British Culture - User contributions [en]

Mary Anne Fitzherbert

2010-07-13T20:46:53Z

Chris0209:

nee Mary Anne Smythe (26 July 1756, Brighton - 27 March 1837, Brighton). Mistress of the Prince of Wales (the future [[George IV]]), whom the Catholic widow married in 1785. The marriage was considered invalid because George lacked the consent of the sovereign (his father, [[George III]]), as required by the [[Royal Marriages Act]] thus she never earned the title Queen of England. Since Maria Fitzherbert was a Catholic, the marriage would have led to George's exclusion from the succession to the throne (under the provisions of the [[Act of Settlement]]) - it did not as the marriage was declared null and void. They had at least two ilegitimate children.
The couple came under pressure when George IV faced high debts of £ 640,000 and was forced to marry Caroline of Brunswick in return for the King paying off his debts. Although the King tried to divorce Caroline in 1820 the divorce did not go through. But as their marriage was not a very harmonious one the relationship between George and Maria went on. The relationship ended in 1794 and the Price left Maria with £ 6,000 per year to live on. Two years later, however, the Prince begged her to get back with her and left all his possessions to her. The relationship ends in 1811.

Maria Fitzherbert lived in Steine House, which has become a hostel for the homeless, from 1804 until her death in 1837.

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1 royal.gov.uk [[http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/TheHanoverians/GeorgeIV.aspx]]

2 britroyals.com [[http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=george4]]

3 History of Brighton [[http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/rp0512.html]]

King John

2010-05-29T10:18:23Z

Chris0209:

[[John]](24 December 1166 Beaumont Palace, Oxford - 18 October 1216 Newark Castle) acceded to the English throne 6 April 1199 when his older brother [[Richard I]] died and was crowned King of England 27 May 1199 at Westminster Abbey. He was the son of [[Henry II]] and Eleanor of Aquitaine thus continuing the line of Angevin kings. He was married twice. His first marriage to Isabella of Gloucester was annulled in 1199 when he married the daughter of the Count of Angouleme who was also called Isabella. He had two sons, one of them his later successor Henry III, three daughters and a number of illegitimate children. While his brother [[Richard III]] participated in the Third Crusade John had already acted for his brother since 1189. His nickname "John Lackland" ("Johann Ohneland") probably alludes to him not inheriting much land from his father as he had four older brothers.

The reign of King John was a difficult time, politically as well as religiously although he was a capable administrator. He seemed to be unable to win the trust of others and had himself difficulty to trust others. Besides the heavy taxes which he imposed, the loss of all English possessions in France to the French king Philip II made him unpopular. In 1215 John sealed the [[Magna Carta]] which limited his power and gave several rights to the rebelling barons.

The religious trouble began when John refused to accept Stephen Langton as the archbishop of Canterbury which led to the suspension of religious services which included baptisms, marriages and funerals and to the excommunication of John from 1208-1213. He was however able to soothe Pope Innocent III by ultimately accepting his choice of archbishop of Canterbury and by paying an "annual monetary tribute"[http://www.example.com link title] which was continued by the monarchs to follow him for another 150 years.

Sources:
[http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=john]
[http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAngevins/JohnLackland.aspx]

King John

2010-05-29T09:49:57Z

Chris0209:

[[John]](24 December 1166 Beaumont Palace, Oxford - 18 October 1216 Newark Castle) acceded to the English throne 6 April 1199 when his older brother Richard I died and was crowned King of England 27 May 1199 at Westminster Abbey. He was the son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine thus continuing the line of Angevin kings. He was married twice. His first marriage to Isabella of Gloucester was annulled in 1199 when he married the daughter of the Count of Angouleme who was also called Isabella. He had two sons, one of them his later successor Henry III, three daughters and a number of illegitimate children. While his brother Richard III participated in the Third Crusade John had already acted for his brother since 1189.

The reign of King John was a difficult time, politically as well as religiously although he was a good administrator. In 1205 England lost all its possessions in France to the French king Philip

Nicknamed "John Lackland" ("Johann Ohneland"). Sealed [[Magna Carta]] in 1215.

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James I

2010-05-04T21:03:49Z

Chris0209:

'''James I of England''' (19 June 1566 - 27 March 1625) reigned as '''James VI King of Scots''' from 1567-1625 and as '''James I King of England''' from 1603-1625.

As the son of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] and her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley he became King of Scots on 19 July 1567 succeeding his mother at just 13 months of age. When [[Elizabeth I]] died childless in 1603 James succeeded her on the English throne as James I of England. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 25 July 1603 becoming the first Stuart King to unite the English and the Scottish Crowns. His attempt to unite the governments, however, were not successful.

James married Anne of Denmark in 1589 and had eight children with her. Of the three children who survived infancy, his second son [[Charles I]] became his successor after the death of the eldest son Henry. The marriage of his daughter Elizabeth enabled the Hanoverian succession to the English throne.

As an arts and literature patron, under James theater productions flourished. Among the "Kings Men" troupe who performed plays for their patron was [[William Shakespeare]] himself. James was intelligent and sensitive and interested in various forms of art, writing a number of works himself. In 1597-8 he wrote [[''The True Law of Free Monarchies'']] in which he compared the king to a father and his subjects to his children. He also commissioned the construction of [[Banqueting House, Whitehall|Banqueting House]], Whitehall the ceiling of which shows the painting "Apotheosis of James I" by Peter Paul Rubens.

James was convinced to be the legitimate heir to the throne through the grace of God which is known as the [[Divine Right of Monarchs]]. James commissioned a new translation of the Bible known as the Authorised King James's Version. He was a tolerant King as far as religion was concerned and only imposed penalties on Roman Catholics after Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605.

Sources:

Royal Family History. 4 May 2010. [http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=james1]

The official website of The British Monarchy. 4 May 2010.[http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/TheStuarts/JamesI.aspx]

James I

2010-05-04T21:02:56Z

Chris0209:

'''James I of England''' (19 June 1566 - 27 March 1625) reigned as '''James VI King of Scots''' from 1567-1625 and as '''James I King of England''' from 1603-1625.

As the son of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] and her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley he became King of Scots on 19 July 1567 succeeding his mother at just 13 months of age. When [[Elizabeth I]] died childless in 1603 James succeeded her on the English throne as James I of England. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 25 July 1603 becoming the first Stuart King to unite the English and the Scottish Crowns. His attempt to unite the governments, however, were not successful.

James married Anne of Denmark in 1589 and had eight children with her. Of the three children who survived infancy, his second son [[Charles I]] became his successor after the death of the eldest son Henry. The marriage of his daughter Elizabeth enabled the Hanoverian succession to the English throne.

As an arts and literature patron, under James theater productions flourished. Among the "Kings Men" troupe who performed plays for their patron was [[William Shakespeare]] himself. James was intelligent and sensitive and interested in various forms of art, writing a number of works himself. In 1597-8 he wrote [[''The True Law of Free Monarchies'']] in which he compared the king to a father and his subjects to his children. He also commissioned the construction of [[Banqueting House, Whitehall|Banqueting House]], Whitehall the ceiling of which shows the painting "Apotheosis of James I" by Peter Paul Rubens.

James was convinced to be the legitimate heir to the throne through the grace of God which is known as the [[Divine Right of Monarchs]]. James commissioned a new translation of the Bible known as the Authorised King James's Version. He was a tolerant King as far as religion was concerned and only imposed penalties on Roman Catholics after Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605.

Sources:

Royal British Family. 4 May 2010. [http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=james1]

The official website of The British Monarchy. 4 May 2010.[http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/TheStuarts/JamesI.aspx]

James I

2010-05-04T20:47:06Z

Chris0209:

'''James I of England''' (19 June 1566 - 27 March 1625) reigned as '''James VI King of Scots''' from 1567-1625 and as '''James I King of England''' from 1603-1625.

As the son of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] and her second husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley he became King of Scots on 19 July 1567 succeeding his mother at just 13 months of age. When [[Elizabeth I]] died childless in 1603 James succeeded her on the English throne as James I of England. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 25 July 1603 becoming the first Stuart King to unite the English and the Scottish Crowns. His attempt to unite the governments, however, were not successful.

James married Anne of Denmark in 1589 and had eight children with her. Of the three children who survived infancy, his second son [[Charles I]] became his successor after the death of the eldest son Henry. The marriage of his daughter Elizabeth enabled the Hanoverian succession to the English throne.

As an arts and literature patron, under James theater productions flourished. Among the "Kings Men" troupe who performed plays for their patron was [[William Shakespeare]] himself. James was intelligent and sensitive and interested in various forms of art, writing a number of works himself. In 1597-8 he wrote [[''The True Law of Free Monarchies'']] in which he compared the king to a father and his subjects to his children. He also commissioned the construction of [[Banqueting House, Whitehall|Banqueting House]], Whitehall the ceiling of which shows the painting "Apotheosis of James I" by Peter Paul Rubens.

James was convinced to be the legitimate heir to the throne through the grace of God which is known as the [[Divine Right of Monarchs]]. James commissioned a new translation of the Bible known as the Authorised King James's Version. He was a tolerant King as far as religion was concerned and only imposed penalties on Roman Catholics after Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605.

Sources:

www.britroyals.com [http://www.britroyals.com/kings.asp?id=james1] accessed 4 May 2010

www.royal.gov.uk [http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensoftheUnitedKingdom/TheStuarts/JamesI.aspx] accessed 4 May 2010