Category Archives: British Royals

Joan of England, Queen of Sicily, Countess of Toulouse

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

King Richard I of England and his sister Joan greeting King Philip Augustus II of France, Credit – Wikipedia

Voyages on storm-tossed ships on the Mediterranean Sea. Being held captive and penniless by your husband’s successor and then being gallantly rescued by your brother. Being marooned and nearly captured after a strong storm and again being gallantly rescued by your brother.  Accompanying your brother and his new wife on the Crusades in the Holy Land. Being offered by your gallant brother as a bride to the brother of the man who led the Islamic opposition in the Crusade and being left to deal with a rebellion while you are pregnant. It sounds like an author’s imagination for a new book, but in reality, it is the life of Joan of England, the youngest daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.  However, Joan does have prominent roles in Sharon Penman‘s wonderful novels Devil’s Brood and Lionheart where she is referred to as Joanna.

Joan, sometimes called Joanna, was born at Château d’Angers in the County of Anjou, now in France in October 1165.  She was the third and youngest daughter and the seventh of eight children of King Henry II of England, who was also Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, and Count of Nantes – all territories in France – and Eleanor of Aquitaine who was Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitou in her own right.  Joan grew up in her mother’s court at the Palace of Poitiers, the seat of the Counts of Poitou and Dukes of Aquitaine, and also at Winchester Castle and/or Sarum Castle in England during part of the time her father kept her mother imprisoned because of her participation in the Revolt of   1173-1174.

Joan had seven siblings:

13th-century depiction of Henry and his legitimate children: (l to r) William, Young Henry, Richard, Matilda, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan, and John; Credit – Wikipedia

Joan spent time at Fontevrault Abbey near Chinon in Anjou, now in France, learning English, Norman French, rudimentary Latin, and skills necessary for running an aristocratic household.  Joan’s family was a great benefactor of Fontevrault Abbey and it was common for aristocratic girls to receive an education at abbeys.  Fontevrault Abbey became the burial place for Joan’s parents, her brother King Richard I, Isabella of Angoulême, the second wife of her brother King John, and Joan herself.

Fontevrault Abbey, Credit – Wikipedia

At this time it was common for royal and aristocratic girls to marry young.  Joan’s eldest sister Matilda married Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria when she was 12 years old.  The next sister Eleanor married King Alfonso VIII of Castile when she was 14 years old.  Therefore, it was not unusual when King William II of Sicily sent ambassadors to England in 1176 when Joan was 11 years old to open marriage negotiations.  Genetically, William was not Sicilian, but rather Norman.  He was a member of the Hauteville family which rose to prominence in Europe, Asia, and Africa through its conquests in the Mediterranean, especially Southern Italy and Sicily.  Joan and William, who was ten years older than Joan,  were betrothed on May 20, 1176.

On August 27, 1176, Joan left England for Sicily accompanied by John of Oxford who later became Bishop of Norwich and her uncle Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, an illegitimate son of King Henry II’s father Geoffrey of Anjou.  Typical for royal travel of the period, Joan was also accompanied by ladies-in-waiting, knights, clergy, and everything from cooks and seamstresses to grooms and blacksmiths.  Joan’s eldest brother Henry the Young King accompanied her across the English Channel and then to Poitiers. In Poitiers, Joan was met by her brother Richard, who escorted her through the Duchy of Aquitaine across the County of Toulouse to Saint Gilles, a French port on the Mediterranean Sea.  In Saint Gilles, Alfano of Camerota the Archbishop of Capua and Richard Palmer the Bishop of Syracuse greeted Joan on behalf of King William of Sicily.  The travel across the Mediterranean Sea was dangerous and long and Joan did not reach Sicily until the end of January 1177.

On February 13, 1177, Joan married King William II of Sicily and was crowned Queen of Sicily at Palermo Cathedral.  The Sicilian court was very different than the courts Joan was used to.  Much of Sicily was Muslim and this influence was obvious in the Sicilian culture where there were harems, and clothing and food much more exotic than what Joan had ever seen.  According to chronicler Robert of Torigni, Joan gave birth to a son Bohemund in 1182, but the child died in infancy. She may also have had miscarriages during this period. Her father, King Henry II of England, died in July 1189. In November of the same year, Joan was widowed when 36-year-old William died following an illness.

Deathbed of King William II of Sicily, Credit – Wikipedia

Following King William’s death, there was a revolt in which Tancred, Count of Lecce, an illegitimate member of the Hauteville family, seized control of Sicily and was crowned King.  Joan was imprisoned by Tancred who took control of her inheritance.  In 1190, King Richard I of England, Joan’s brother, arrived in Sicily on his way to the Third Crusade in the Holy Lands.  Richard demanded that his sister be released and given her inheritance.  Joan was freed on September 28, 1190, but without the inheritance.  Richard attacked Messina in Sicily, capturing it on October 4, 1190.  After looting and burning Messina, Richard established his base there and remained in Messina until Tancred finally agreed to sign a treaty on March 4, 1191.  One of the treaty’s provisions was to compensate Joan for her taken inheritance.

In the same month the treaty was signed, Joan and Richard’s mother Eleanor of Aquitaine arrived in Messina with Richard’s bride-to-be Berengaria of Navarre.  Berengaria was left in Joan’s care and Eleanor returned to England.  Richard postponed his wedding and set off for the Holy Land along with Joan and Berengaria who were on a separate ship.  Two days after setting sail, Richard’s fleet was hit by a strong storm. Several ships were lost and others were way off course.  Richard landed safely in Crete, but the ship Joan and Berengaria were on was marooned near Cyprus.  Joan and Berengaria were about to be captured by the ruler of Cyprus when Richard’s ships appeared to rescue them.  On May 12, 1191, King Richard I of England married Berengaria of Navarre at the Chapel of St George in Limassol, Cyprus, and then his fleet, along with Joan and Berengaria, traveled to the Holy Land.

King Richard I of England and Queen Berengaria, Credit – Wikipedia

Joan and Berengaria accompanied Richard throughout the Crusade.  At one point, Richard tried to use his sister Joan in a political scheme.  He suggested marrying her to Al-Adil, the brother of Saladin who led the Islamic opposition against the European Crusaders, and making them joint rulers of Jerusalem. This plan fell apart when Joan refused to marry a Muslim and Al-Adil refused to marry a Christian.

When Joan and Berengaria returned from the Holy Land on a different ship than Richard, they landed at Naples and then proceeded to Rome where they had to stay for a year until the Pope gave them safe conduct to travel to Marseilles.  It was at Marseilles that Joan fell in love with Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse.  Joan and Raymond married in October of 1196 in Rouen, Normandy.  Joan gave birth to her husband’s successor Raymond VII and a daughter Mary (or Wilhelmina) born in 1198, who married Berald of Elbine, Prince of Orange.

Joan of England, Credit – Wikipedia

In 1199, while Joan was pregnant with her third child, she was left to deal with a rebellion. Fearing her safety, she traveled to northern France, hoping for the protection of her brother King Richard, but he had died on April 6, 1199.  Joan then fled to her mother’s court at Rouen in Normandy.  Aged 33, Joan died at Fontevrault Abbey on September 4, 1199, shortly after giving birth to a son who lived just long enough to be baptized Richard.  Joan was veiled as a nun on her deathbed and was buried at Fontevrault Abbey.  In 1249, her son Raymond VII of Toulouse was buried next to her.  Unfortunately, both their tombs were destroyed during the French Revolution.

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August 31, 1997 – Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

August 31, 1997 – Death of Diana, Princess of Wales in Paris, France; buried at Althorp, Northamptonshire, England

At 4 am (Paris time) Sunday 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died in hospital after being involved in a car crash which instantly killed Dodi Fayed and the driver of the car. Diana’s car was being chased by photographers on motorbikes at high speeds when the crash happened in the Ponte l’Alma Tunnel. Investigation of the accident also brought to light that the driver of the car was more than three times over the (French) alcohol limit.

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The Pont de l’Alma Tunnel in Paris, where the fatal accident occurred; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

The Prince of Wales, along with Diana’s two sisters, flew to Paris to accompany Diana’s coffin back to Britain. Draped with the Royal Standard, the coffin was taken to the Chapel Royal at St. James’ Palace. The funeral was held on Saturday 6 September in Westminster Abbey, following a procession from Kensington Palace. After the service, Diana’s coffin was taken to Althorp, the ancestral home of the Earls Spencer, where she was buried privately on an island in the center of a lake on the grounds.

Diana was born The Honourable (later Lady) Diana Frances Spencer, youngest daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later 8th Earl Spencer) and his wife, formerly the Honourable Frances Burke Roche, at Park House, on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. She married HRH The Prince of Wales on 29 July 1981 at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The Prince and Princess of Wales have two sons – HRH Prince William and HRH Prince Henry (Harry). The couple divorced in 1996 and Diana’s style became Diana, Princess of Wales. While she lost her HRH status, she remained, officially, a member of the Royal Family.

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Tragedy in the British Royal Family at the End of August

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Royal Burial Ground Frogmore

Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore near Windsor Castle, Credit – Wikipedia

Of course, it is well known that Diana, Princess of Wales tragically died in a car accident at the end of August. However, several other recent British royals died tragically during the last week of August before her death.

  • August 25, 1942 – Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V and brother of King George VI, died when a military plane taking him to Iceland, crashed in Scotland
  • August 27, 1968 – Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, widow of Prince George, Duke of Kent, died just hours after it was announced that she was seriously ill with a brain tumor
  • August 28, 1972 – Prince William of Gloucester, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was killed in an airplane accident at an air show
  • August 27, 1979 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Prince Philip’s uncle and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria,  was assassinated by an Irish Republican Army bomb
  • August 31, 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car accident in Paris, France

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Prince George, Duke of Kent; Credit – Wikipedia

August 25, 1942 – Prince George, Duke of Kent, aged 39, son of King George V and brother of King George VI, died when a military plane taking him to Iceland, crashed in Scotland
Unofficial Royalty: Prince George, Duke of Kent

Prince George, the fourth son and fifth of six children of King George V and Mary of Teck, was born on December 20, 1902, at York Cottage on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.  On November 29, 1934, he married his second cousin Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark at Westminster Abbey.  Shortly before his marriage, George was created Duke of Kent.  The Duke and Duchess of Kent had three children:

The Duke of Kent spent eight years on active duty in the Royal Navy serving on the dreadnought battleship HMS Iron Duke and the Nelson-class battleship HMS Nelson. After retiring from the navy in 1929, the Duke of Kent held posts at the Foreign Office and the Home Office, becoming the first member of the British Royal Family to work as a civil servant.  At the start of World War II, the Duke of Kent returned to active military service and served in the Intelligence Division of the Admiralty.  In April 1940, he transferred to the Royal Air Force and assumed the post of Staff Officer at RAF Training Command.

On August 25, 1942, the Duke of Kent and fourteen others, took off from Invergordon, Scotland in an RAF Short S.25 Sunderland flying boat. The official story was that the Duke was on a morale-building visit to RAF personnel stationed in Iceland.  The crew had been carefully selected. The pilot Flight Lieutenant Frank Goyen was considered one of the best Sunderland pilots in the RAF. The co-pilot was Wing Commander Thomas Lawton Mosley, one of the RAF’s most experienced pilots. He was also a navigation specialist and a former instructor at the School of Navigation.  Also on board was the Duke of Kent’s private secretary John Lowther, his equerry Michael Strutt, and his valet John Hales.

The Short S.25 Sunderland flying boat took off from Invergordon on the east coast of Scotland at 1:10 p.m.  This type of aircraft had standing orders to fly over water, only crossing land when necessary. The flight plan was to follow the coastline to the northernmost tip of Scotland and then turn northwest towards Iceland.  The aircraft crashed into Eagle’s Rock near Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland later that afternoon at an altitude of around 650 feet. The aircraft was off course when the accident happened and the exact time of the crash is disputed.  2,500 gallons of fuel, carried in the wings, exploded and 14 of the 15 passengers perished.  The Duke of Kent was 39 at the time of his death and six weeks earlier the Duchess of Kent had given birth to the couple’s third child Prince Michael.  The Duke’s widow was only 35 years old and his children were aged 6, 5, and 6 weeks.  There still is much mystery surrounding this plane crash.

The Duke of Kent’s funeral was held on August 29, 1942, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.  The Duchess of Kent entered the chapel with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke’s mother, Queen Mary.  They were dressed in black and their faces were covered with heavy crepe veils.  Queen Elizabeth helped the Duchess of Kent step up to her seat in the choir stalls. Behind the coffin came Admiral Halsey (representing the Duke of Windsor), King Haakon VII of Norway, King George II of Greece, King Peter II of Yugoslavia, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Crown Prince Olav of Norway,  and other members of the British Royal Family.  Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands also attended the funeral. As the casket was lowered onto the purple-covered bier, the Duchess of Kent sank to her knees in prayer.  Queen Elizabeth comforted her as she resumed her seat and The Very Rev. Albert Baillie, the Dean of Windsor, began the service.  The Duchess of Kent wept and almost collapsed during the service and there were tears in the eyes of Duke of Kent’s brothers, King George VI and the Duke of Gloucester.  After the service, King George VI, with tears in his eyes, moved forward and sprinkled earth upon the coffin as it slowly descended into the vaults below St. George’s Chapel.

There was a moving scene when the King of Arms recited the styles and titles of the Duke of Kent. The Duchess, still with tears in her eyes, rose to her feet. Members of the Royal Family began to weep, and then Queen Elizabeth, holding the Duchess by the arm, led her from the choir stalls. The Duchess looked down into the gaping space where her husband’s body had descended and stood for several minutes with her lips moving in prayer. The King and the Duke of Gloucester stood nearby. Then Queen Elizabeth led the weeping Duchess from the chapel and King George VI took the arm of his mother Queen Mary.  The coffin of the Duke of Kent was transferred to the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore on August 29, 1968, the day before his wife’s funeral.

George Marina Kent grave

Graves of the Duke and Duchess of Kent at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore, Credit – http://www.findagrave.com

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August 27, 1968 – Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, aged 61, widow of Prince George, Duke of Kent, died just hours after it was announced that she was seriously ill with a brain tumor
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark

Princess Marina was born in Athens, Greece on December 13, 1906.  Her father was Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, the third son of King George I of Greece.  Her mother was Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, a granddaughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. The fathers of Princess Marina and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh were brothers, so Marina and Philip were first cousins.

In 1934, Princess Marina married Prince George, Duke of Kent, the son of King George V of the United Kingdom, and was styled the Duchess of Kent.  (See above.)  After her husband’s death, the Duchess of Kent continued to be an active member of the British Royal Family and carried out official engagements.  She was the president of the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club for 26 years, a position her elder son, the current Duke of Kent, holds now.  Just before the current Duke of Kent’s wedding in June of 1961 to Katharine Worsley, the Duchess announced that she wished to be known as HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent instead of HRH The Dowager Duchess of Kent, a change in the traditional style that was granted by her niece, Queen Elizabeth II.

On July 16, 1968,  Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was admitted to the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases.  She was discharged six days later.  On August 27, 1968, at 12:05 PM, Kensington Palace issued the following statement: “Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, died peacefully in her sleep at her home Kensington Palace, at 11.40 this morning, Tuesday, 27th August.”  Her doctors had issued this statement: “The Princess had for some weeks been suffering from an inoperable tumour of the brain and her condition rapidly deteriorated during the past 24 hours.”  At her bedside at the time of her death were her son, the Duke of Kent and his wife the Duchess of Kent; her daughter Princess Alexandra of Kent and her husband Angus Ogilvy; and her son Prince Michael of Kent.  It was only several hours earlier that the severity of her condition became public when Kensington Palace issued a statement that her condition “was giving rise to anxiety.”

The Duchess of Kent’s funeral; Credit – www.bbc.co.uk

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent’s funeral was held on August 30, 1968, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and attended by Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, Princess Anne, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret.  They sat next to the children of Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent in the front pew.  Behind them sat the Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII, who had flown from his home in France.  Eight officers from the three regiments of which Marina was Colonel-in-Chief carried her coffin. Dr. Arthur Ramsey,  Archbishop of Canterbury and Archimandrite Gregory Theodorus of the Greek Orthodox Church, the religion into which the Duchess was born, conducted the service.  Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was buried at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore next to her husband whose coffin had been moved there from the vault at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor the day before.

George Marina Kent grave

Graves of the Duke and Duchess of Kent at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore, Credit – http://www.findagrave.com

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Prince William of Gloucester, Photo Credit – www.dailymail.co.uk

August 28, 1972 – Prince William of Gloucester, aged 30, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, was killed in an airplane accident at an air show
Unofficial Royalty: Prince William of Gloucester

Prince William of Gloucester was born on December 18, 1941, at Hadley Common in Hertfordshire, England.  His father was Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary, and his mother was Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott, the third daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch.  Prince William was the elder son of his parents and would have succeeded his father as Duke of Gloucester.  His younger brother Prince Richard is the current Duke of Gloucester.

Prince William attended Wellesley House Preparatory School, Broadstairs in Kent, and Eton College. In 1960, he went to Magdalene College, Cambridge to read history, graduating with a BA degree in 1963, which was raised to an MA degree in 1968. Following Cambridge, he spent a year at Stanford University in California studying political science, American history, and business.  Upon his return to the United Kingdom, he worked for Lazard, an investment bank.  In 1965, he became the second member of the British Royal Family (after his uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent) to work in the civil service or the diplomatic service.  Prince William was employed by the Commonwealth Office and was posted to Lagos, Nigeria as the third secretary at the British High Commission. In 1968, he transferred to Tokyo to accept the post of second secretary in the British Embassy.

Prince William on the right and his co-pilot Vyrell Mitchell on the left, shortly before they took off on their last flight, Credit – http://www.bobbington-village.co.uk

Prince William was a licensed pilot, owned several airplanes, and enjoyed competing in air shows. On August 28, 1972, the prince planned on competing at the Goodyear International Air Trophy at Halfpenny Green, near Wolverhampton, England. He was flying with his co-pilot Vyrell Mitchell who also died. Express and Star photographer Ray Bradbury, an eyewitness, described what happened: “I saw Prince William’s Piper, number 66, and another Piper, number 69, take off. Number 69 appeared to get airborne before the prince. Then it seemed he was in some sort of trouble.  He banked to port. It looked as though the Prince might have been troubled by the other aircraft making a turn but at a higher altitude. His port wing seemed to hit the trees and he disappeared from view. Then there was an explosion.”

Prince William of Gloucester’s funeral was held on September 2, 1972, at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.  Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret had been at Balmoral and flew from Scotland for the funeral.  The Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Anne arrived from Munich, Germany where they had been attending the Olympics.  Prince William’s gold and crimson personal standard was draped over his coffin carried by eight Scots Guards.  After the service, Prince William of Gloucester was buried at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore.  The Prince of Wales was close to the older Prince William of Gloucester and named his first child in honor of him.

William of Glocester grave

Grave of Prince William of Gloucester at the Royal Burial Grounds at Frogmore, Credit – http://www.findagrave.com

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Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Credit – Wikipedia

August 27, 1979 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, aged 79, Prince Philip’s uncle and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria,  was assassinated by an Irish Republican Army bomb
Unofficial Royalty: Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma

His Serene Highness Prince Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas of Battenberg was born on June 25, 1900, at Frogmore House in Windsor, Berkshire, England.  His father was Prince Louis of Battenberg.  His mother Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.  Princess Alice, Queen Victoria’s third child, was Louis’ grandmother.  In the family, Prince Louis was known as Dickie.  His siblings were: Alice, who married Prince Andrew of Greece and was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; Louise, who married King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden; and George Mountbatten, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven.

Louis was raised mainly in England and attended the Royal Naval College at Osborne.  As a child, Louis visited his first cousins, the children of his aunt Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.  He developed a romantic interest in Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna and kept her photo next to his bed his entire life.

During World War I, King George V changed the name of the British Royal House from the Germanic Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English-sounding Windsor.  The King requested that his relatives with German names and titles do likewise.  In 1917, Louis’ father relinquished the title Prince of Battenberg in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, along with the style of Serene Highness, and anglicized his family name, changing it from Battenberg to Mountbatten.  King George V created Louis’ father Marquess of Milford Haven, Earl of Medina, and Viscount Alderney in the peerage of the United Kingdom.  Louis’ mother stopped using her title of Princess of Hesse and became known as the Marchioness of Milford Haven.  Louis, his brother George, and his sister Louise assumed the courtesy titles as children of a British marquess. Therefore, Louis was styled Lord Louis Mountbatten.   Louis’ eldest sister Alice had married into the Greek Royal Family in 1903 and never used the surname Mountbatten. However, her only son, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, adopted the name when he became a British subject in 1947.

Louis followed his father’s example and had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy during World War II.  He was the last Viceroy of India and the first Governor-General of India. From 1954 – 1959 he was the First Sea Lord, a position that had been held by his father, Prince Louis of Battenberg, forty years earlier. He served as Chief of the Defence Staff until 1965, making him the longest-serving professional head of the British Armed Forces to date. During this period, he also served as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.  In 1946, he was created Viscount Mountbatten of Burma and in the following year, Earl Mountbatten of Burma.  After that time, he was informally known as Lord Mountbatten.

Lord Mountbatten married Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley on July 18, 1922, at St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster.  Edwina was the favorite granddaughter of the banker Sir Ernest Cassel and had been the principal heir to his fortune.  When Cassel died in 1921, Edwina received £2 million (£75.1 million in today’s pounds), the country house Broadlands and the London townhouse, Brooke House.  The couple had two daughters, Patricia (born 14 February 1924) and Pamela (born 19 April 1929).  Since Lord Mountbatten had no sons, when he was created Viscount Mountbatten of Burma and then Earl Mountbatten of Burma and Baron Romsey, the Letters Patent were written to allow the titles to pass to his daughters, in order of seniority of birth, and to their heirs male respectively if there were no sons or issue in the male line.  After Lord Mountbatten’s death, his elder daughter Patricia became the 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma in her own right.

Lord Mountbatten and his family traditionally vacationed at Classiebawn Castle in Mullaghmore, a village in County Sligo, Ireland and they did so during August of 1979.  On August 27, 1979, Lord Mountbatten and his family members planned to go lobster-potting and tuna fishing despite security warnings.  Unbeknownst to anyone, Irish Republican Army (IRA) member Thomas McMahon slipped onto the unguarded boat the previous night and attached a radio-controlled bomb.  When Lord Mountbatten and his family were just a few hundred yards from shore, the bomb was detonated.  A witness said the bomb blew the boat “to smithereens” and hurled all seven occupants into the water.

Nearby fishermen pulled Lord Mountbatten, aged 79, out of the water. His legs had been almost severed by the explosion and he died shortly afterward. Also killed by the bomb were Nicholas Knatchbull, the 14-year-old son of Lord Mountbatten’s elder daughter; 83-year-old Doreen Knatchbull, Dowager Baroness Brabourne, the mother-in-law of Lord Mountbatten’s elder daughter; and Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old from County Fermanagh who was a crew member.  Lord Mountbatten’s elder daughter Patricia Knatchbull; her husband John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne; and their son Timothy Knatchbull, the twin of Nicholas, survived the explosion but were seriously injured.

The attack called into question the security arrangements surrounding the Mountbatten family. Lord Mountbatten never had a bodyguard. The boat had been left unguarded in the public dock in Mullaghmore, a village that is only 12 miles from the Northern Ireland border and was near an area known to be used by IRA members as a refuge.  Thomas McMahon was convicted of the murders, and sentenced to life imprisonment but was released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

The British Royal Family at Lord Mountbatten’s Funeral, Credit – www.washingtonpost.com

Lord Mountbatten received a ceremonial funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 5, 1979, attended by Queen Elizabeth II, other members of the British Royal Family, foreign royalty, and leaders and politicians from all over the world.  Members of Britain’s armed forces were joined by representatives of Burma, India, the United States, France, and Canada in escorting the naval gun carriage carrying Lord Mountbatten’s body to Westminster Abbey.   The Prince of Wales read the lesson from Psalm 107 and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggan, highlighted Lord Mountbatten’s various achievements and his “lifelong devotion to the Royal Navy”.   After the public ceremony, the coffin was taken to Romsey Abbey near Broadlands, the Mountbatten family home in Hampshire, and buried at a private service.

Lord Mountbatten’s grave at Romsey Abbey, Credit – Wikipedia

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Diana, Princess of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

August 31, 1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, aged 36, was killed in a car accident in Paris, France
Unofficial Royalty: Diana, Princess of Wales
Unofficial Royalty: In Memoriam: Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997)

The Honourable Diana Frances Spencer, the youngest daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl Spencer) and The Honourable Frances Roche, was born on July 1, 1961, at Park House on the Sandringham Estate. She had two older sisters – Sarah and Jane – and two younger brothers – John (died in infancy) and Charles, 9th Earl Spencer.

On February 24, 1981, Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.  Diana and Charles married on July 29, 1981, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Entering on her father’s arm as Lady Diana Spencer, she later emerged from the Cathedral as Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, the 3rd highest-ranked lady of the land. Soon it was announced that the Princess was expecting her first child. On June 21, 1982, Diana gave birth to Prince William. Two years later, on September 15, 1984, Prince Harry was born.

On December 9, 1992, after several years of media speculation, Buckingham Palace announced the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Following disastrous television interviews given by both Charles, in June 1994, and Diana, in November 1995, Buckingham Palace announced that The Queen had sent letters to both Diana and Charles, advising them to divorce as quickly as possible. Following many private meetings and negotiations with Prince Charles and representatives of The Queen, Diana agreed to a divorce in February 1996. Their divorce became final on August 28, 1996.

After her divorce in 1996, Diana had a relationship with Dr. Hasnat Khan, a British-Pakistani heart surgeon, which ended in June 1997. She then became involved with Dodi Fayed, son of Mohamed Al-Fayed, the owner of Harrods and the Ritz in London. Diana and her sons joined the Fayed family in the south of France for a summer vacation where she and Dodi reportedly began their romance. Following her trip to Bosnia, Diana joined Dodi Fayed on a private cruise aboard the Fayed’s yacht, returning to Paris on August 30. Later that night, hounded by paparazzi, the couple left the Ritz Hotel to go to Dodi’s apartment in Paris. Just minutes later, their car crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, killing Dodi and the car’s driver, Henri Paul, instantly. Diana was critically injured and eventually taken to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Diana, Princess of Wales was pronounced dead at 4 am.

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The entrance to the Pont de l’Alma tunnel where Diana, Princess of Wales was fatally injured, Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

The Prince of Wales and Diana’s two sisters flew to Paris to accompany her body back to England. Draped with the Royal Standard, Diana’s coffin was taken to the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace where it remained for several days, before returning to her home at Kensington Palace. On Saturday, September 6, 1997, a procession began at Kensington Palace and ended at Westminster Abbey where Diana’s funeral was held. Following the funeral, the coffin was taken to Althorp, where it was privately interred on an island in the center of a lake.

The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, Photo Credit – www.dailymail.co.uk

Island at Althorp House where Diana, Princess of Wales is buried, Credit – www.mirror.co.uk

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.

Prince Alfred of Great Britain

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Prince Alfred of Great Britain, Credit – Wikipedia

Note: Prince Alfred is “of Great Britain” because it was not until 1801, after his death, that his father’s title changed to “of the United Kingdom.”

Prince Alfred was born at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England on September 22, 1780, the ninth and youngest son and fourteenth child of King George III and his wife Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Alfred was probably a “blue baby” due to a heart defect and was always in delicate health.

Alfred was christened on October 21, 1780, in the Great Council Chamber at St. James’ Palace in London, England by Frederick Cornwallis, The Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents were:

Alfred had fourteen siblings:

Smallpox, now eradicated, was a serious contagious disease that killed many and left many survivors scarred. The disease knew no class boundaries and royalty was as likely to suffer from it as the common folk. Smallpox was a leading cause of death in the 18th century. It killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans each year in the 18th century. By having their children inoculated against smallpox, King George III and Queen Charlotte were trying to protect them and starting down the long road that would eventually lead to the terrible disease’s eradication. During the 17th century, the British House of Stuart was greatly affected by smallpox.  King William III’s parents William II, Prince of Orange and Mary, Princess Royal (daughter of King Charles I) both died of smallpox as did King William III’s wife and co-ruler Queen Mary II.  Other Stuarts who died from smallpox were: Henry, Duke of Gloucester (son of King Charles I), Charles, Duke of Cambridge (son of King James II), and William, Duke of Gloucester (only surviving child of Queen Anne).  In addition, King Charles II, Henrietta (daughter of King Charles I), King William III, and Queen Anne all had smallpox and survived.

Before Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine that contained the cowpox virus in 1796 and that led to the eradication of smallpox, there was another way to possibly prevent smallpox called variolation, first seen in China in the fifteenth century. Live smallpox virus in the liquid taken from a smallpox blister in a mild case of the disease was put into a cut of a healthy person who developed a very mild case of smallpox. However, there was some risk in using a live virus. About 3% of those inoculated developed a severe case of smallpox and died but that was preferable to catching smallpox with its mortality rate of 20–40% and scarred survivors. In 1722, King George I allowed the inoculation of two of his grandchildren, the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and they survived.  The inoculation gained acceptance and was used until Edward Jenner developed his much safer vaccination using the cowpox virus instead of the smallpox virus.

Two of the 3% who died after receiving the smallpox inoculation were the two younger sons of King George III, Prince Octavius and Prince Alfred.

In 1782, Alfred received the smallpox inoculation by having two small holes made in each arm with the point of a lancet. The smallpox virus was then “inserted” by drawing a thread several times under the skin.  After the inoculation, Alfred did not recover as he should have.  His face and his eyelids had eruptions from the smallpox inoculation and he had difficulty with breathing. The doctors agreed that he would survive for only a few weeks more which came as a great shock to his family.

After suffering from prolonged bouts of fever, Alfred died on August 20, 1782, a month short of his second birthday.  However, there was no formal mourning for Alfred as it was not customary for the deaths of those under the age of seven.  Alfred was initially buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.  His remains were moved to the Royal Tomb House at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on February 11, 1820, shortly after his father’s death.  Alfred was the first of his parents’ fifteen children to die and his parents were devastated. Lady Charlotte Finch, the children’s governess, reported that Queen Charlotte “cried vastly at first and…though very reasonable – she dwelt on her good fortune in having thirteen healthy children…and she was very much hurt by her loss and the King also.”

King George said that if it had been three-year-old Prince Octavius who had died, he would have died too.  Ironically, less than a year later, on May 3, 1783, Prince Octavius died also from complications of a smallpox inoculation.  King George said, “There will be no Heaven for me if Octavius is not there.”

Prince Octavius meeting his brother Prince Alfred in heaven, Credit – Wikipedia

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Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 6, 1817, a great tragedy struck the British Royal Family. Twenty-one-year-old Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George, Prince of Wales, died after delivering a stillborn son. At the time of her death, Charlotte, who was second in line to the throne, was the only legitimate grandchild of King George III, even though thirteen of his fifteen children were still alive. Her death left no legitimate heir in the second generation and prompted the aging sons of King George III to begin a frantic search for brides to provide for the succession.

One of the sons was William, Duke of Clarence (the future King William IV).  William had never married but had lived for 20 years with actress Dorothea Jordan.  Together they had ten illegitimate children, all of whom used the surname FitzClarence.  William and Dorothea had separated in 1811 and Dorothea received a yearly allowance and the custody of their daughters, while William received the custody of their sons.  There was a stipulation that Dorothea would not return to acting to retain both her allowance and the custody of her daughters.  However, she did return to acting to help a son-in-law with a debt.  William then got custody of their remaining daughters and Dorothea lost her allowance.  She moved to France to escape creditors and died in poverty in 1816.  Soon after the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales, negotiations began for the marriage of William to Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, and the engagement was announced on April 19, 1818. William was 52 and Adelaide was 25.

Adelaide Louisa Theresa Caroline Amelia (in German Adelheid Luise Therese Karoline Amalie) was born in the Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen now in the German state of Thuringia, on August 13, 1792.  She was the elder daughter and first child of Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Princess Luise Eleanore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.  Adelaide’s father died when she was 11 years old and she and her younger siblings Ida and Bernhard, who became the reigning duke, were carefully raised by their mother and received an excellent education.

Adelaide’s siblings:

Adelaide and her mother traveled to England for her wedding and arrived in London on July 4, 1818. They stayed at Grillon’s Hotel where they were visited an hour after their arrival by the Prince Regent (the future King George IV) and William, who met his bride for the first time.  William and Adelaide were married on July 14, 1818, at Kew Palace in the presence of an ailing Queen Charlotte who died in November of the same year.  It was a double wedding as William’s brother Edward, Duke of Kent and Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who had married in May at Coburg, were remarried by the Anglican rite at the same time.  Despite the age difference, William and Adelaide’s marriage was a happy one.  Adelaide was a good influence on William keeping his eating, drinking, and behavior in line.  She was also a kind stepmother to the six children of William and Dorothea Jordan who were still at home.

Adelaide loved children but was destined not to have one of her own.  Her first child was born prematurely on March 27, 1819, as a result of Adelaide being ill with pleurisy.  The baby girl was christened Charlotte Augusta Louisa and died the same day.  Adelaide suffered a miscarriage on September 5, 1819.  On December 19, 1820, Adelaide gave birth to a girl, Elizabeth Georgiana Adelaide, six weeks prematurely.  Princess Elizabeth, who had been healthy despite being premature, died 12 weeks later on March 4, 1821, of the then-inoperable condition of a strangulated hernia.  Twin boys were stillborn on April 23, 1822.

A child of William and Adelaide would have succeeded to the throne as William’s two elder brothers (George IV and Frederick, Duke of York) had no surviving children.  Adelaide wrote to her widowed sister-in-law the Duchess of Kent, “My children are dead, but your child lives, and she is mine too.”  That child was the future Queen Victoria.  Adelaide had close and loving relationships with her stepchildren and step-grandchildren, with her brother and sister’s children, and with William’s nieces and nephews, the future Queen Victoria and the Cambridge children.  Queen Victoria used the name Adelaide in honor of her aunt when she gave birth to her first child Victoria Adelaide Mary Louise and Adelaide was one of the godparents.

Recumbent effigy of Princess Elizabeth of Clarence in the Grand Corridor of Windsor Castle, Credit – Wikipedia

William succeeded to the throne when his brother King George IV died on June 26, 1830, and both William and Adelaide were crowned on September 8, 1831.  During William’s reign, Adelaide was admired by the British people, and helped her husband with the proper etiquette and often covered many of his gaffes.   Both William and Adelaide were very fond of their niece Princess Victoria of Kent who was the heiress presumptive and wanted to be closer to her.  However, the Duchess of Kent did not allow this. In addition, she was rude to Queen Adelaide by refusing to recognize the Queen’s precedence, ignoring her letters, and taking space in royal stables and apartments for her own use.  At dinner, in front of Queen Adelaide, the Duchess of Kent, Princess Victoria of Kent, and many guests, King William announced that the Duchess of Kent did not know how to behave and he was insulted by her behavior. He further said that he hoped he did not die until Victoria was 18 so that the Duchess would not serve as Regent.  The King, Queen, and Duchess never fully reconciled, but Victoria always viewed the King and Queen with kindness.

King William IV and Queen Adelaide, Credit – Wikipedia

King William IV died of heart failure on June 20, 1837, at Windsor Castle and Victoria had turned 18 on May 24.  Adelaide had stayed at her husband’s side for three weeks, not sleeping in her bed for the last 10 days.  Adelaide was the first Queen Dowager in more than a century, the last one being Catherine of Braganza, King Charles II’s widow.  She survived William by 12 years, dying on December 2, 1849, at the age of 57 at Bentley Priory in Stanmore, Middlesex, England.  She was buried after a simple funeral, in accordance with her wishes, in the Royal Tomb House beneath St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where her husband had been buried.

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Caroline of Brunswick, wife of King George IV of the United Kingdom

by Susan Flantzer

Caroline of Brunswick, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

August 7, 1821 – Death of Caroline of Brunswick, estranged wife of King George IV of the United Kingdom, at Brandenburg House in Hammersmith, London, England; buried at the Cathedral of St. Blasius in Brunswick, Germany

The marriage of Princess Caroline of Brunswick and the future King George IV, then Prince of Wales, was not one made in heaven.  The two did not meet until three days before their wedding.  The princess had just arrived in London and was staying in apartments at St. James’ Palace prior to her marriage and it was there on April 5, 1795 that Caroline and George first met.  The Prince of Wales came into the apartments to greet Caroline.  There was no one else there except James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury, who had escorted Caroline to London from her native Brunswick, and he described the meeting in his diary:

“She very properly, in consequence of my saying to her it was the right mode of proceeding, attempted to kneel to him.  He raised her (gracefully enough), and embraced her, said barely one word, turned round, retired to a distant part of the apartment, and calling me over to him said, ‘Harris, I am not well; pray get me a glass of brandy.'”

Lord Malmesbury suggested a glass of water.  “Upon which he, out of humour, said, with an oath, ‘No, I will go directly to the Queen,’ and away he went.  The Princess, left during this short moment alone, was in a state of astonishment; and, on my joining her, said [in French], ‘ My God! Is that the Prince? I find him very fat, and not as handsome as his portrait.'”

And so started one of the most disastrous royal marriages.

Caroline Amalie Elisabeth was born on May 17, 1768 in Brunswick, Germany.  Her parents were Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Augusta, elder sister of King George III of the United Kingdom.  Caroline was not well-educated although she could understand French and English.  In 1794, Caroline became engaged to her first cousin George, the Prince of Wales.  Despite being first cousins, the two had never met.  George, who was in debt, had been promised a raise in his allowance if he married an acceptable princess. In 1785, George had married Maria Fitzherbert, but the marriage was invalid because it was against the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.

James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury, who escorted Caroline to England had doubts about her appropriateness when he first met her in Brunswick.  He thought Caroline spoke her mind too readily, acted indiscreetly, and often neglected to wash, or change her dirty clothes.  He went on to say that she had “some natural but no acquired morality, and no strong innate notions of its value and necessity.”  On April 8, 1795, three days after their ill-fated first meeting, Caroline and George married at the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace in London.  On the day of his wedding, George told his brother William, Duke of Clarence to tell Mrs. Fitzherbert she was the only woman he would ever love.

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (Lord Melbourne) said about George as he walked down the aisle, “…the Prince was like a man doing  a thing in desperation, it was like Macheath [character from The Beggar’s Opera] going to execution; and he was quite drunk.”  Lord Malmesbury agreed in his diary that George literally had to be supported by the Duke of Bedford and the Duke of Roxburghe.  On the other hand, Caroline appeared joyful and chattered with George’s brother William, Duke of Clarence as she waited at the altar.  The wedding night was a disaster.  Caroline confided to Lady Charlotte Campbell, “Judge what it was to have a drunken husband on one’s wedding day, and one who passed the greatest part of his bridal night under the grate, where he fell and where I left him.”  Evidently George and Caroline performed their marital duty at least once because nine months later, on January 7, 1796, their only child Charlotte was born.  A little more than a year after the marriage, George and Caroline were living separately.
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George did not allow Caroline to have any part in their daughter Charlotte’s upbringing and ordered that Caroline’s visits to Charlotte had to be supervised by a governess.  However, some sympathetic staff did allow Caroline to be alone with Charlotte.  Princess Charlotte married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the uncle of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  Unfortunately, Charlotte died at age 21 of childbirth complications along with her baby.

Since Caroline was living in a household separate from her husband, she entertained whomever she pleased and there were rumors of affairs.  In 1802, Caroline adopted a three month old boy named William Austin and raised him in her home.  There were accusations that the boy was Caroline’s illegitimate son and a special commission was established called the Delicate Investigation to look into the matter.  The commission found that there was no evidence that the allegations were true.

After George became Prince Regent in 1811 upon the worsening of King George III’s illness, Caroline’s visits to Charlotte were cut off and she was further socially isolated.  Caroline was very unhappy with her situation and treatment and after Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, when she would be able to travel, she  negotiated a deal with the Foreign Secretary to leave the United Kingdom in exchange for an annual allowance of £35,000.  Caroline spent several years traveling through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Tunisia, Malta, Greece, and Palestine.  She established a household in Milan, Italy and hired Bartolomeo Pergami and his sister as servants.  Pergami rose to become the head of Caroline’s household and rumors swirled that they were having an affair.

King George III died on January 29, 1820 and Caroline’s husband became king and she became, at least in name, queen.  Caroline decided to return to the United Kingdom to assert her rights as queen.  As she was traveling back to London, she received a proposition from her husband offering her £50,000 per year if she would continue to live abroad which she refused.  Caroline arrived back in London on June 5, 1820 where she was greeted by a stage-managed enthusiastic greeting.  King George IV wished to divorce Caroline and on July 5, 1820 the Pains and Penalties Bill was introduced into Parliament which would dissolve the marriage of George and  Caroline and deprive her of the title Queen of the United Kingdom.  During the reading of the bill, witnesses were called and there was effectively a public trial of Caroline.  The bill passed the House of Lords, but never made it to the House of Commons as there was little chance it would pass there.  Caroline joked with her friends that she had committed adultery only once, with the king, the husband of Mrs. Fitzherbert.

The Trial of Queen Caroline (she can be seen in the middle of the painting sitting in a chair), Photo Credit – Wikipedia

King George IV’s coronation was to take place on July 19, 1821, but no plans had made for Caroline’s participation.  Nevertheless, on the day of the coronation Caroline went to Westminster Abbey and demanded entrance, but was barred at every door.  When she demanded entrance to Westminster Hall where processions were being formed, the door was slammed in her face.  Finally, she left to the sound of jeering crowds.

On the evening of the coronation day, Caroline went to the Drury Lane Theatre and felt unwell.  She had suffered on and off from bowel problems and took a large amount of milk of magnesia and some laudanum.  When she did not feel better in two days, she sent for her doctor who diagnosed “acute inflammation of the bowels,” bled her, and gave her a large amount of calomel and castor oil.  Over the next three weeks, her condition worsened and it became apparent that she would die.  Caroline died on August 7, 1821 after a long night of pain.   The cause of her death is unknown.  Possibly there was a bowel obstruction or cancer, and there were rumors that Caroline had been poisoned.

Caroline had requested to be buried in her native Brunswick in a tomb bearing the inscription “Here lies Caroline, the Injured Queen of England.”  On August 14, 1821, her casket was to leave London and start its journey back to Brunswick.  It was decided that the funeral procession would avoid central London, but the crowd accompanying the procession blocked the planned route and forced the procession to go through London.  On August 25, 1821, Caroline’s casket was placed in the vault at the Cathedral of St. Blasius.  The reigning duke, Caroline’s nephew, ordered that a hundred young girls holding flowers and candles line the aisles as Caroline’s casket was brought into the cathedral.  In the vault, a prayer was said as the young girls encircled the casket and then extinguished the flames of their candles.

Coffin of Caroline of Brunswick, Photo Credit – http://www.findagrave.com

Wikipedia: Caroline of Brunswick

Recommended biography: The Unruly Queen: The Life of Queen Caroline by Flora Fraser

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Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

by Scott Mehl and Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother painted by Richard Stone in 1986; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 4, 1900, The Honorable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was born, the youngest daughter and ninth child of the ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis (later the 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne) and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. The exact place of her birth is unknown. She was alleged to have been born in her parents’ home in London, but her birth was registered at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, near her family’s English country house, St Paul’s Walden Bury, which was also given as her birthplace in the census the following year.  The infant Elizabeth was christened on September 23, 1900, at All Saints Church in St Paul’s Walden, the local village. Because the christening records are incomplete, only two godparents are known: Lady Maud Bowes-Lyon (her father’s unmarried sister) and Mrs. Arthur James (the former Venetia Cavendish-Bentinck, her mother’s second cousin). When Elizabeth was four years old, her father became Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne, and her courtesy title was elevated to Lady Elizabeth.

 Elizabeth circa 1902

The Bowes-Lyon family is an old Scottish family. King Robert II of Scotland, the first of the House of Stewart, granted Sir John Lyon the Thaneage of Glamis in 1372 as a reward for service. In 1376, Sir John married Joanna, a daughter of Robert II of Scotland. Their grandson Patrick was created Lord Glamis in 1445. The 9th Lord Glamis, also a Patrick, was created Earl of Kinghorne in 1606. His grandson, the 3rd Earl, obtained a charter in 1677 stating that he and his heirs “should in all future ages be styled Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, Viscounts Lyon, Barons Glamis, Tannadyce, Sidlaw, and Strathdichtie.” The 9th Earl married a Durham heiress, Mary Eleanor Bowes. As a condition of the marriage settlement, he assumed the surname Bowes. Their sons, the 10th and 11th Earls, and their great-grandson, the 12th Earl, adopted the surname Lyon-Bowes, but the 13th Earl reversed the order to the current Bowes-Lyon.

Elizabeth had nine siblings who were the aunts and uncles of Queen Elizabeth II:

 Elizabeth standing next to her mother with her family

Elizabeth spent much of her childhood at St Paul’s Walden Bury, her family’s English country home, and Glamis Castle, her father’s ancestral home in Scotland. She was educated at home by a governess and developed a fondness for field sports, ponies, and dogs.  Her brother David, who was two years younger, was especially close to his sister.

 Elizabeth with her younger brother David in 1909

In 1914, on Elizabeth’s 14th birthday, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany.  All four of her eldest surviving brothers saw action in World War I. The three elder surviving brothers were already in the British Army: Patrick, John, and Fergus were all in the Black Watch. The next brother Michael had just completed his first year at Magdalen College, Oxford, but he volunteered for the Scots Guard at once.   Glamis Castle was turned into a convalescent home for wounded soldiers which the teenage Elizabeth helped to run.

Fergus was sent to the Western Front in 1915, where the British Army and the French Army were attacking the German lines in Champagne and Artois in France to relieve pressure on their Russian allies. On September 27, 1915, during the Battle of Loos, Fergus was ordered to remove a group of Germans who had infiltrated a trench by the Hohenzollern Redoubt, a defensive strongpoint of the German 6th Army, which the Black Watch had captured on September 26. Fergus and his men had been fighting continuously for the previous two days and nights. They had been relieved at 4 AM on September 27 and were preparing breakfast when the new orders were received. Fergus led his men forward, but a German bomb exploded at his feet. His right leg was blown off and he suffered chest wounds. At the same time, bullets hit him in the chest and shoulder. Fergus was removed from the battlefield and died a few hours later at the age of 26.

At the time of Fergus’ death, his brother John was also serving with the Black Watch. His younger brother Michael was at home recovering from wounds and his eldest brother Patrick had recently left the Black Watch after being wounded. His mother was severely affected by the loss of her son, and after his death became an invalid, withdrawn from public life until the marriage of Elizabeth to the future King George VI in 1923.

In 1916, Elizabeth had been introduced to the second son of King George V, Prince Albert, known as Bertie, at a tea party.  The two had actually first met in 1905 at a children’s party, but neither recalled that meeting. Bertie, who was created Duke of York in June 1920, and Elizabeth had their first significant meeting on July 8, 1920, at the Royal Air Force Ball at the Ritz in London. Bertie had come to the ball with his equerry The Honorable James Stuart (the future 1st Viscount Stuart of Findhorn), the youngest son of the 17th Earl of Moray. Elizabeth and James were old friends from Scotland and shared a dance. Bertie questioned James about his dance partner and asked to be introduced. Although the meeting did not make much of an impression on Elizabeth, Bertie fell in love that evening and started courting Elizabeth.

 Elizabeth circa 1920

Bertie first proposed to Elizabeth in 1921 but was rejected because Elizabeth feared the changes in her life being a member of the Royal Family would require. Elizabeth served as a bridesmaid at the wedding of Bertie’s sister Mary, Princess Royal in February 1922. The following month, Bertie again proposed to her and was turned down once more. On January 2, 1923, after taking Elizabeth to dinner at Claridge’s and the theater, Bertie proposed a third time. After talking to friends and relatives and expressing her feelings in her diary, Elizabeth decided on January 14, 1923, to accept Bertie’s proposal although she still has misgivings. The wedding of The Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was held on April 26, 1923, at Westminster Abbey, London. As Elizabeth was proceeding down the aisle, she passed the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, whose remains had been brought from France and buried in the Abbey floor three years earlier. Elizabeth laid her bouquet of white roses on it. No doubt she was thinking of her brother Fergus and all the other British soldiers who died in World War I.

Prince Albert, Duke of York (future George VI) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at their wedding; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple had two daughters:

 The Duke and Duchess of York with their daughters in 1933

The Duke and Duchess of York took up residence at 145 Piccadilly in London and threw themselves into royal duty.  They made a successful visit to Northern Ireland in July 1924 and toured East Africa from December 1924 to April 1925.  Bertie had a stammer, which affected his ability to deliver speeches, and starting in October 1925, Elizabeth assisted him with the therapy devised by Lionel Logue, portrayed in the 2010 film The King’s Speech.  In 1927, a year after their first child was born, Bertie and Elizabeth took a long tour by sea on behalf of King George V via the Atlantic Ocean to Jamaica, the Panama Canal, and the Pacific Ocean to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. Elizabeth, in her own words, was “very miserable at leaving the baby”.

Elizabeth in Sydney, Australia in 1927; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1930, the couple’s two daughters had been born. The family enjoyed a rather quiet life, aside from the Duke and Duchess’ royal duties. However, the situation would soon change for the York family. On January 20, 1936, King George V passed away at Sandringham. Bertie’s elder brother became King Edward VIII and Bertie became heir-presumptive to the throne. The new king was unmarried and involved with Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American. This relationship would soon bring about unheard-of events in the British monarchy. Failing to reach an agreement with the Government to marry Mrs. Simpson, King Edward VIII abdicated on December 11, 1936, giving his famous “without the woman I love” speech on the radio. Upon Parliament’s passing of the Abdication Act, Bertie became the new King of the United Kingdom, taking the regnal name George VI, in honor of his father, and to stress the continuity of the British monarchy.  Bertie and Elizabeth’s coronation took place on May 12, 1937, at Westminster Abbey.

 Coronation Day 1937

Bertie and Elizabeth worked to restore the standing of the monarchy after the abdication and presented a united front along with their two daughters. They would face World War II without fleeing their country as many other monarchs did. Instead, they continued to be seen and toured war-damaged areas. While their daughters were safely in residence at Windsor Castle, Bertie and Elizabeth would continue working daily at Buckingham Palace. When it was suggested that the royal family leave the country for their safety during The Blitz, Elizabeth said, “The children will not leave unless I do. I shall not leave unless their father does, and the king will not leave the country in any manner whatever.” During The Blitz, Buckingham Palace and its grounds were bombed on sixteen separate occasions, nine of which were direct hits. Elizabeth felt solidarity with other Londoners who had been bombed, particularly the East End when she said, “I’m glad we have been bombed.  I feel I can look the East End in the face.”

 Bertie and Elizabeth inspecting bomb damage in London’s East End in 1941

After the war, their elder daughter Princess Elizabeth married Lt Philip Mountbatten (formerly Prince Philippos of Greece), and two of the four children of Princess Elizabeth were born, Charles in 1948 and Anne in 1950. On February 6, 1952, Bertie passed away at just 56 years old and their 25-year-old elder daughter became Queen Elizabeth II. Not liking the title Queen Dowager, and not wanting to be confused with her daughter, Elizabeth took on the title of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Devastated by the loss of her husband, The Queen Mother shied away from public duties for some time, until Winston Churchill convinced her that she was just as needed as always. She began to take on royal duties and appearances again. For the next 50 years, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother would be one of the most beloved members of the Royal Family and was particularly close to her eldest grandchild Charles.

 Princess Margaret, The Queen Mother, and Queen Elizabeth II on The Queen Mother’s 100th birthday

On March 30, 2002, less than a month after the death of her younger daughter Princess Margaret, The Queen Mother passed away at Royal Lodge, her home in Windsor Great Park. Her daughter Queen Elizabeth II and two of her grandchildren, the children of Princess Margaret, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and his sister Lady Sarah Chatto, were with her. At the time, she was the longest-lived member of the British Royal Family at age 101.  For The Queen Mother’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall, her four grandsons, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, and Viscount Linley (now 2nd Earl of Snowdon) stood guard, repeating what the four sons of King George V did at his lying-in-state in 1936.

 Queen Mother’s Funeral Procession

 

After a funeral at Westminster Abbey, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was buried in the George VI Chapel at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, beside her husband and the ashes of her daughter Margaret, and where her son-in-law Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh and daughter Queen Elizabeth II were later buried.

King George VI Memorial Chapel; Credit – The Royal Family Facebook page

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.

United Kingdom Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • “King George VI Of The United Kingdom”. Unofficial Royalty. N.p., 2017. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
  • Longford, Elizabeth. The Queen. 1st ed. New York: Knopf, 1983. Print.
  • “March 30, 2002 – Death Of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother”. Unofficial Royalty. N.p., 2017. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
  • “Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother”. En.wikipedia.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
  • Shawcross, William. Queen Elizabeth. 1st ed. London: Pan Books, 2010. Print.
  • “Wedding Of George VI And Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon”. Unofficial Royalty. N.p., 2017. Web. 26 Mar. 2017.
  • Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.

Wedding of Lady Davina Windsor and Gary Lewis

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Lady Davina Windsor and Gary Lewis, Photo Credit – www.smh.com.au

July 31, 2004 – Wedding of Lady Davina Windsor, daughter of HRH The Duke of Gloucester, and Gary Lewis, at Kensington Palace in London, England, divorced in 2018

In 2000 in Bali, Indonesia, a young British woman on vacation from her university studies met a man from New Zealand on a surfing vacation.  The two fell in love and on July 31, 2004, Lady Davina Windsor, daughter of HRH The Duke of Gloucester, married Gary Lewis, a Maori builder and former sheep shearer.

The Lady Davina Elizabeth Alice Benedikte Windsor was born on November 19, 1977, at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, the same hospital where Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince George of Cambridge, and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge were born.  Lady Davina’s father Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and a grandson of King George V. Her mother was born Birgitte Eva Henriksen in Odense, Denmark, and took her mother’s name, van Deurs, when her parents separated.  Lady Davina has two siblings: an older brother Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster, and a younger sister Lady Rose (Windsor) Gilman.  She attended Kensington Preparatory School in the Notting Hill section of London and then St. George’s School in Ascot near Windsor Castle.  Lady Davina graduated from the University of the West of England with a degree in media studies.

Gary Christie Lewis was born on August 15, 1970, in Gisborne, New Zealand.  He is the son of Larry Lewis, a champion sheep shearer in the 1980s, and Vikki Smiler who worked as a maid.  Gary is a Maori, the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.  His uncle is the prominent Maori author Witi Ihimaera who wrote The Whale Rider which became a film of the same name.  Gary grew up on the East Cape of New Zealand, one of New Zealand’s poorest areas where Maoris make up 70% of the population and high unemployment.  He attended the village school in the Maori settlement of Te Wharau before attending Lytton High School in Gisbourne.  He is a carpenter who runs a property renovation business and a surfing enthusiast and has a son from a previous relationship, Ari who was born in 1992.

Lady Davina and Gary’s engagement was announced in the Court Circular of March 26. 2004: “The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are delighted to announce the engagement of their daughter, The Lady Davina Windsor, to be married to Mr. Gary Lewis, son of Mr. Larry Lewis and Mrs. Vikki Carr.”  Gary’s grandfather Tom Smiler remarked, “All I know is he is in England somewhere with a girl and she is related to the Queen or something like that.  It is wonderful.”

The wedding was a private affair held in the Chapel Royal at Kensington Palace, where Lady Davina grew up, and her great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria was born.  Except for the bride’s immediate family, no members of the royal family attended, but one of the guests was Captain Mark Phillips, former husband of Princess Anne. Thirty-six members of the groom’s family came from New Zealand to attend the wedding.   The bride’s 102-year-old grandmother Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, was too infirm to attend the wedding.  She died later in the same year.

Lady Davina Windsor is accompanied by her father the Duke of Gloucester, the Queen's cousin, on her way to the chapel at Kensington Palace, London, Saturday July 31, 2004. The 26-year-old, who is 20th in line to the throne, wed 33-year-old Maori renovator Gary Lewis, a former sheep shearer from Gisbourne, New Zealand. (AP Photo/ Chris Young, POOL)

Lady Davina Windsor is accompanied by her father the Duke of Gloucester, the Queen’s cousin, on her way to the chapel at Kensington Palace, London, Saturday, July 31, 2004 (AP Photo/ Chris Young, POOL)

The bride, who wore a cream satin bustier dress with a lace over-blouse, was given away by her father HRH The Duke of Gloucester.  The bridesmaids included Lady Davina’s sister, Lady Rose Windsor, and the best man was  Nick Harvey, an old friend of the groom’s from New Zealand.  The wedding ceremony was conducted by the Reverend Prebendary Willie Booth and the groom’s 12-year-old son from a previous relationship, Ari, gave a reading of a Gaelic prayer.

The newlywed couple with Gary Lewis’ son Ari, Photo Credit – en.academic.ru

The couple had two children: a daughter Senna Kowhai born on June 22, 2010, and a son Tāne Mahuta born on May 25, 2012.  Tāne Mahuta is named after the Tāne Mahuta, a giant kauri tree in the Waipoua Forest of Northland Region in New Zealand.  Lady Davina does not carry out official functions but does attend British Royal Family events such as royal weddings.  Sadly, the couple divorced, amicably, in 2018.

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Prince William, Duke of Gloucester

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, Credit – Wikipedia

In the summer of 1689, Princess Anne was nearing the end of her seventh pregnancy.  Anne, who was married to Prince George of Denmark, was the younger of the two surviving children of King James II of England and his first wife Lady Anne Hyde.  Earlier in 1689, Mary, Anne’s elder sister, had become joint monarch with her husband and first cousin Willem III, Prince of Orange after the Glorious Revolution had overthrown her father King James II.  King William III and Queen Mary II were childless, so Anne was the next in the line of succession.

Anne’s six previous pregnancies had resulted in two miscarriages, two stillbirths, and two live births.  Unfortunately, Mary and Anna Sophia, the two children who were born alive, died, probably of smallpox, within six days of each other in 1687. The House of Stuart needed an heir for its survival.  Anne gave birth to a live child on July 24, 1689, at 5 AM at Hampton Court Palace.  The baby was christened William Henry three days later and was declared, but never created, Duke of Gloucester by his godfather King William III.  The other godparents were his paternal uncle King Christian V of Denmark and the Marchioness of Halifax. After William’s birth, his mother went on to have ten unsuccessful pregnancies: two premature babies who lived for about two hours, four stillbirths, and four miscarriages.

When William was born, he was described as “a brave lively-like boy” by George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville, but shortly thereafter, he had convulsions that caused the doctors to worry that he would die.  Little William was given his own household at Campden House near the Kensington gravel-pits because of the purer air.  He was taken outside every day in a tiny coach pulled by Shetland ponies.  William did not walk or talk until the age of three, and as he grew older it became more apparent that something was wrong.

Some modern medical experts feel that William had hydrocephalus, a condition in which there is an excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain.  Some symptoms of hydrocephalus are an enlarged head, problems with balance, poor coordination, difficulty walking, slowing or loss of developmental progress, lethargy, drowsiness, and irritability.  Certainly, some of these symptoms can be seen in the writings of William’s devoted Welsh servant Jenkin Lewis: “[William’s] head was grown very long and was so big round that his hat was big enough for most men [William was five years old]…[it] made it difficult to fit his head with a peruke [wig].  Although he was active and lively yet he could not go up and down stairs without help, nor raise himself when down; and he tottered when he walked…”

William loved stories of war and had a troop of local boys called “Horse Guards” whom he loved to drill before King William and Queen Mary.  William was close to his aunt and uncle and his childless aunt enjoyed showering him with gifts of toys.  His education had been delayed due to his speech difficulties, but eventually, a tutor was appointed and William had lessons in geography, mathematics, Latin, and French. On his seventh birthday, William was installed as a Knight of the Order of the Garter at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.  When William was eight, he began lessons in government and religion and was making good academic progress.

William in the robes of the Order of the Garter, Credit – Wikipedia

William celebrated his eleventh birthday at a party held at Windsor Castle.  Jenkin Lewis, his servant, reported, “He complained a little the next day, but we imputed that to the fatigues of a birthday so that he was much neglected.”  In the evening, William complained of a sore throat and chills.  Two days later, he was no better and had developed a fever and was delirious.  The doctors suspected smallpox, but no rash appeared, so they used the usual treatments of the time, bleeding and blistering, which no doubt, made William’s condition worse.  William died on the morning of July 30, 1700, at Windsor Castle.  His body was taken to the Palace of Westminster where it lay in state in his apartments.

William was interred in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey during the evening of August 7, 1700.  His uncle, King William III wrote to the Duke of Marlborough, that William’s death was “so great a loss to me as well as to all of England, that it pierces my heart.”  Indeed, the House of Stuart had no Protestant heir and it was William’s death that caused Parliament to enact the 1701 Act of Settlement giving the British throne to Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs, a granddaughter of King James I, who was the nearest Protestant in the line of succession.  Upon the death of Queen Anne, William’s mother, Sophia of Hanover’s son ascended to the British throne as King George I.

So what killed William?  There was an autopsy done on William’s body the day after his death and a detailed post-mortem report was written.  Frederick Holmes in his book The Sickly Stuarts: The Medical Downfall of a Dynasty reprinted the report and analyzed it.  Holmes writes, “This autopsy report painstakingly describes inflammation and infection in the throat and larynx, with a grossly swollen neck and pus expressed from lymph nodes in this region.  The lungs are described as both being full of blood, likely this was pus or fluid stained with blood.  Put in context with the clinical course of the illness, this is a picture of an acute bacterial infection of the throat with an associated pneumonia in both lungs.”  Holmes further writes, “Interestingly, the surgeons opened the head and took fluid from the ventricles (the cavities within the brain), and found it to be greatly increased in amount…This confirms the diagnosis of hydrocephalus…”

When Virginia’s General Assembly created Williamsburg as the colony’s capital in 1699, it ordered that its main street “in honor of his Highness William Duke of Gloucester shall for ever hereafter be called and knowne by the Name of Duke of Gloucester Street.”  If you visit Colonial Williamsburg, you can walk on Duke of Gloucester Street which runs from the House of Burgesses to the main entrance of The College of William and Mary.  It’s called DOG Street by the locals and college students.  My son is a William and Mary alumni so I’ve spent lots of time on DOG Street.

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Wedding of Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones and Daniel Chatto

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2013

The bride and groom met on a movie set.  He was an actor and she was a wardrobe assistant.  He was the son of an actor and a theatrical agent.  She was the daughter of a princess and the granddaughter of a king. He played a prince (one of her cousins) in a film.

Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Armstrong-Jones was born on May 1, 1964, at Kensington Palace in London, England.  Her parents were Princess Margaret, the younger daughter of King George VI, and Antony Armstrong-Jones.  Her father was created Earl of Snowdon and Viscount Linley on October 6, 1961, so Sarah is entitled to the courtesy title Lady Sarah.  Sarah has an older brother, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon.

Sarah and her brother attended Bedales School where Sarah developed an interest in art.  Her interest in art led her to attend Camberwell College of Arts followed by coursework in Printed Textiles at Middlesex Polytechnic, before completing her studies at Royal Academy Schools where she won the Winsor & Newton Prize for emerging artists in painting and drawing in 1988 and the Creswick Landscape Prize in 1990.

Daniel Chatto St. George Sproule was born on April 22, 1957, at the Princess Beatrice Hospital in Richmond, London, England.  His father was actor Thomas Chatto Sproule (stage name Thomas Chatto) who had a career in television, commercials, and on the stage.  His mother was the theatrical agent Ros Chatto, born Rosalind Thompson. Daniel studied English at Oxford University and graduated in 1979.  In 1987, Daniel’s name was legally changed to Daniel St. George Chatto.  With both of his parents in show business, it was not unusual for Daniel to try his hand at acting.  One of his roles was as Prince Andrew in an American TV movie Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story.  His acting career lasted from 1981-1988.  See his filmography at Internet Movie Database: Daniel Chatto.

In 1983, Daniel had a small role in the film Heat and Dust which was filmed in India.  Sarah was working on the film as an uncredited wardrobe assistant and it was on the film set that the couple first met.
Internet Movie Database: Heat and Dust
Wikipedia: Heat and Dust (film)

Sarah and Daniel’s romance blossomed in 1986, three years after their first meeting, and the two were often spotted going to the theater or art galleries.  By 1989, Daniel had given up acting for art and had a successful art show at the Cadogan Gallery in 1992. Sarah and Daniel took painting trips together and shared a love of books and travel.

The couple’s wedding on July 14, 1994, was a small,  low-key affair at St. Stephen’s Walbrook, a small 17th-century church in London built by Sir Christopher Wren.  The church was chosen by Sarah and Daniel because they wanted a romantic and intimate place to get married. There was seating for only 200 people, and children were not invited due to the dimensions of the church.  The bride chose not to use a royal carriage, red carpet, or have bells ringing.   Daniel was so worried about being punctual that he arrived at the church 90 minutes before the beginning of the ceremony. Sarah arrived with her father Lord Snowdon, and her three bridesmaids: her half-sister Lady Frances Armstrong-Jones, her cousin Zara Philips, and her friend Tara Noble Singh.  The bride’s arrival was almost overshadowed by the arrival of the bride’s more recognizable relatives, the Prince and Princess of Wales, who were appearing at the same place, although not together,  for the first time since Prince Charles’s admission of adultery the previous month.

The bride’s and bridesmaids’ dresses were designed by Jasper Conran.  Many consider Sarah’s dress to be one of the most beautiful royal wedding dresses.  The dress was made with yards of draped white georgette fabric with a ruched bodice and a three-meter train.  The bridesmaids’ dresses were nearly identical.   Sarah’s veil was held in place with the Snowdon Floral Tiara, a gift to Princess Margaret from her husband for their wedding. To enhance the floral effect, some greenery was added to the diamond flowers.

Embed from Getty Images 

Lady Sarah wearing the Snowdon Floral Tiara, Photo Credit – orderofsplendor.blogspot.com

As the bride entered the church, the hymn “Ye Holy Angels Bright” was sung.  The ceremony was adapted from the “Book of Common Prayer” of 1928. Other hymns sung during the ceremony were “Jesus Shall Reign Where’er The Sun” and “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus.”  After their marriage vows, the couple exchanged simple gold rings. The ceremony took only 30 minutes and the newlyweds caught everyone by surprise when they left the church unannounced.  Even the driver was not at his place, making the couple laugh while they waited for the car.  After the ceremony, there was a reception at Clarence House which the Princess of Wales did not attend.  The couple spent their honeymoon in India, which was where they first met.

Photo Credit – orderofsplendor.blogspot.com

The couple had two children: Samuel David Benedict Chatto born July 28, 1996, in London, England and Arthur Robert Nathaniel Chatto born February 5, 1999, in London, England.  Arthur Chatto and his cousin Charles Armstrong-Jones, both grandsons of Princess Margaret, served Queen Elizabeth II as Pages of Honor.

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.