soon after, they were defeated at Towton, the biggest and bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil, and escaped into exile. During this period of exile in France, he developed into a bloodthirsty and generally unpleasant person. He married the turncoat Warwick's daughter, Anne Neville, and he and his mother invaded England with the help of the traitorous Lord Warwick. Warwick was defeated at the battle of Barnet, and the Queen's army in turn was annihilated at Tewkesbury. Edward, the Prince of Wales, was killed in battle, although some sources say he was executed shortly after it. The direct Lancastrian line had now been extinguished, leaving the Yorkists in absolute power. Only an indirect line, through the Beaufort and Tudor lines, now existed.
9) Edward of Middleham (1473-1484)
The only son of Richard III and his wife, Anne Neville, the widow of the above heir. A sickly child, his father was still Duke of Gloucester when he born, and a loyal subject of his brother Edward IV. Upon the latters death, Richard became first Protector of Edward V and his brother, and on their claimed illegimatacy and disappearance, became king himself, thus making Edward Prince of Wales. He was, however, a sickly child, missed the coronation, and soon died. The only heir of Richard III, it appeared that the short-lived Yorkist dynasty would come to an end.
10) Arthur Tudor (1486-1502)
The eldest son of the Tudor king Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, was a triumph for his father. Not only had he won the crown on the field of battle, and united two warring Houses with his union with the daughter of Edward IV, he also now had a son, and thus a stronger grip on the throne, and a dynasty to follow. He was betrothed and later married Katherine of Aragon, in a political alliance his father has manufactured between England and Spain. He was a bright child, if not a little quiet, and also prone to illness. It was illness that killed him, a year after he married Katherine, leaving her a widow, but not for long, as Henry VII arranged for her to marry his next heir, the young Henry. And from there, I think you can work out what happens.
11) Henry Frederick Stuart (1594-1612)
The son of James I and VI, he became Prince of Wales when his father became King of England in 1603. Well-loved throughout the united Kingdoms, he was a handsome young man, gifted with leadership qualities, and was a keen lover and patron of the arts. He was also interested in military affairs, and was said to have a sharp martial mind. He was showing himself to be a truly capable and popular future king. But then he died of thyphoid fever at age 18. The nation felt a terrible loss, and outpourings of grief could be compared to the public reaction to Lady Diana's death in 1997. The duty of heir-apparent now fell to his younger, and less able, brother, Charles.
12) James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1766)
Just by being born, James' future, and the downfall of his father, had already been written. Born to James II and his wife, Mary of Modena, at a time of great political upheaval and religious strife, James was born into a strongly Catholic Royal Family in a strongly Protestant country. Parliament and the nation in general has reacted badly at James II's insistence in placing Catholics into positions of trust and power throughout the kingdom. On James' birth, which brought the threat of a future and continued line of Catholic monarchs, Parliament invited the eldest daughter of James II, Anne, and her husband, William of Orange, to replace James II. The Royal Family fled into exile, and the young James later became known as the 'Old Pretender' as he and his family, including his future son, 'Bonnie Prince' Charles Stuart (the 'Young Pretender') fought for their right to the throne against Stuart, Orange and Hanover monarchs for sixty years of Jacobite risings, to no avail. His reign, should he have become king upon the death of his father, would have been the longest in British history.
More in a few days!
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