New answers tagged monarchy
6
The term they used was "Royal Bastard" referring to an illegitimate child of a reigning monarch. How they were treated, "recognized by court", was entirely up to the ruling monarch.
Royal Bastards of Russian Monarchs include:
Count Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinsky, of Catherine the Great
Joséphine Koberwein of tzar Nicholas II of Russia
Nikolai Lukash ...
0
The history of the gesture could be connected with the question of who can do it and who can not do it.
I can't do it.
I can do the Vulcan live long and prosper hand greeting from star Trek, but I cannot hold the two middle fingers together while spreading the two outer fingers, with either my left or my right hand.
I can also spread all my fingers, and ...
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The hand gesture showing the middle fingers together has been variously described as a ‘W’ or ‘pseudo-zygodactylous gesture’ or the ‘El Greco gesture’.
It seems to have originated in late renaissance or Mannerism period from 1520 to the late 17th century, and was subsequently adopted by many artists in later periods. El Greco was not the first to use this ...
2
Lady Jane Grey (possibly reluctantly) attempted to upset the line of succession stipulated by Henry VIII
being the Nine Days' Queen from 10 July until 19 July 1553
After the death of Edward VI (age 15), his sister Mary Tutor, based on the Third Succession Act of July 1543, was the intended successor.
For political/religious reasons having a non ...
4
Are you asking if there were any usurpers in English history, when someone overthrows and replaces the ruling king? Or a person who is not the rightful heir of the king according to normal inheritance customs becoming king when the old king dies.
Both have happened in English history.
An example of the second is when King Richard I died in 1199. His ...
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Many, including William II, Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, John, Henry IV, Edward IV, Richard III, Henry VII, William III, Mary II, Anne, George I (i.e., were not next heir of previous monarch by primogeniture). Richard III is squishy. It depends whether Edward V and his brother were already dead.
Note that I was explicit about how I interpreted "line of ...
2
This has happened more than once. One of the earliest incidences was King Stephen. When his predecessor Henry I's heir died, he settled on his daughter Matilda as heir. At the time of his death, Matilda could be seen by that right as being "first in line of succession". But with the inherent misogyny of the time, England was not ready for a queen regnant,...
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This is what the War of the Roses was about.
The Houses of Lancaster and York fought each other until the Lancaster branch went extinct. For a moment it seemed like things may have ended there -- which is to say, England moving on, with an usurper on the throne. But the House of Tudor inherited the Lancastrian claim, and its supporters ultimately prevailed.
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