Month: March 2017

The “Georges” & Their Women: Princess Mary, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel

On By RSBIn The House of Hanover1 Comment
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Princess Mary (Image: George Desmarees, Museum of Hesse)

BBC’s History Extra published an article three years ago on George I and George II, the first monarchs of the House of Hanover, which stated:

In reality, George I and George II were just as excitingly dysfunctional as Henry VIII. Theirs was truly a dynasty, with plenty of children, giving us enough characters to fill out a whole soap opera. They were also reasonably good kings. They weren’t flashy or showy, but under them Britain could truly claim to have become ‘Great’.

The article correctly claims that the first two Georges are two of Britain’s forgotten kings. Indeed, their house would become famous for George III and Queen Victoria, and perhaps even more so for founding the line that would so closely link the Royal Family’s heritage with Germany.

But the real secret about the this time period and these reigns isn’t captured in the last sentence above, but the first. And it’s not that the Hannoverians were more dramatic than the Tudors, but rather that they were perhaps equally as brutal. Some of that is perhaps unfair, for the lives of men and women in the 18th century were better-recorded, at least for our purposes. The domestic dysfunction that has permeated the royal court for centuries is better gleaned through primary sources the closer we approach present day, and so, for better or for worse, the dirty laundry is more accessible.

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The Mother of Too Many Sons: Philippa of Hainaut

On By RSBIn The House of PlantagenetLeave a comment

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Philippa of Hainaut had the opposite problem of Henry VIII’s wives. Over the course of her 41-year marriage to Edward III she gave birth to 13 children, eight of them sons. Of those eight sons, five lived until adulthood. That might not seem extraordinary today, particularly in light of the fertility of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in the 18th century or Queen Victoria in the 19th century, but for the 14th century’s infant mortality rate it was remarkable. Usually, in instances where the monarch had multiple sons they would slowly be picked off through warfare or illness, but the issue remained that several adult princes was both expensive and a liability, for all that it shored up the succession.

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Edward IV’s Marriage to Elizabeth Woodville in Context

On By RSBIn The House of York1 Comment

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Lately I have been reading John Ashdown-Hill’s “The Private Life of Edward IV.” I’m not too far into it yet, but so far it’s been enjoyable and it’s certainly a fresh look at the King’s reign, which is usually examined through the lens of the civil war of which he reigned in the middle. Broadly, it argues that perhaps Edward IV was not quite the ladies’ man for which his reputation has given him credit.

Ashdown-Hill has gained some notoriety of late for his theory that Edward IV did, in fact, marry before his queen consort, Elizabeth Woodville, and that their children’s legitimacy was undermined. It’s an interesting argument, one that would add some nuance to Richard III’s usurpation of the throne from his nephew, Edward V. However, this post is not about the veracity of that argument or even, really, about Edward’s relationship with Elizabeth.

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Kate’s Top 10 Fashion Misses

On By RSBIn The House of WindsorLeave a comment

Let’s be clear, Kate is genetically blessed in such a way that if it weren’t for the fact that she seems like a very nice person who has devoted huge amounts of her time to supporting charities, you’d kind of hate her. She could wear a trash bag and carry it off, and as far as I can tell she doesn’t have an unflattering angle. That said, after having posted my top 10 favorite looks of hers since she became Duchess of Cambridge, fair’s fair and here are my least favorite:

10.

Dress by Erdem

Most of the time I’m a fan of Kate’s Erdem picks. Indeed, she had several from the Canada/US tour, from where the below image was taken, which were fantastic. This one, however, doesn’t do it for me. I like it from the waist down, but everything about the floral embroidery just makes this way too fussy for my taste and almost aging for Kate’s then-29 years.

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June 2011

9.

Coat dress by Catherine Walker

I want to like the idea behind this, but the execution fails. The green is too neon and the collar way too constricted zipped all the way to the top. Oh, and I hate that there’s a zipper at all. It just feels like three disparate ideas all mashed together in one jarring pop of color.

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April 2014

 

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