Miscellaneous monarchy-related topics of interest

Napoleon took a souvenir from Berlin

After his victory over the Prussians in 1806, Napoleon had the Quadriga from the Brandenburg Gate sent to Paris; it was restored in 1814 by General Blücher after Napoleon’s defeat.

Cartoonists recorded the theft:

Caput Mundi

The Romans said, “Roma Caput Mundi” because they saw Rome as the head of the known world.

Napoleon said, "If the Earth were a single state, Constantinople would be its capital." Now known as Istanbul, this is not the capital of Turkey, Ankara is. It seems a strange thing to say. Maybe it is the position between Europe and Asia that gave him the idea.

At the height of the British Empire, London was seen as the most important city in the world - at least by the British.

The man with the moustache had big plans to make Berlin the Caput Mundi. That came to nothing; the city was devastated by allied bombing.

Lavendel said that Berlin is the new political capital and a Mecca for creative people. Perhaps people are working behind the scenes to make Berlin the new Caput Mundi.

Interesting. I will look into this when I can use my normal laptop again.

All I can think of at the moment is that portrait painters flattered their subjects. Many used the same style too, so people looked alike even when they were not related. Elizabethan portraits look different in style from those done during the reign of King Charles II, which look different from those done during the next century.

Part of Queen Elizabeth's popularity came from a resemblance to Henry VIII, in personality and manner in addition to the red hair.

However, intuition often comes up with many good theories.

Peter Pan playground in Kensington Gardens

Just as J. M. Barrie did, Princess Diana loved Kensington Gardens. She often walked or jogged in the Gardens and sometimes sat under a tree reading a book. This connection was commemorated by the creation of a special children’s playground.

The Diana, Princess of Wales’ Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens was completed in 2000. It has features taken from the Peter Pan story. There are Red Indian teepees , a stone crocodile, a treasure chest and a pirate ship; the ‘secret tunnel’ is more Alice in Wonderland though:

J. M. Barrie and the royal family

Sir James Matthew Barrie had some connections with the royal family, both professional and personal.

He was made a baronet by George V in 1913 and awarded the Order of Merit in 1922.

When he died in 1937, George VI called him an old friend and said that he brought joy to old and young alike. The Queen Mother, then Queen, is said to have preferred his plays to Shakespeare’s.

Not only did J.M. Barrie have Sussex connections, his Kensington home was not the only place where he lived close to a royal residence. Barrie was born and buried in Kirriemuir in Scotland. By coincidence, Glamis Castle, ancestral home of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret’s birthplace, is close by.

Barrie first met the two little princesses Elizabeth and Margaret when they were all on summer holiday there in 1933. He was invited to Princess Margaret’s third birthday party and they became friends. He told stories to and played games with the two little girls.

Barrie made a big impression on Princess Margaret. He was later told that when his name had been mentioned, Margaret had responded immediately, “I know that man. He is my greatest friend, and I am his greatest friend.”

He visited the girls at their London home too.

Princess Margaret in 1932 and J. M. Barrie (right) with Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in 1933:

You're spot on there, Elizabeth I did have a lot of enemies, mainly Catholics. Where do you start with the rumours? She was the illegitimate child of Anne Boleyn's lute player... she had an illegitimate child by Edward Seymour... an illegitimate child by Robert Dudley... she was really a man.
I got a free download a few years ago of 'The Secret of the Virgin Queen', written by Mark Garber, a former detective, about the rumours that the real Elizabeth died and was replaced by the Bisley Boy. He comes to the conclusion that it wasn't true. It doesn't seem to be on Amazon anymore, but might be on another indie publisher such as Lulu.
Two suggested illegitimate children of Elizabeth I were Dorothy Latimer and Francis Bacon. I guess we'll never find out the truth.

"I guess we'll never find out the truth."

This applies to just about all the outstanding historical conspiracy theories!

Yes, another interesting topic! I went to Leicester Cathedral last year, the Welcomers as they are called are very interesting to talk to and they know reams about Richard III. They put me on to some reading on the topic, I would need to look up the precise details (I'm away for the week at the mo) but essentially there was an Act of Parliament of which Henry VII ordered all copies to be destroyed on his accession. One copy was overlooked and remained however, and if I remember correctly it stated that Richard III was the rightful heir to the throne. It is alleged that this was because Edward IV had already been married before he married Elizabeth Woodville and his first wife was still alive at the time of his second marriage; therefore the marriage was bigamous and the two princes illegitimate, see John Ashdown-Hill's book "Eleanor: the Secret Queen" for details. If this was true, on Edward IV's death the next in line in the accession was Richard III.

It is said that this is the reason that the Tudors were cruel, ruthless and paranoid, which they certainly were and they managed to extinguish the Planagenet line.

“Going back to Elizabeth I, one reason that I have read that she must have been a man is that she was very erudite and women back then weren't - that's nonsense. “

magpiejack I completely agree. My mind too went immediately to the unfortunate Lady Jane Grey; I remember reading that she was very learned.

It is rather like the ‘No True Scotsman’ fallacy: women have not got the intellectual capacity to learn Latin and Greek, so anyone who can learn them can’t be a real woman!

As for marriage, there were not many suitable candidates on her level and many of them were Catholics. If she married, died and was survived by her husband, England might fall under the control of France or Spain. She did play games and keep some suitors dangling, stringing them along for fear of upsetting the balance of power. Wasn’t there a Frenchman half her age she called “My little frog”?

In addition to not wanting to give a man political power over her, I agree that seeing what had happened to her mother might well have made her decide that she was best off single. She enjoyed her independence and being the Queen Bee too.

What interests me most about Elizabeth I is her relationship with the astrologer, alchemist and occultist Dr. John Dee, whose signature was 007.

Richard III again

magpiejack when you mentioned Archie Rice, it reminded me that although The Entertainer is not my sort of film, Laurence Olivier’s Richard III has always been one of my all-time favourites.

There is a lot about the real Richard III and the film on here.

We covered his reinterment in Leicester Cathedral.

I remember that in the film Richard started a rumour that his older brother Edward was illegitimate. Richard wanted the throne and would say and do anything to get it.

It is said that if the devil grants you a wish, there is always a price to pay. I think it is clear that Dee was obsessed with riches in his quest to turn lead into gold.

I didn't know about the witches and the Armada! That storm was fortuitous... just like the break in the storm that allowed the D-Day flotilla to cross the Channel. I have heard about Gerald Gardner's witches' alleged and anecdotal involvement in aiding the Allied cause, though I'm rather sceptical about the well-off people such as Gardner and the Golden Dawn members who got the beginnings of the New Age movement off the ground.

Archie Andrews and the royal family

Here is another example of an Archie.

I don’t like ventriloquists and their dummies myself, but some people love them. One of the most famous dummies in the UK was the wooden ‘schoolboy’ Archie Andrews. He was the star of the radio show Educating Archie in the 1950s.

The royal family were great fans. Archie hosted the staff Christmas party at Windsor Castle for 25 years. At the first of these shows in 1948, George VI removed Archie's head to examine how it worked. As it was put back on, Archie quipped, "Sir, I'm the only fellow you've ever beheaded in your reign."

Archie with with some young admirers and his ‘handler’ Peter Brough:

Creepy... reminds me of the film Magic with Anthony Hopkins! Watch that and you'll feel uneasy about watching a ventriloquist for ever after.