Interests

Firstly, let’s look at George’s ‘secret’ wife, Maria Fitzherbert, in further detail. Born Maria Smythe, she was the eldest daughter of Mary Ann and Walter Smythe, the son of a knight. Maria was raised as a Roman Catholic, and received an adequate education at a convent in France. When she was 18, Maria was married for the first time, to Edward Weld, a wealthy landowner. The marriage lasted…

The first royal wife in this five part series is Sophia Dorothea of Celle – the Queen that never was. She married George I at a time when he was still only the heir to the Duchy of Hanover. The couple had two children, including the future King George II, but their relationship was turbulent, and after a few years of marriage they were divorced and George had his erstwhile wife imprisoned in a…

In the previous instalment, we looked at some Kings and Queens who succeeded their elder sibling and ruled a country despite the odds. Now, in light of the recent revelation that Prince George’s younger brother or sister will arrive in April, here are some more rulers who, at one point or another, were once nothing more than royal siblings. King James II King James II and VII of England and…