1.When a new monarch accedes to the throne, it is up to them to choose which name they would like to use. Examples of monarchs who did not choose their Christian name include Queen Victoria (who didn’t like her first name Alexandrina) and King George VI (who chose George over Albert to stress continuity after the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. It has been suggested that Prince Charles may himself also choose George - the name Charles has negative connotations; King Charles I was beheaded, and Charles II led a rather hedonistic life.
2.King Henry V was pretty brave, and demonstrated this as a prince before he acceded to the throne. He was a little unlucky that at the age of sixteen in his first ever battle he was hit in the face with an arrow. Whilst this may have given other people a fairly good reason to go home and recover, Henry boldly said he would rather die than stain his soldierly reputation by flight, and continued to lead his men; as you would imagine, his demonstration of courage gained enormous respect from them!
3.You probably wouldn’t want to have been around the castle in which France’s King Charles VI lived during the early fifteenth century. Although earlier on in his life he had been known as ‘Charles the Beloved’, he later became known as ‘Charles the Mad’. He often suspected his own men of trying to do away with him, and on more than one occasion killed loyal servants and soldiers without warning because he believed them to be aggressors. He would also roam the castle at night, howling like a wolf, and often hid in corners due to his belief that he was made entirely out of glass and might shatter into a million pieces any moment.
4.Insanity and monarchy are never two things that work well together - particularly in sixth century Byzantine, where the emperor held absolute power, could not be deposed and could order the death penalty of anyone he wished on a whim. Sadly for his subjects, Justin II wasn’t anywhere near sane. He constantly heard voices in his head, and hid under his bedclothes, screaming all the while for them leave him alone. He could sometimes be pacified by a servant playing the organ loudly, as this drowned out the noise of the voices. He would often display a terrible temper, and when servants approached in the hope of pacifying him, Justin would bite them on the head. In the end, his ‘advisors’ decided that distraction was the key to keep him from his bouts of madness, and so they constructed a special throne on wheels in which he would sit, laughing in delight as his servants pushed him round his palace on it at great speed.
5.Queen Elizabeth II is in fact Queen Elizabeth I and II. The reason for this is that the union between England and Scotland did not take place until 1603 - after Elizabeth I had ruled in England; therefore until 1952, there had never been a Queen Elizabeth of Scotland!
6.Many Americans often refer to Elizabeth II as ‘Queen Elizabeth of England’ - however, as any Brit will tell you, that’s wrong - they’ll say she is in fact Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But of course they’re wrong as well. Her majesty is in fact Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Phew!
7.During the French Revolution in 1793, the destruction of all royal tombs was ordered. A righteous mob descended on the crypt of the Basilica of St Denis, the resting place of Kings for the previous 800 years. On finding the royal bodies, the mob ripped apart their corpses, carried the various limbs and torsos outside, and poured quicklime on them to assist decomposition. 162 years later, a tax collector named Jacques Bellanger bought a human head at auction (yes, really!) and kept it in his attic until he died. He believed it to be that of King Henry IV, but his friends had laughed at him. Yet in 2010 it was subjected to forensic analysis - and it was confirmed to belong to the longdead monarch!
8.Who is the world’s longest-serving monarch of all time? ‘Queen Victoria’ people will say, ‘But Elizabeth II is catching up’. Wrong! Sobhuza II’s reign of Swaziland began in 1899 when he was just three months old. During his reign, worldwide events that took place included the First World War, the Second World War, The Moon Landings, the birth and death of Glam Rock and Disco, and the invention of the compact disc (just!). On the day of his death, the 21st of August 1982, Sobhuza II had reigned for an incredible 82 years and nine months!
9.Royal dignitaries usually bring a gift for the Queen when they visit England or of course if she visits them. Unusual choices in the past have included a grove of maple trees, seven kilograms of prawns, a pair of cowboy boots and some lacrosse sticks. However, when wondering what to buy for her majesty, it seems that ‘ah yes, an animal’ is a common thought. Elizabeth II has been given a canary, a sloth, a number of turtles, an elephant, a jaguar, a cheetah and even a giraffe - the majority of which were donated (almost immediately) to London Zoo.
10.Where is the home of the monarchy in England? If you said Buckingham Palace, you’re wrong! Whilst that is the home of Queen Elizabeth II - and has been the residence of choice since Queen Victoria’s reign, the Royal Court has always remained a St James’s Palace - a few steps down the road!
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