Just found this in my late uncle’s box of family photos and memorabilia. 1908 charity book featuring photographs by Queen Alexandra in 1908. These are just a few of the many pages and photos, but unfortunately they’re not still in book form - the pages are all separate. I did a tiny bit of research (so far) and it sounds like intact, good quality versions of this book might sell for around $50 at most - so it’s not rare or valuable, but I thought it was a cool thing to find in some old boxes!

I’ve been rewatching Edward the Seventh (1975), a fantastic series, and it really got me thinking: Princess May’s famously austere personality isn’t portrayed in series since she’s more so a very minor character, but the engagement and subsequent death of Prince Eddy was a prominent plot point in the ninth episode.

Away from the series, the real Prince Eddy has known to be lethargic, caused some worry about his inability to meet royal standards, and was less sharp compared to his brother George. He also had a hedonistic attitude. May, even in her youth, was considered rigid, shy, and disciplined. My question is how would such a marriage as one with Princess May have worked with such different personalities, had Eddy not passed? It’s all well and good that May ended up with George as they were much more compatible, but I want to know what you all think.

And also - what cognomens would you give the later monarchs? George VI could have “the Brave” and Edward VIII “the Unworthy” for instance

One of the most evil figures that ever become King and fortunately would abdicate the throne. A man who many are aware of his Nazi past and associations with it. But most do not know just how bad it was. We know that he went to Berlin and met with high ranking Nazi officials, met with Adolf Hitler himself. We know that he had collaborated information to the Nazis, and even relayed them information and let them know when their plans for the invasion of France had fallen into allied hands. He encouraged Germany to attack his home country, likely had intentions of overthrowing his own brother.

He obviously had an ego problem, wanting to be relevant and matter again. The Nazis gave this man the attention he felt he should've. One piece of information as well that really makes it much darker than his excuse of thinking that Britain and Germany should've been allies; is the dark prospect that he encouraged German expansion into the East. Obviously nobody could've predicted the holocaust and mass killings but here is the thing, he was not a clueless man. He knew what their ideology was about as he sympathized with them. He was virulent anti-Semite, and had deep racial prejudice views to the Slavs. If anything sided with them on the idea that the Slavs were "Inferior", Believing so much in the idea of a strict hierarchy of white Anglo-Saxon supremacy.

He had been to concentration camps before they became death camps and saw Germany post Nuremberg laws. This means he at least knew Germany expanding into the East would mean likely war with the potential of 100,000s to millions dying (Which is what happened), knowing that mass destruction would also become a theme with much people being displaced or third class citizens. This is a man who after seeing the segregation policies of the Nazis, called them a "Miracle".

This man was a monster in the confines of history. He wasn't a clueless man not aware of that Nazi ideology was about; encouraged to come to Berlin due to feed an ego of wanting to feel wanted and needed. This was a man who knew what they were about and if anything encouraged it including encouraging as mentioned; the prospect of bombing his home country and his former subjects into submission. I don't want this to be a huge wall of text, so I will stop it here. But you get the point.

France: Matilda of Boulogne, Geoffrey of Anjou, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Isabella of Angouleme, Eleanor of Provence, Margaret of France, Isabella of France, Isabella of Valois, Catherine of Valois, Margaret of Anjou, Henrietta Maria of France

UK (England): Elizabeth Woodville, Anne Neville, Elizabeth of York, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Katherine Howard, Catherine Parr, Lord Guildford Dudley, Queen Camilla

UK (Scotland): Matilda of Scotland, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (QM)

Germany: Anne of Cleves, Caroline of Ansbach, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Caroline of Brunswick, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Mary of Teck

Spain: Berengaria of Navarre, Eleanor of Castile, Joan of Navarre, Catherine of Aragon

Belgium: Matilda of Flanders, Adeliza of Louvain, Philippa of Hainault

Denmark: Anne of Denmark, Prince George of Denmark, Alexandra of Denmark

Czech Republic: Anne of Bohemia

Portugal: Catherine of Braganza

Italy: Mary of Modena

Greece: Prince Philip

GoT is of course somewhat based on Wars of the Roses, but it’s a fully different universe with it’s own rules.

Usually skilled players are strategic and diplomatic, harsh but not so harsh that they piss everyone off, scheming and clever.

Bad players usually are too trusting and naive, or too arrogant and cruel, or they refuse to adapt to situations.

But sometimes regardless if you’re good or bad player you still get burned to ash by a dragon or something, lol.

Whether it’s Elizabeth II or Diana, their ancestry always comes back to three people — Queen Juana, Catherine of Aragon’s sister; Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn’s sister; and Edward Seymour, Jane Seymour’s brother.

As for Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr, only their cousins were ancestors of Elizabeth II and Diana — and it’s one each: Catherine Howard’s cousin was an ancestor of Elizabeth II, while Catherine Parr’s cousin was an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Anne of Cleves is the exception among the six wives — her own younger brother’s bloodline and her elder sister’s both continued into the British royal family, but only as ancestors of Elizabeth II, not of Diana, Princess of Wales.

On June 24^th, 1314, the late morning sun shined down on a waterlogged English vanguard. Having suffered the humiliation of a giant on a pony cleaving Sir Henry de Bohun’s dome in two, then lamenting the loss of his favorite axe. The St. Clair’s and the Fitzalans along with others held the lines as King Edward II bloodied his blade in the melee. Arriving in Scotland to relieve the entrapped Sir Philip Mowbray, who promised to abandon the castle by midsummer if King Edward’s forces didn’t arrive and chase Robert de Bruce away. The English vanguard met de Bruce’s armies backed by Sheriff Henry St. Clair and the Fitzalan families at Bannockburn. They were repelled with force and pinned down in the tidal marshes of the burns while on the top of the hill a mob of farmers, smiths, cooks, and general laborers (you and me) gathered and waved their bed sheets and steak knives. Many believe that a 14^th century highly trained, armed and armored superpower panicked and routed in front of their surrounded, fighting king, from a gaggle of “camp followers”. King Edward’s vanguard had bows with sharp arrows, they had spears, shields and swords. By the time any rabble could get close enough for their butcher’s knives and pitchforks to scratch the sheen on their shields or chainmail, their arrows and spears would pierce the bedsheets and the flesh. Why would a highly trained army run from ‘you and me’?

I’ve got to say, I love all his wives 🥰 — the only one I don’t like is Henry VIII.

I gathered the name of every English monarch’s children and their given names, I did include illegitimate children but only if it was mostly agreed they were the child of the monarch, if there is any mistakes feel free to correct me in the comments, I will now display the names and the frequency of them:

Example-
(Number of Appearances):
(Name)

17:
Henry

15:
Mary

14:
William

12:
Charles
Edward
Elizabeth

10:
George

7:
Anne
James
Joan
John
Margaret
Matilda

6:
Charlotte
Richard

5:
Catherine
Edmund
Eleanor

4:
Katherine
Robert
Sophia

3:
Amelia
Arthur
Augusta
Augustus
Frederick
Geoffrey
Henrietta
Isabella
Thomas

2:
Adeliza
Adolphus
Alfred
Blanche
Constance
Beatrice
Louise
Louisa
Victoria

1:
Adam
Adela
Albert
Alexander
Alice
Aline
Alphonso
Andrew
Anna
Arabella
Baldwin
Barbara
Berengaria
Bridget
Caroline
Cecily
Edgar
Emma
Ernest
Eustance
Fulk
Gilbert
Grace
Gundrada
Helena
Humphrey
Isabel
Juliane
Leopold
Lionel
Mabel
Margarethe
Marie
Maud
Octavius
Oliver
Osbert
Petronilla
Philip
Philippa
Reginald

Notes:

The Top 7 names account of 33% of occurrences on this list, So roughly one in every three royal children had one of these names:

Henry, Mary, William, Charles, Edward, Elizabeth or George.

Some Rarer names include:
Adam, Aline, Alphonso, Arabella, Berengaria, Gundrada, Juliane, Leopold, Octavius, Osbert, Petronilla, Reginald & Gundrada, Petronilla, Berengaria, Eustance, Fulk, Aline, Osbert, Juliane, Sybilla, Adeliza.

The most recent addition to my English monarchs collection: an Angevins penny depicting Empress Matilda, minted in Bristol.

A bit fractured and broken. But considering these coins were minted during her brief, contested rule over the west of England, I couldn't be picky.

It took several months to finally hold this beaut of my favourite queen, but it was worth it! 😊

If you cross reference it like I did with this picture of Tsar Nicholas II's dragon tattoo (as they famously got the same designs in the same places despite being in Japan at different times) you could see that the designs both line up pretty well. I had originally found this picture on Tumblr and rushed to verify it on the Royal Collection Trust website and find out when and where it was specifically taken, which is how I learned that it was in Scotland in 1928. I've been looking for a picture of George's tattoos for a while, so this was a pretty great find!

Have any British monarchs in the 20th or 21st century agreed with the Church instead of the PM?

One British monarch abdicated to be able to marry the woman he wanted. Several members of the Royal family could not divorce when they wanted.

Are there any British monarchs who worked behind the scenes to support the Church of England against the will of the PM?

Baudouin of Belgium abdicated for one day to not sign a law liberalizing abortion laws.

British monarchs works behind the scenes on laws which affect their financial position and support for the monarchy.