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Insight

The Harry Potter series and its quirky ‘connections’ with royalty

If, like me, you are a massive fan of all things Harry Potter, then I am sure you would have visited the dedicated Wikipedia site to all things related to the boy wizard and his world. Just recently I visited the site and was surprised at how much thought had been put in to the connections between the magical world and the history of our Royal Family, it truly was astounding and I just had to share with you the astonishing things I found out about Kings, Queens and members of royalty from centuries gone by and their dalliances with those from the wizarding world!

Hogwarts Castle and the wizarding world is said to have many connections to the British Royal Family and its ancestors.

Hogwarts Castle and the wizarding world is said to have many connections to the British Royal Family and its ancestors.

Queen Elizabeth I

Known as The Virgin Queen because of her refusal to marry, I believed that this refusal was because she was married to her kingdom. Apparently not! It is speculated by many wizards that Queen Elizabeth I didn’t marry because of a jinx

Queen Elizabeth I is said to have been jinxed by Lucius Malfoy I.

Queen Elizabeth I is said to have been jinxed by Lucius Malfoy I.

that was placed on her by the first Lucius Malfoy. It is the belief that he placed this jinx on Queen Elizabeth because like many men before him, she turned down his offer of marriage. For generations the Malfoy family have denied that this incident ever occurred.

Anne Boleyn

Famously known as being the second wife of King Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn was Queen of England between 1533 and 1536. Did you know however that Anne Boleyn was accused by Muggles of being a witch but was in fact a Squib, a non-magical person born to at least one magical parent. It was also the theory of many that Anne Boleyn bewitched Henry VIII in to marrying her and may have even snuck him a love potion or two. Her portrait is hung on the Grand Staircase near the second floor landing at Hogwarts Castle.

King Henry VII

Henry became King after defeating King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and though he was no wizard himself he did employ one at Court. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington was a wizard at the royal court of King Henry VII though was decapitated on the 31st October 1492 after a magical mishap incident. Sir Nicholas is now known as Nearly Headless Nick and is the resident ghost of the Gryffindor Tower at Hogwarts.

Queen Elizabeth II

Yes! Our current Queen even has connections with the wizarding world. In 1991, as reported by the Daily Prophet, one of the Queen’s Corgi’s was turned in to a hamster for reasons that are still unclear. Like she is kept up to date with goings on in the Muggle world, it is also believed that Her Majesty is informed of any major goings in the wizarding world, such as the Second Wizarding War, like her Prime Minister.

King George III

‘Mad King George’ as he is more commonly known, spent over 60 years on the British throne. Later on in life, King George III suffered from mental illness and in 1782 British Prime Minister, Lord North, sought help from the Minister for Magic, Porteus Knatchbull, in the hope he could cure this illness. In 1782 when Lord North was forced out of office because of a vote of no confidence, rumours began to spread that he was forced out as a result of his believing in wizards!

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until 1901. During the years of 1849 to 1855, Queen Victoria was good friends with Evangeline Orpington, a fantastic witch and celebrated Minister for Magic, though Victoria never suspected that Evangeline had any magical ability whatsoever. It seems that Victoria was as popular in the wizarding world as she was in the Muggle one, when at her funeral in 1901, Minister for Magic Faris Spavin was in attendance. The minister paid his respects dressed in an admiral’s hat and spats though this was the last straw for the Wizengamot,who suggested that Spavin retire, at the tender age of 147. Queen Victoria would be amused!

William the Conqueror

As far back as the first Norman King of England does the Royal Family’s connection with the wizarding world go. It is believed that King William I, shortly after being crowned, granted a piece of land in Wiltshire to Armand Malfoy. The land was granted because of the questionable services that Armand had rendered the King.

Queen Mary I

Known across her realm as ‘Bloody Mary’ because of her horrific burning of Protestants, Mary was Queen of England from 1553 until her death five years later. Across her kingdom, nothing was known about Mary’s abilities and the fact that she was a witch, who even had a wand of her own. There was a portrait of Queen Mary I hung a Hogwarts Castle during the 1990s.

King William III and Queen Mary II

Co-Monarchs after the Glorious Revolution in 1689, William and Mary failed to send a delegation to the British Ministry of Magic after it begged them for recognition an protection under Muggle law. The disastrous events led to the

Queen Mary II along with King William III failed to send a delegation to the British Ministry of Magic.

Queen Mary II along with King William III failed to send a delegation to the British Ministry of Magic.

introduction of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692.

King Henry VI

It was believed that King Henry was mad because of the large white rabbit he kept as his advisor though it was also the theory of many that the rabbit was in fact a witch. A witch by the name of Lisette de Lapin, who as an animagus, escaped from prison after being convicted of witchcraft by Muggles.

So who would have thought that our Royal Family and the wizarding world would have so many connections? Yes, I know that this is all fantasy but just for a few minutes, wasn’t it nice to believe that these two domains were intertwined in some simply fascinating and thought provoking ways. While I know that the wizarding world may not be a real one, surely it wont hurt to believe, just for a little while longer, that two of my favourite worlds are in some way connected.

Now that would be Stupefying!

Photo Credits: Jeff Krause &Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower” Licenced under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons. & By attributed to Jan van der Vaart (died 1721) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 

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