Category Archives: British Royals

How to Watch Prince Philip’s Funeral in the United States

Credit – Wikipedia

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The funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh will take place on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at 3:00 PM British Time (10:00 AM US Eastern Time) at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. It will be a ceremonial royal funeral, the same as for Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002, rather than a state funeral which is usually reserved for monarchs. Unofficial Royalty will be publishing an article about the funeral over the weekend.

In the United States, the following channels will be showing the funeral:

  • ABC – coverage starts at 9:30 AM US Eastern Time
  • BBC World News – coverage starts at 7:30 AM US Eastern Time
  • CBS – coverage starts at 9:30 AM US Eastern Time
  • CNN – coverage starts at 9:00 AM US Eastern Time
  • Fox News – coverage starts at 9:00 AM US Eastern Time
  • MSNBC – coverage starts at 9:00 AM US Eastern Time
  • NBC – coverage starts at 9:30 AM US Eastern Time
  • Telemundo (Spanish language channel) – coverage starts at 9:00 AM US Eastern Time

The funeral service itself will start at 3:00 PM British Time (10:00 AM US Eastern Time). However, prior to the funeral service, there will be a procession from Windsor Castle the short distance to St. George’s Chapel which will start at 2:45 PM British Time (9:45 AM US Eastern Time). A military band, members of the military, The Duke of Edinburgh’s children (The Prince of Wales, The Princess Royal, The Duke of York and The Earl of Wessex), his three eldest grandsons (The Duke of Cambridge, The Duke of Sussex and Peter Phillips), his son-in-law Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, and the late Princess Margaret’s son David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon will accompany the coffin of The Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen will travel with a lady-in-waiting in the state Bentley at the end of the procession.

Although St. George’s Chapel can seat 800 people, due to COVID restrictions, there can be only 30 guests at the funeral. Buckingham Palace said The Queen faced some very difficult decisions in selecting the guests and wanted all branches of her husband’s family to be represented.

  • The Queen: wife of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • The Prince of Wales: eldest son of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • The Duchess of Cornwall: wife of The Prince of Wales
  • The Duke of Cambridge: grandson of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • The Duchess of Cambridge: wife of The Duke of Cambridge
  • The Duke of Sussex: grandson of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • The Duke of York: second son of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi: granddaughter of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi: husband of Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
  • Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank: granddaughter of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Jack Brooksbank: husband of Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank
  • The Earl of Wessex: third son of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • The Countess of Wessex: wife of The Earl of Wessex
  • James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn: grandson of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor: granddaughter of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • The Princess Royal: only daughter of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence: husband of The Princess Royal
  • Peter Phillips: grandson of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Zara Tindall: granddaughter of The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Mike Tindall: husband of Zara Phillips
  • David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon: son of the late Princess Margaret, nephew of The Queen
  • Lady Sarah Chatto: daughter of the late Princess Margaret, niece of The Queen
  • Daniel Chatto: husband of Lady Sarah Chatto
  • The Duke of Gloucester: paternal first cousin of The Queen
  • The Duke of Kent: paternal first cousin of The Queen
  • Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy: paternal first cousin of The Queen
  • Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma: wife of Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma who is the grandson of Prince Philip’s uncle Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who was killed by the IRA in 1979. The Countess was Prince Philip’s carriage driving partner and one of his closest friends.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s four sisters will be represented by members of the House of Baden, the House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and the House of Hesse.

  • Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden: Heir to the Head of the House of Baden, great-nephew of The Duke of Edinburgh, son of Maximilian, Margrave of Baden who is the son of The Duke of Edinburgh’s sister Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark and Berthold, Margrave of Baden
  • Philipp, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg: Head of the House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, great-nephew of The Duke of Edinburgh, son of Kraft, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg who is the son of The Duke of Edinburgh’s sister Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark and Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
  • Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse: Head of the House of Hesse, into which The Duke of Edinburgh’s sisters Princess Cecile of Greece and Denmark and Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark married. Via their mutual descent from Queen Victoria, Donatus is the third cousin twice removed of both The Duke of Edinburgh and The Queen. Cecilie married Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (son of Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine who was a grandson of Queen Victoria via her daughter Alice). Sophie first married Prince Christoph of Hesse (son of Princess Margarete of Prussia who was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria via her daughter Victoria, Princess Royal). After Christoph died in World War II, Sophie married Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover who was a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria via her daughter Victoria, Princess Royal.

The Laird o’ Thistle – Special Edition – The Passing of Prince Philip

by The Laird o’Thistle
April 9, 2021

Buckingham Palace announced the news at mid-day: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning [9 April 2021] at Windsor Castle.” The news was a surprise, and not a surprise. He was so very old, and so very frail-looking in the final pictures of him leaving hospital last month.

Thoughts immediately began to fly in my head. The first one was “Well, he got his wish!” (Philip’s remark from some years back, that “he could think of nothing worse!” than turning 100, has been widely reported over the last year or so. And so here he dies, two months short of the mark.) My second thought was, “How will this affect the Queen?” She turns 95 herself twelve days from now.

Any death, even in one so elderly, even when anticipated, rips a tear in the fabric of a family. Queen Elizabeth has lost her deeply beloved spouse of nearly 73½ years, the man she is said to have adored since 1939 when she was a teenage Princess and he a handsome naval cadet (and Prince). At age 72, Prince Charles has lost his father… with whom he did not always have an easy relationship. Princess Anne has often been said to be the closest to her father of the four children. Prince William has been particularly close to his grandparents ever since their staunch support at the time of Princess Diana’s death; and it was Philip who volunteered to walk with him and Prince Harry in Diana’s funeral procession. The two youngest grandchildren, Prince Edward’s Louise and James, have grown up almost literally on the doorstep of Windsor Castle, with Lady Louise taking up Philip’s love of carriage driving. And, and, and…. All the dynamics now shift and change.

Prince Philip died at Windsor Castle, where 160 years ago the previous Prince Consort (a title Philip never officially held) also died. In the 2005 BBC documentary series, WINDSOR CASTLE – A ROYAL YEAR, Philip commented that Prince Albert’s ongoing heritage was a hard act to follow. Philip’s mother, Princess Alice, was born at Windsor in 1885, in the presence of her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Prince Philip had served as a very hands-on Ranger of the Great Park at Windsor since 1952, and oversaw the rebuilding and restoration effort after the 1992 fire. He also co-designed the great formal rose garden on the castle’s east terrace.

Who was he? Born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, he was the eldest living member of the former Greek royal family. Until today he was also perhaps the closest living relative of both Czar Nicholas II (a first cousin of Philip’s father) and the Czarina Alexandra (his mother’s aunt). He was a serving Naval Officer in both the Mediterranean and Pacific in WWII, later given the historic title of Lord High Admiral by the Queen. He was something of an explorer in the early years of the Queen’s reign, and an early environmentalist. He painted in oils.

His big job in life, however, was to be “supporting the Queen” in her role as monarch. It was Philip who broke the news to Elizabeth of her father’s death in February 1952. Always a few steps behind… or wandering off on his own at times… on state occasions and royal visits, HM described him on their 50th wedding anniversary (23 years ago!) as “simply my strength and stay all these years.” Although viewed with some apprehension by members of the “establishment” in early years (reportedly including Churchill, and Queen Mary, for instance, but not King George VI), he departs the scene as the longest-ever British royal consort, and as a careful hand in the many adaptations the royal family has necessarily made since 1952.

It has been noted how this last year of quarantine together has proved something of an ironic “gift” to the Queen and Prince Philip, giving them more time together, day-by-day, than they have had since early on in their marriage.

In interviews at the time of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (2012) and her 90th birthday (2016) there began to be speculations about how she might cope when he eventually stepped out of the picture. Would it impede her ability to carry on? Some of the answer began to emerge after Prince Philip’s retirement from royal duties in 2017. Often accompanied by younger members of the family, the Queen has kept on keeping on… at least until now. Now, we’ll see what happens.

It has previously been reported that – unlike the late Queen Mum – Prince Philip decidedly did not want a big state funeral. His preference is said to have been for something more modest and private. We’ll now see how things unfold. Ongoing COVID-19 restrictions will certainly be a factor. Greater privacy will, I think, be a true blessing for his widow and family.

Back in that 2005 documentary, Prince Philip refused to try to say what his legacy might be. That, he thought, was for others to determine. “You just hope that you’ll leave things better than they might have been otherwise.” In that, there can be little doubt that he succeeded. Well done, Sir. And, thank you!

Yours aye,

Ken Cuthbertson – the Laird o’ Thistle

Unofficial Royalty Resources on Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Credit – Wikipedia

Born a Prince of Greece and Denmark on June 10, 1921, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was the youngest of the five children and the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. He was a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria via her daughter Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine.

On November 20, 1947, the Duke of Edinburgh married the future Queen Elizabeth II and the couple had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. The Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, 2021, just two months short of his 100th birthday. He was the longest-serving consort of a British monarch and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family.

All article links below are from Unofficial Royalty.

We are pleased to have a special edition column from one of our columnists:

The Laird o’ Thistle – Special Edition – The Passing of Prince Philip

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Catherine of Lancaster, Queen of Castile

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Catherine of Lancaster, Queen of Castile; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Born March 31, 1373, at Hertford Castle in Hertfordshire, England, Catherine of Lancaster was the elder but the only surviving child of the two children of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and his second wife Constance of Castile. Catherine’s paternal grandparents were King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Her maternal grandparents were King Pedro I of Castile and his first wife Maria de Padilla. Catherine was a half-sister of King Henry IV of England.

Catherine had one younger brother who died in infancy:

  • John of Lancaster (1374 – 1375)

Catherine had seven half-siblings from her father’s first marriage to Blanche of Lancaster:

Catherine had four half-siblings from her father’s relationship with his mistress and subsequently his third wife Katherine Swynford:

Catherine’s parents had married in 1371, as part of a calculated plan for the English to gain control of the Kingdom of Castile, now part of Spain. In 1369, King Pedro I of Castile had been killed by his half-brother who then assumed the throne of Castile as King Enrique II of Castile. Catherine’s mother Constance was the elder surviving daughter, the co-heiress of her father with her younger sister Isabella, and a claimant to the throne of Castile. After his marriage to Constance, John of Gaunt assumed the style of King of Castile in the right of his wife. Constance’s younger sister Isabella of Castile accompanied her sister to England. In 1372, Isabella married John of Gaunt’s younger brother, Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York as part of a dynastic alliance to further the English claim to the crown of Castile.

The English were never able to gain control of the Kingdom of Castile. In 1388, under the Treaty of Bayonne, Constance, Duchess of Lancaster renounced all claims to the Castilian throne and accepted the proposal of her first cousin King Juan I of Castile, to marry her daughter Catherine to his son, the future King Enrique III of Castile. The marriage would end the conflict between the descendants of Pedro I of Castile and Enrique II of Castile and give legitimacy to the House of Trastámara which would become the first ruling house of a united Kingdom of Spain.

Enrique III, King of Castile; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 17, 1388, at the Cathedral of Saint Antoninus of Pamiers in Palencia, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain, fifteen-year-old Catherine of Lancaster was married to her nine-year-old second cousin Enrique, who received the title Prince of Asturias at that time. He was the first person to hold this title, and it designated him as the heir apparent. Today Prince or Princess of Asturias is the title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain.

It is probable that the marriage was not consummated for some time due to Enrique’s young age. Eventually, Catherine (Catalina in Spanish) and Enrique had three children:

Through their son Juan II of Castile, Catherine and Enrique III are the grandparents of Isabella I, Queen of Castile and great-grandparents of Catherine of Aragon (daughter of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon), the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Catherine of Aragon was named for her great-grandmother Catherine of Lancaster, Queen of Castile. Catherine and Enrique are the ancestors of all subsequent monarchs of the Kingdom of Castile and a united Kingdom of Spain.

On October 9, 1390, Catherine’s father-in-law King Juan I of Castile, aged thirty-two, died after a fall from his horse and her eleven-year-old husband became Enrique III, King of Castile. After a three-year regency, King Enrique III assumed full power. However, due to ill health in the latter part of his reign, Enrique delegated some of his power to his brother Ferdinand. Enrique died, aged 27, on December 25, 1406, in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain. King Enrique III’s son and successor was not quite two years old when he became King Juan II of Castile. His mother Catherine and his paternal uncle Ferdinand, who became King Ferdinand I of Aragon in 1412, were co-regents during his minority. When Ferdinand died in 1416, Catherine served as sole regent until her death in 1418. Her son King Juan II immediately took power, without continuing the regency.

Chapel of the New Monarchs at Toledo Cathedral where Catherine I buried with her husband along with other members of the the House of Trastámara; Credit – De Jose Luis Filpo Cabana – Trabajo propio, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30738992

On June 2, 1418, Catherine of Lancaster, Queen of Castile died from a stroke at age 45 in Valladolid, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain. She is buried with her husband King Enrique III of Castile in the Capilla de los Reyes Nuevos (Chapel of the New Monarchs) in the Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo, also known as Toledo Cathedral in Toldeo, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain.

Tomb of Catherine of Lancaster, Queen of Castile; Credit – De Borjaanimal – Trabajo propio, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44532496

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Catherine of Lancaster – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Lancaster> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Henry III of Castile – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_III_of_Castile> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. 2021. Catalina de Lancaster – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_de_Lancaster> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/constance-of-castile-duchess-of-lancaster/> [Accessed 2 April 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2017. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/john-of-gaunt-1st-duke-of-lancaster/> [Accessed 2 April 2021].

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster; Credit – Wikipedia

Constance of Castile was the second wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth but the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Through their daughter Catherine, Constance and John are the great-grandparents of Queen Isabella I of Castile and León and the great-great-grandparents of Isabella I’s daughter Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Constance and John are the ancestors of all subsequent monarchs of the Kingdom of Castile and León and a united Kingdom of Spain.

Constance’s mother Maria de Padilla; Credit – Wikipedia

Born in 1354 at the Castle of Castrojeriz in Castrojeriz, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain, Constance of Castile was the second of the three daughters and the second of the four children of Pedro I, King of Castile and the first of his three wives Maria de Padilla, a Castilian noblewoman who had been his mistress. They married in secret in 1353. Although Pedro was forced to repudiate his marriage with Maria de Padilla to marry Blanche of Bourbon (no children), their relationship continued until she died in 1361.

Constance had three siblings:

Constance had had one brother from her father’s third marriage with Juana de Castro:

  • Juan of Castile (1355 – 1405), married Elvira de Eril and Falces, had two children

Battle of Nájera during the Castilian Civil War; Credit – Wikipedia

Throughout the reign of Pedro I, King of Castile, the Castilian Civil War (1351 – 1369), a war of succession over the Kingdom of Castile, was fought between Pedro I and his half-brother Enrique, one of ten children of Pedro’s father King Alfonso XI of Castile and his long-time mistress Eleanor of Guzmán. In 1369, Pedro lost the civil war, his crown, and his life when he was stabbed to death by his half-brother who then succeeded to the throne as Enrique II, King of Castile. Constance was now a pretender to the throne of Castile and remained besieged in the Alcázar del Rey Don Pedro in Carmona for two more years until it was agreed that she could depart for territories of King Edward III of England now in present-day France.

John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 21, 1371, in English territory, at Roquefort near Bordeaux, Guienne (now in France), 31-year-old John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, King Edward III’s fourth but third surviving son, married 17-year-old Constance. This was John of Gaunt’s second marriage. His 23-year-old first wife Blanche of Lancaster, the wealthy heiress whose Duchy of Lancaster, to this day, is held in trust for the Sovereign to provide income for the use of the British monarch, died in 1368. Of John and Blanche’s seven children, three survived to adulthood including King Henry IV of England and Philippa of Lancaster who married King João I of Portugal.

Embed from Getty Images
The Savoy Palace, the London home of John of Gaunt

The marriage of Constance and John was a calculated plan for England to gain control of the Kingdom of Castile. After his marriage to Constance, John assumed the style of King of Castile in the right of his wife. On February 9, 1372, Constance made a ceremonial entry into London as the Queen of Castile, accompanied by John’s eldest brother, Edward (the Black Prince), Prince of Wales, along with an impressive escort of English and Castilian retainers and London dignitaries. Crowds lined the streets to see Constance as she made her way to the Savoy Palace, the London residence of John of Gaunt, where she was ceremonially received by her husband.

Constance’s younger sister Isabella of Castile accompanied her to England. On July 11, 1372, Isabella married John of Gaunt’s younger brother, Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York as part of a dynastic alliance to further the English claim to the crown of Castile.

Constance and John of Gaunt had two children but only one survived infancy:

The English were never able to gain control of the Kingdom of Castile. In 1388, under the Treaty of Bayonne, John of Gaunt and his wife Constance of Castile renounced any claim to the throne of Castile in favor of King Enrique III of Castile, the grandson of Constance’s half-uncle King Enrique II of Castile who had taken the throne from Constance’s father King Pedro I of Castile. The treaty further stipulated that King Enrique III of Castile should marry his second cousin Catherine of Lancaster, John and Constance’s daughter and the granddaughter King Pedro I, thereby uniting the two opposing factions of the family. Also included in the treaty was the creation of the title Prince of Asturias as the title of the heir to the throne of Castile. Today Prince or Princess of Asturias is the title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain.

Soon after King Edward III of England founded the Order of the Garter in 1348, women were appointed Ladies of the Garter but were not made companions. In 1378, Constance received the honor of being appointed the fourth Lady of the Garter.

Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster died on March 24, 1394, aged 39–40, at Leicester Castle in Leicestershire, of England. She was buried at the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke, in Leicester, England, which was destroyed in the mid-16th century under the Dissolution of the Chantries Act during the reign of King Edward VI of England. In 1396, Constance’s widower John of Gaunt married his long-time mistress Katherine Swynford, with whom he already had four children. John survived Constance by five years, dying on February 3, 1399, aged 58, at Leicester Castle in Leicestershire, England. He was buried with his first wife Blanche of Lancaster in a magnificent tomb at Old St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_of_Castile,_Duchess_of_Lancaster> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Peter of Castile – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_of_Castile> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
  • Es.wikipedia.org. 2021. Constanza de Castilla (1354-1394) – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. [online] Available at: <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constanza_de_Castilla_(1354-1394)> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2021. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/john-of-gaunt-1st-duke-of-lancaster/> [Accessed 1 April 2021].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2021. Констанция Кастильская, герцогиня Ланкастер — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F,_%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%86%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%8F_%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80> [Accessed 1 April 2021].

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, Favorite of King Charles II of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham; Credit – Wikipedia

Favorite: a person treated with special or undue favor by a king, queen, or another royal person

A member of the Villiers family, a prominent aristocratic family during the Stuart dynasty, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham was born on January 30, 1628, during the reign of King Charles I of England. He was the third of the four children and the second but the eldest surviving of the three sons of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Katherine Manners. George was a half-first cousin once removed of King Charles II’s mistress Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland who was born as Barbara Villiers. Barbara’s father William Villiers, 2nd Viscount Grandison was the son of Sir Edward Villiers, a half-brother of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham.

George (on his mother’s lap) with his parents and his sister Mary; Credit – Wikipedia

George had three siblings:

  • Mary Villiers (1622 – 1685), married (1) Charles Herbert, Lord Herbert, no children (2) James Stewart, 1st Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, had two children (3) Colonel Thomas Howard, no children
  • Charles Villiers, Earl of Coventry (1625 – 1627), died in childhood
  • Lord Francis Villiers (1629 – 1648), unmarried, died in a skirmish at Kingston-Upon-Thames during the Second English Civil War

The elder George Villiers, the 1st Duke of Buckingham, was a courtier and favorite of King James I of England and his son King Charles I until a disgruntled army officer assassinated him on August 23, 1628. His seven-month-old son George inherited his father’s wealth and his long string of titles: Duke of Buckingham, Marquess of Buckingham, Earl of Buckingham, Earl of Coventry, Viscount Villiers, and Baron Whaddon. George’s mother Katherine succeeded to one of her father’s titles Baron de Ros of Helmsley upon his death in 1632, becoming the 18th Baroness de Ros of Helmsley in her own right. She married for a second time to Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim in 1635, and went to live at Dunluce Castle in County Antrim, Ireland. Katherine survived her first husband by twenty-one years, dying in 1649 in Waterford, Ireland, probably of the plague. Upon his mother’s death, George inherited her title Baron de Ros of Helmsley.

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Lord Francis Villiers; Credit – Wikipedia

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and his brother Lord Francis Villiers were brought up in the household of King Charles I with Charles I’s sons, the future King Charles II and the future King James II. King Charles I took responsibility for George and Francis because of his loyalty to their assassinated father and because he did not think their Catholic mother should raise them. The education of the two Villiers boys and the two royal princes was overseen by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle and Brian Duppa, Bishop of Winchester, and then later by John Earle, Bishop of Salisbury. The philosopher Thomas Hobbes was their mathematics teacher.

George and his brother Francis actively supported and fought with the Royalists during the English Civil War. After the death of his brother in a battle near Kingston upon Thames, George Villiers fled England and took refuge like many other royalists in the Netherlands. The execution of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, made his son Charles the de jure King of England. Because he participated in the Royalist cause, George’s property in England was confiscated but King Charles II in exile made him a Knight of the Garter in 1649 and a member of the Privy Council in 1650.

King Charles II in exile, 1653; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1650, accompanied by George, Charles landed in Scotland and raised an army of 10,000 men. After being crowned King of Scots at Scone on January 1, 1651, Charles marched his army into England but suffered an overwhelming defeat at the Battle of Worcester.  After being a fugitive for six weeks, Charles escaped England and fled to France. Oliver Cromwell was declared Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. England remained a Commonwealth and then a Protectorate until 1660.

George followed the English royal family into exile. He returned to England in 1657 and married Mary Fairfax, the only child and heir of Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron. When George’s property had been confiscated by the Cromwell government, it was given to Mary’s father Thomas Fairfax. George hoped that the marriage would result in him getting back his property. George and Mary’s marriage was childless. Mary was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Charles II’s wife Catherine of Braganza from 1663 – 1688.

In 1658, George was suspected of organizing a plot against Cromwell’s government. He was placed under house arrest at York House, his home in London, but escaped and when he was captured, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London until his father-in-law negotiated his release in 1659. The conditions of George’s release were a promise not to assist the enemies of the government and a very large security payment from his father-in-law Thomas Fairfax.

On September 3, 1658, Oliver Cromwell died. His son Richard Cromwell ruled only until April 1659 and there was a real possibility for the restoration of the monarchy. On May 1, 1660, Parliament formally invited Charles, as King Charles II, to be the English monarch in what has become known as the Restoration. On May 23, 1660, Charles landed at Dover, England and on his 30th birthday, May 29, 1660, King Charles II entered London in a procession with George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham accompanying the king.

After the restoration of King Charles II, George held several positions including Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Minister of State, and Master of the Horse. His endeavor to influence English politics was stymied by the Lord Chancellor Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon and in 1667, George took an active part in the overthrow of Hyde. He then played an important role in the group of five royal advisors that called itself the CABAL, formed from the letters of its members’ names:

C (Sir Thomas Clifford)
A (Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Baron Ashley)
B (George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham)
A (Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington)
L (John Maitland, 2nd Earl of Lauderdale)

George’s mistress Anna Maria Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury; Credit – Wikipedia

George was one of the Restoration rakes which included John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, Sir Charles Sedley, and Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset. Following the example of King Charles II, they distinguished themselves in drinking, sex, and witty conversation. In 1667, George began an affair with Anna Maria Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, the wife of Francis Talbot, 11th Earl of Shrewsbury. The Earl challenged George to a duel and was mortally wounded by George, dying two months later of his injury. After the death of the 11th Earl of Shrewsbury, his widow Anna Maria went to live with George which necessitated George’s wife Mary living in the home of her birth family until the affair ended in 1674.

The Life of Buckingham by Augustus Leopold Egg – George is the central figure with King Charles II standing behind him; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1674, the House of Commons and the House of Lords brought charges against George. He was accused of embezzling public funds, having secret negotiations with France, and condemned for his affair with Anna Maria Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury. Due to a petition from the House of Commons, George was removed from office by Charles II and resigned from the royal advisory group. However, as a peer, he was still a member of the House of Lords and participated in the business of the House of Lords. Personally, George reformed his ways, reconciled with his wife Mary, and began to pay his debts.

After the death of King Charles II in 1685, George retired to his estate in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England. He died there on April 16, 1687, aged 59, from complications of a cold he caught while participating in a fox hunt. Originally buried in Yorkshire, on June 7, 1687, George’s remains were moved to the Buckingham Vault in the Chapel of St. Nicholas in Westminster Abbey in London, England. While his father has a lavish tomb with an effigy in the Chapel of St. Nicholas, George has no monument or marker. Because George had no legitimate male heir, his titles became extinct except for Baron de Ros of Helmsley from his mother’s family which fell into abeyance until 1790. George’s wife Mary survived him by seventeen years, dying on October 30, 1704, aged 67. She was buried with her husband in the Buckingham Vault in Westminster Abbey.

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The Chapel of St. Nicholas at Westminster Abbey where George and his wife Mary are buried in the Buckingham Vault

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Villiers, 2Nd Duke Of Buckingham. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Villiers,_2nd_Duke_of_Buckingham> [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan. 2016. King Charles II Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-charles-ii-of-england/> [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan. 2020. George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, Favorite of King James I of England and King Charles I of England. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/george-villiers-1st-duke-of-buckingham-favorite-of-king-james-i-of-england-and-king-charles-i-of-england/> [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Villiers (2E Duc De Buckingham). [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Villiers_(2e_duc_de_Buckingham)> [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  • Nl.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Villiers (1628-1687). [online] Available at: <https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Villiers_(1628-1687)> [Accessed 31 December 2020].
  • Westminster Abbey. 2020. Villiers Family | Westminster Abbey. [online] Available at: <https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/villiers-family> [Accessed 31 December 2020].

Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner, Lady-in-Waiting and Confidante of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Anne as a debutante – Credit – Anne Veronica (née Coke), Baroness Glenconner by Navana Vandyk, whole-plate film negative, 8 May 1950, NPG x97522 © National Portrait Gallery, London

In 1971, Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner became a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and remained a lady-in-waiting until Princess Margaret’s death in 2002. In 2020, Anne Tennant’s memoir Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown was published. Her reason for writing the memoir was because she “was so fed up with people writing such horrible things about Princess Margaret.”

Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner was born Anne Veronica Coke (pronounced “Cook”) on July 16, 1932, in London, England, the eldest of the three daughters of Thomas Coke, the future 5th Earl of Leicester (1908 – 1976) and Lady Elizabeth Mary Yorke (1912 – 1985), daughter of Charles Yorke, 8th Earl of Hardwicke. Anne’s father, who became the 5th Earl of Leicester in 1949, served as Equerry to the Duke of York (the future King George VI) from 1934-1937. When the Duke of York became King George VI, he became Extra Equerry to the king from 1937-1952, and then continued as Extra Equerry to Queen Elizabeth II. Anne’s mother served as Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 – 1973.

Anne had two younger siblings:

  • Lady Carey Elizabeth Coke (1934 – 2018), married Bryan Ronald Basset, had three sons
  • Lady Sarah Marion Coke (born 1944), married Major David Finlayson Wylie-Hill Walter, had two sons

Holkham Hall, Anne’s childhood home; Credit – By Holkham.j.lewis – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77267021

Anne spent her childhood at Holkham Hall, the 18th century Coke family country estate in Holkham, Norfolk, England. Sandringham House, the British monarch’s personally-owned country estate, was only 18 miles from Holkham Hall, and so Anne was a regular playmate of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth were friends with Anne’s parents. They saw each other socially and the Coke family always attended the annual Christmas party at Buckingham Palace.

During World War II, Anne and her sister Carey stayed with their paternal great-aunt the Countess of Airlie, born Lady Bridget Coke and her husband David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, and the six Ogilvy children. Their playmates were the three youngest Ogilvy children: David Ogilvy, the future 13th Earl of Airlie, The Honorable Angus Ogilvy who married Princess Alexandra of Kent, the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, and The Honorable James Ogilvy.

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Queen Elizabeth II with her maids of honor: (left to right) Lady Moyra Hamilton, Lady Anne Coke, Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton, Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart

In 1950, at the age of 18, Anne was formally presented at court and was named “debutante of the year” by Tatler which then was “an illustrated journal of society”. In 1953, Anne was selected to be one of the six maids of honor at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey.

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Colin Tennant and Lady Anne Coke pictured as they announce their engagement

In the summer of 1955, Anne met Colin Tennant, the son and heir of Christopher Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner at a debutante party at the Ritz Hotel in London. Their engagement was announced on December 16, 1955. On April 21, 1956, at St. Withburga’s Church in Holkham, Norfolk, England, Anne married Colin Tennant, the future 3rd Baron Glenconner. The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret attended the wedding. Antony Armstrong-Jones, Princess Margaret’s future husband, was the wedding photographer.

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Anne and Colin with their first child Charles

Anne and her husband had three sons and twin daughters:

  • The Honorable Charles Tennant (1957 – 1996), married Sheilagh Scott, had one son, Cody Tennant who became the 4th Baron Glenconner upon the death of his grandfather in 2010
  • The Honorable Henry Tennant (1960 – 1990), married Teresa Cormack (died 2018), had one son
  • The Honorable Christopher Tennant (born 1968), married (1) Anastasia Papadakos, had two daughters, divorced (2) Johanna Lissack Hurn
  • The Honorable May Tennant (born 1970), married Anton Creasy, had one daughter
  • The Honorable Amy Tennant (born 1970), unmarried
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Anne and Colin’s twin daughters with their nanny Barbara Barnes who later became Prince William’s nanny

Sadly, all three sons had major medical issues. The eldest son Charles died in 1996 from Hepatitis C due to his long-term heroin use. Henry, the second son, died from AIDS in 1990. Henry and his wife Tessa had a son Euan shortly before Henry told Tessa that he was gay. The couple separated but remained close. Their son Euan Tennant manages The Glen, the Tennant family estate in Traquair, Scotland. The youngest son Christopher suffered severe brain damage in a motorcycle accident in 1987 in Belize. He was found by a passing motorist and taken to the hospital, where he spent the next three months in a coma.

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Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh are greeted by Princess Margaret, Anne, and Colin as they arrive on Mustique during their 1977 Silver Jubilee Tour

Two years after Anne and Colin married, Colin bought the Caribbean island of Mustique £45,000. He built a new village for its inhabitants, planted coconut palms, vegetables, and fruit, and developed the fisheries. In 1960, Princess Margaret and her new husband Antony Armstrong-Jones visited Mustique while on their honeymoon cruise to accept a wedding gift from Colin, a plot of land on which Princess Margaret built a villa called Les Jolies Eaux, French for “the pretty waters.” Due to financial issues, by 1987, Colin had sold, by 1987, all of his financial interest in Mustique. After that Anne and Colin lived in England and in the Caribbean island country of St. Lucia.

In early 1971, shortly after the christening of Anne’s twin daughters, at which Princess Margaret was May’s godmother, the princess asked Anne to become one of her ladies-in-waiting. Anne accompanied Princess Margaret on many engagements and tours and she once stood in for Princess Margaret on a trip to the Philippines to meet with Imelda Marcos when Margaret became ill. For her service to the royal family, Anne received the Royal Victorian Order on June 14, 1991.

The Glen, the Tennant family country estate; Credit – By Jim Barton, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13581551

Prior to a dinner party during the summer of 1973 at The Glen, the Tennant family home, where Princess Margaret would be a guest, another guest canceled at the last minute. At the suggestion of Colin’s aunt, Anne called Roddy Llewellyn, the younger son of Sir Harry Llewellyn, 3rd Baronet, an Olympic gold medallist in show jumping. At that dinner party, the 43-year-old still-married Princess Margaret first met 25-year-old Roddy Llewellyn. Their much-publicized eight-year relationship was a factor in the end of Princess Margaret’s marriage. After Princess Margaret’s funeral in 2002, the Queen Mother discussed Roddy Llewellyn with Anne and thanked her for having introduced her daughter to Roddy, because “he made her really happy.”

In 1994, Princess Margaret, Anne, and Colin attended a dinner at mutual friends’ home in Mustique. During that dinner, Princess Margaret suffered her first stroke. Over the following year, Anne noticed Margaret becoming gradually slower and moments where she would suddenly lose her place. In 1999, while in Mustique, Margaret scalded her feet in the bath. Although Anne was not in Mustique, she rushed there to be with Margaret. When Margaret refused to go home to England for treatment, Anne called Queen Elizabeth who persuaded her sister to come home. After that, Princess Margaret was wheelchair-bound. She had two more strokes and her eyesight began to fail. When Anne was not on duty, she visited Margaret as much as possible. Margaret spent Christmas 2001 at Sandringham with her family but Anne, who was also in Norfolk, had to be called in because Margaret refused to eat and seemed to have given up on life. Anne managed to get Margaret to eat a jam tart, watch her favorite television programs, and settle down.

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Princess Margaret making one of her rare public appearances shortly after she scalded her feet, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting Anne Tennant, March 20, 2000

After the Christmas holidays, Princess Margaret returned to her London home at Kensington Palace. Anne visited her, read to her, and listened to the radio with her. On the evening of February 8, 2002, Anne received a phone call from Princess Margaret’s Private Secretary saying that Margaret had suffered another stroke and that the prognosis was not good. Princess Margaret died early the next morning. After Princess Margaret’s funeral service, Queen Elizabeth thanked Anne for all that she had done for Margaret. She acknowledged Roddy Llewllyn’s positive impact on her sister and was glad that her home on Mustique had made Margaret happy.

In 2009, Anne’s husband Colin was diagnosed with prostate cancer but was determined that no one should find out. He died on August 27, 2010, from a heart attack, at the age of 83, and was buried in the Traquair Kirkyard, near The Glen, the Tennant family home. Colin’s grandson Cody Tennant, the only child of Colin’s eldest son Charles succeeded as the 4th Baron Glenconner and received all property and funds connected to the Baron of Glenconnner title.

However, Colin left his family an unpleasant surprise. Colin had made a new will seven months before his death and had left everything not connected to the Baron of Glenconner title to Kent Adonai, a St. Lucia citizen, and his valet for 26 years who was with him when he had his fatal heart attack. The Tennant family contested the will and after an eight-year legal battle, the estate was divided more or less equally between Kent Adonai and Cody Tennant, 4th Baron Glenconner.

Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner; Credit – https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/anne-glenconner

The family remains bitter over what Colin did but as Anne wrote in her memoir, “Obsessing about this would have driven me mad so, instead, I made a decision to move on.” Anne moved on with her life, living in the farmhouse in Norfolk, England that she had bought for herself years before, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Anne Tennant, Baroness Glenconner. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Tennant,_Baroness_Glenconner> [Accessed 18 February 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Tennant,_3rd_Baron_Glenconner> [Accessed 18 February 2021].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Thomas Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Coke,_5th_Earl_of_Leicester> [Accessed 18 February 2021].
  • Glenconner, Anne, 2020. Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown. New York: Hachette Book Group, Inc.
  • Thefreelibrary.com. 2000. FAITH HEALER SAVED MY THIRD SON FROM DEATH; Tennant matriarch finds peace in India. – Free Online Library. [online] Available at: <https://www.thefreelibrary.com/FAITH+HEALER+SAVED+MY+THIRD+SON+FROM+DEATH%3B+Tennant+matriarch+finds…-a060956241> [Accessed 18 February 2021].

Yes, the children of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex are entitled to be HRH Prince/Princess

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Badge of the House of Windsor; Credit – Wikipedia

Yes, the children of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex are entitled to be HRH Prince/Princess now that their paternal grandfather is King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Why would they be entitled to be HRH Prince/Princess?

In 1917, King George V issued Letters Patent changing the rights to the style Royal Highness and the title Prince/Princess. The children of the Sovereign, the children of the sons of the Sovereign, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales would be entitled to the style Royal Highness and the title Prince/Princess. Under the 1917 Letters Patent, Prince Harry’s children Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex are entitled to the style and title His/Her Royal Highness Prince/Princess, now that their paternal grandfather has succeeded to the throne. Prince Harry’s children are now male-line grandchildren of the Sovereign. Of course, King Charles III or any other sovereign can change this.

Although Letters Patent, Warrants, and Proclamations are sometimes issued when titles and styles are changed, it is not necessary. Royal styles and titles are a matter of royal prerogative. At the Sovereign’s will and pleasure, styles and titles can be changed as the Sovereign pleases. Exceptions to the rule can be made by the Sovereign. For instance, in 2012, Queen Elizabeth II issued a Letters Patent declaring that all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have the title Prince or Princess and the style Royal Highness. This meant that all the children of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge would be HRH Prince/Princess not just his eldest son.

Which current members of the British Royal Family are HRH Prince/Princess because they are male-line grandchildren of a Sovereign?

Why are the children of Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest child, not HRH Prince/Princess?

At the time of the wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest child, and Sophie Rhys-Jones, it was announced that Queen Elizabeth II had decided, in agreement with the wishes of Prince Edward and Miss Rhys-Jones, that any children of their marriage would not be given the style Royal Highness and the title Prince or Princess. Instead, any children would have courtesy titles of sons or daughters of an Earl. No Letters Patent was issued. However, royal styles and titles are a matter of royal prerogative. At the Sovereign’s will and pleasure, styles and titles can be changed as the Sovereign pleases. Prince Edward’s son James is styled Viscount Severn (one of his father’s subsidiary titles) and his daughter is styled Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex could make a similar decision regarding their children.

Are the children of Prince Harry entitled to any other titles?

Archie is the heir apparent to his father’s Dukedom of Sussex, Earldom of Dumbarton, and Barony of Kilkeel. It is customary that a peer’s heir apparent use one of their parent’s subsidiary titles as a courtesy title. In this case, the courtesy title would be Earl of Dumbarton. Although Archie was entitled to use one of Prince Harry’s subsidiary titles, and their daughter Lilibet was entitled to be styled in the manner of a daughter of a Duke: Lady <first name> Mountbatten-Windsor, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided not to do so. As of March 2023, their children use the styles and titles HRH Prince Archie of Sussex and HRH Princess Lilibet of Sussex.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle, Favorite of Henrietta Maria of France, Queen of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle; Credit – Wikipedia

Favorite: a person treated with special or undue favor by a king, queen, or another royal person

Probably the inspiration for the character of Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, Lady Lucy Percy was born in 1599, the second of the four children and the younger of the two daughters of Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland and Lady Dorothy Devereux. Lucy’s mother was the sister of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, the favorite of Queen Elizabeth I of England who was executed for his part in an unsuccessful rebellion against Elizabeth. Lucy’s father spent sixteen years in the Tower of London, albeit in a comfortable situation due to his wealth, due to the suspicion that he was complicit in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to assassinate King James I.

Lucy had three siblings:

Lucy’s husband John Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1617, Lucy married James Hay (circa 1580 – 1636), who was created 1st Earl of Carlisle in 1622. James was a Scotsman who came to England with James VI, King of Scots when he succeeded Queen Elizabeth I of England as King James I of England in 1603. James Hay was an important courtier of King James I and King Charles I and represented the English Crown in many diplomatic missions abroad including the negotiations in 1624 for the wedding Charles, Prince of Wales, the future King Charles I, and Henrietta Maria of France. Lucy and James Hay had no children. Upon his death in 1636, he was succeeded by his son from his first marriage, James Hay, 2nd Earl of Carlisle.

Queen Henrietta Maria; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1626, Lucy was appointed Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I, who had succeeded to the throne the previous year. Lucy soon became the queen’s favorite, was a popular figure at the court, and started to engage in court intrigues. She was the subject of Sir John Suckling‘s risqué poem Upon My Lady Carlisle’s Walking in Hampton Court Garden.

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham; Credit – Wikipedia

Lucy may have been the inspiration for the character of Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. She had an affair with George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, a favorite of both King James I and King Charles I. The 17th-century French diarist François de La Rochefoucauld mentioned in his memoirs that Lucy stole diamond studs that King Louis XIII of France (the brother of Queen Henrietta Maria of England) had given his wife Anne of Austria, Queen of France. Supposedly, Queen Anne had given the diamond studs to her admirer George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lucy stole them in a vengeful act because she was jealous of Buckingham’s love for Queen Anne. King Louis XIII wanted to see the studs and Queen Anne was able to recover them. Alexandre Dumas later used this entire story, and therefore he probably based Milady de Winter on Lucy Carlisle in The Three Musketeers.

Lucy was the mistress of political opponents Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford and then John Pym, serving them both as a secret informant. In 1642, Lucy informed her cousin Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex of King Charles I’s intention to arrest five members of the Long Parliament which enabled Essex and the others to escape. During the Second English Civil War between the Parliamentarians (Roundheads) and the Royalists (Cavaliers), Lucy sided with the Royalists. She helped fund the Royalist Army by selling her pearl necklace for £1500. Lucy maintained communication with Charles, Prince of Wales (the future King Charles II) during his blockade of the Thames, and served as an intermediary between the scattered bands of royalists and Queen Henrietta Maria. Less than two months after the beheading of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, Lucy was arrested due to her actions and imprisoned in the Tower of London. While in the Tower, she communicated in code with the new king in exile, Charles II, through her brother Algernon and was threatened with torture on the rack to gain information. Lucy was released on bail on September 25, 1650.

Lucy never regained her influence in royal circles. She died of a stroke at Little Salisbury House in London, England on November 5, 1660, at the age of 61, soon after the monarchy was restored. Lucy was buried in the Percy family vault at St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Petworth, Chichester District, West Sussex, England.

The statue above the Percy vault at St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Petworth; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Henry Percy, 9Th Earl Of Northumberland. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Percy,_9th_Earl_of_Northumberland> [Accessed 25 December 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. James Hay, 1St Earl Of Carlisle. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hay,_1st_Earl_of_Carlisle> [Accessed 25 December 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Lucy Hay, Countess Of Carlisle. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Hay,_Countess_of_Carlisle> [Accessed 25 December 2020].
  • Englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com. 2017. The Infamous Countess Of Carlisle. [online] Available at: <https://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-infamous-countess-of-carlisle.html> [Accessed 25 December 2020].
  • Find a Grave. 2020. Lucy “Countess Of Carlisle” Percy Hay (1599-1660)…. [online] Findagrave.com. Available at: <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55392135/lucy-hay> [Accessed 25 December 2020].

Margaret “Bobo” MacDonald, Nanny, Dresser, and Confidante of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Margaret MacDonald served Queen Elizabeth II for sixty-seven years, first as a nursemaid beginning in Elizabeth’s infancy and then as her dresser who looked after her clothes and jewelry and helped style her appearance. A constant presence in Elizabeth’s life from an early age, Margaret was also Elizabeth’s confidante and friend. Born in 1904, Margaret MacDonald was the Scots-born daughter of a railway worker. She grew up in a three-room railway company cottage in Black Isle, a peninsula north of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. Margaret first worked as an apprentice chambermaid in a modest hotel. In 1926, when Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) was born, she joined the household of the Duke and Duchess of York (the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later The Queen Mother) as a nursemaid.

Baby Elizabeth’s staff also included Clara Cooper Knight known as Allah, a traditional English nanny. Margaret, as nursemaid, would often play hide and seek with the toddler Elizabeth in the gardens calling, “Boo!” Elizabeth would clap her hands and answer “Boo! Boo!” and that is how Margaret got the name Bobo. She was called Bobo for the rest of her life and she was the only person outside the immediate royal family permitted to call Elizabeth by her childhood name Lilibet.

When Princess Margaret was born in 1930, Allah and Bobo’s younger sister Ruby MacDonald, who later became Princess Margaret’s dresser, took care of the new princess. Bobo took charge of Elizabeth and moved into her room to give her a stronger sense of security. Elizabeth would share a room with Bobo until she was thirteen-years-old and Bobo developed a devotion to Elizabeth that would last until she died in 1993. From 1930 onward, Bobo was closer to Elizabeth than anyone outside her family.

When Princess Elizabeth got older, Bobo was, officially, her dresser. She looked after Elizabeth’s clothes and jewelry and dealt with the royal dressmakers Norman Hartnell, Hardy Amies, and Ian Thomas. Unofficially, Bobo looked after Elizabeth. For sixty-seven years, Bobo loved, protected, and respected Elizabeth. She accompanied Elizabeth on her honeymoon and all her tours and lived in style at Buckingham Palace. Into her 80s, Bobo would still wake Elizabeth with a cup of tea, run her bath, and lay out her clothes for the day. In 1986, Queen Elizabeth II made Bobo a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.

In her later years, Bobo held a unique position in Buckingham Palace. She had her own suite, no duties, and enjoyed a closer personal friendship with Queen Elizabeth II than nearly anyone else, including some of the members of the royal family.

On September 22, 1993, Margaret MacDonald, Queen Elizabeth’s dear Bobo, died in her suite at Buckingham Palace at the age of 89. Bobo, who never married, was survived by her sister Ruby, who had been a member of the royal household since 1930. Bobo’s funeral was held on September 30, 1993, at The Queen’s Chapel at St. James’ Palace in London, England, on Marlborough Road, across from St. James’ Palace. The Queen’s Chapel was originally built as a Roman Catholic chapel for Queen Henrietta Maria, the French Catholic wife of King Charles I.

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Queen Elizabeth II after the funeral service for Margaret (Bobo) MacDonald

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Brandreth, Gyles, 2004. Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
  • Brough, James, 1978. Margaret – The Tragic Princess. New York: Avon Books.
  • Edwards, Anne, 1990. Royal Sisters. New York: Jove Books.
  • Lacey, Robert, 1977. Majesty. New York: Avon Books.
  • Lacey, Robert, 2002. Monarch. New York: Free Press.
  • MacLeod, John, 1993. Margaret MacDonald – Obituary. [online] Scottish Daily Mail. Available at: <https://www.pressreader.com/uk/scottish-daily-mail/20180915/282389810384190> [Accessed 17 February 2021].
  • Nytimes.com. 1993. Margaret MacDonald, Queen’s Servant, 89. [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/25/obituaries/margaret-macdonald-queen-s-servant-89.html?ref=oembed> [Accessed 17 February 2021].