The Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson
are among the most famous historic lords who won their fame (and
titles) through military success. Some peers were not famous for
heroic military action, however. James Scott, the Duke of Monmouth
led the Monmouth rebellion against King James II in 1685 in order
to try and take the throne for himself (as an illegitimate son of
King Charles II). Needless to…
For centuries, the nobility have played a
role in creating the laws of the land. From the early days of the
Barons under King John who forced him to sign Magna Carta to the
modern day with the Lords being able to veto legislation coming
from the Commons if not agreed upon by…
Royal Cousins at War documentary reveals how rivaling relations led to outbreak of First World War
7th February 2014
This BBC Two documentary series, which
aired earlier this week on Wednesday and Thursday evening, reflects
on the complex relationship between King George V, Tsar Nicholas II
of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, leading up to the
outbreak of the First World War. In…
Under English common law, a wife
traditionally takes her husband's name and rank upon marriage and
as a title legally forms part of one's name in most cases, titles
within the Royal Family work in much the same way as if an untitled
couple were to marry and the wife took her husband's name as her
own. Perhaps the best example of this in action is with Prince
Michael of Kent and his…
Part 2 of the Story of the Peerage
series), I will explain everything you need to know about the Lords
and Ladies of the United Kingdom. As discussed in Part 1, there are
5 ranks in the peerage. They are, in descending order, Duke
(Duchess); Marquess (Marchioness); Earl…
Early years The Queen’s grandfather King
George V bought the Queen’s first horse Princess Elizabeth was
given her first horse at the age of 4; a Shetland pony called
Peggy. The pony was bought as a present for Elizabeth and her
sister, Princess Margaret, by their…
It is a well established part of the
republican prose to make it sound like Monarchy is the only form of
Head of State that would cost money, which of course is not the
case. In fact, the type of head of state is to all intents and
purposes irrelevant to its cost. The idea that a presidency would
be cheaper by its nature is simply not true, in fact there are many
presidencies in the world with a…
The origins of the peerage are not as
obscure as one may think at first thought. In fact, documents
dating back over a thousand years have helped historian piece
together exactly how we have managed to get to where we are today
with the nobility. Earls were one of the…
It was a defining moment in the
progression of the British Monarchy. The day in 2005 that the
future king of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Realms married a
divorcée. The last time such a thing had happened, in 1936, the
King had to renounce his right to the throne.
To start with it’s worth noting that
Monarchy isn’t a popularity contest. The fact that there is a fixed
line of succession is what makes it a Monarchy and to deviate from
that, regardless of intention, would undoubtably cause questioning
over the succession altogether. Why have a Monarchy if you’re going
to choose the heir? Next we have the problem of whether it can
actually be done. The…
