#edmund dudley

[isabelleneville]

THE DUDLEYS according to Starz

Edmund Dudley, president of King Henry VII's council as portrayed by Morgan Jones in The Spanish Princess John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland head of King Edward VI's council as portrayed by Jamie Parker in Becoming Elizabeth Guildford Dudley, later consort to Jane Grey, disputed Queen of England as portrayed by Jacob Avery in Becoming Elizabeth Robert Dudley, later Earl of Leicester, the longtime favourite of Queen Elizabeth I who often acted as her unofficial consort as portrayed by Jamie Blackley in Becoming Elizabeth

[heather123fan-blog]

So I'm still reading through the House of Dudley and I have to say the similarities between Anne Boleyn and Edmund Dudley are striking. Reading his scene in the Tower of London when he writes his Will to protect his wife and children is quite touching. I love the way he writes about John begging his allies near the new King to look after him and "see him brought him up in virtue and learning".

Tear the parallels to Anne asking Matthew Parker to look after her daughter Elizabeth are striking.

[myteensyweensypeensie]

Me thinking about how there are still Dexley deniers out there

[ltwilliammowett]

The case of the Mignonette

"Attention it is about cannibalism"

In 1844, an Australian lawyer John Henry Want, eager to impress his fellow sailors back home, bought an aging but primarily British yacht named Mignonette in England. There he found a crew to sail the ship from Southampton to Sydney, inadvertently securing the fate of four men: Thomas Dudley, Edwin Stephens, Edmund Brooks and Richard Parker.

Sketch of English Yacht Mignonette by Tom Dudley (1853-1900)

As the Mignonette sailed towards the Cape of Good Hope, a fierce storm blew up. The yacht, built of rotten wood, sank within minutes. In their haste, the four sailors took refuge in a four-metre long dinghy with two cans of turnips but no water. The dinghy drifted westwards, towards South America, some 3,000 kilometres away. But without water, the continent offered little salvation. Days turned into weeks, and the men grew weaker and weaker. In such desperate situations, sailors invoke the seafaring custom of casting lots to decide who will be sacrificed for food so that their comrades can survive. But rather than leave it to chance, Captain Dudley and his first mate Stephens decided that Parker, a 17-year-old orphan and Cabin Boy who had become delirious after drinking seawater, was the obvious choice. Dudley stabbed Parker to death, and the three remaining men feasted on the young man's flesh. Only four days later, the German Bark Montezuma rescued the survivors. Back in England, Dudley and Stephens were convicted of murder, although they were not the first sailors to resort to cannibalism. What set them apart, however, was that they departed from the customs of the sea by deciding for themselves which man should be killed and eaten - a presumptuous decision that Victorian England considered too encroaching and against all ethics and morals. But the survivors' story of desperation and the fact that Parker would probably have died anyway eventually aroused public sympathy, and Dudley and Stephens were spared the death penalty. They only had to serve six months in prison for killing the teenager.

What happened to Dudley and Stephens was enshrined in an infamous precedent in England that the taking of a life can never be justified - even if it is to save one's own life - and since then, compulsory cannibalism at sea has also been punishable - because it need not always be the case that the victim had already died before being eaten. A fact that had always been disregarded in other cases at the time and the people involved had therefore always been acquitted.

[malkaleh]

The Boleyn King & The Dudley Queen: Prince Edmund Tudors birth on September 7 1533 was the vindication of the hopes of both his parents and the fight they had endured to be married. Eleanor, Lady Dudley was born into a noble, loving and close family but she would have never dreamed of becoming Queen.

(An alternate universe in which Elizabeth I is a boy and Robert Dudley is a girl and they get married for @theladyelizabeth 🩷)

[jezabelofthenorth]

tudor what ifs i think about somewhat regularly

elizabeth of york survives well into her son’s reign

edmund tudor (henry vii’s youngest son) survives into adulthood, gets married and has issue (i think this is actually the THING that would have made both henry vii and henry viii’s lives a lot happier)

anne boleyn’s pregnancies all result in healthy children but all three are girls

anne of cleves and henry do consumate their marriage once and anne gets pregnant

edward vi marries elisabeth of valois

elizabeth i marries robert dudley in 1561

jasper tudor and catherine woodville have children

[inanoldchurchyard]

St Edmund's Churchyard

Dudley

[period-dramallama]

How much worse would "Becoming Elizabeth" be if the two-headed monster known as Fraham had written it?

This ask kept me awake for hours.

The key difference would be that we would go in with zero expectations, so we wouldn't be disappointed, for the most part.

I think Fraham would accidentally make the good decision to not give Tommy S too much screentime. They'd give us Gaston from Beauty and the Beast with a side order of child abuse. That's it. Whereas Becoming Elizabeth spent aaaaaaaages trying to flesh out Tommy S and his insecurities and his terrible judgement and his relationship with his brother.

....and nobody asked for that.

Having said that, Fraham would squander 110% of the benefits of this accidentally wise decision.

What does the show look like? AU below cut. You have been warned.

-Upon the death of Henry VIII, Elizabeth receives a Mysterious Box. The label tells her she must open this box on her 18th birthday. What's inside the box? Watch the show and find out.

-Someone calls Jane 'cute'.

-Jane calls Elizabeth 'a mean girl'. References! Look how contemporary we are!

-Anne Stanhope has a pointless scene of her trying on Katherine's jewels, while topless. Why is she topless? No-one knows.

-For her 16th birthday party, Elizabeth does full Anne Boleyn cosplay. Katherine does the necklace thing but doesn't tell her to change. So.... it's still pretty obviously AB cosplay.

-Elizabeth Hates Sewing and wants to be a Leader so Robert Dudley gives her secret sword-fighting lessons. Shippers are torn between thinking this is cheesy and stupid, and the need to have Content.

-While hunting, Elizabeth accidentally shoots a peasant. Robert helps her bury the body in the woods. It's a Serious Moment for Elizabeth's Journey. So naturally it's never referred to ever again.

-The scene where Katherine discovers the truth about Tommy S and Elizabeth is... more graphic.

-Katherine has a graphic C-section.... and survives. Syke! She dies offscreen of a post-partum infection anyway.

-Mary Seymour dies as an infant... because Tommy S got drunk and dropped her down the stairs.

-John Dudley is a full-on Trump expy. He's racist to Pedro for no other reason than to signal he's No Good Very Bad.

-Alternatively, John Dudley is a Male Feminist who Leans In and Respects Wamen and tells Robert that his girlbossery comes from following his mother's example unlike his father Edmund Dudley who was a Useless Loser Who Got Beheaded. This clumsily foreshadows that John will one day be the Useless Loser Who Gets Beheaded.

-either way, we still don't get Jane Dudley.

-Mary chokes on a communion wafer and is saved by Pedro, because he's a Civilised Spaniard who knows something the Backward English don't know. (Basically the Heimlich Manoeuvre.)

-John Dudley tells Mary "we've had enough of your popish paraphernalia!" This line is so clunky and difficult to say that it becomes a meme.

-In their confrontation in the woods, Mary and Elizabeth get so angry they start to duel. It's surprisingly well-choregraphed. "Romola Fencing Champion" trends on Twitter. (Alicia is also pretty good).

-The duel descends into the two women rolling around in the mud and fighting. This sparks Discourse. Was it kinky accidentally, or on purpose?

-In their director's commentary of the scene Emma Frost calls the fight "their Anakin and Obi-Wan moment". She says this over a shot of Mary trying to crush Elizabeth's windpipe with her thighs.

-Edward's disease uses up presumably a large chunk of the special effects budget. He bleeds from the nose, eyes, mouth, and ears. Oliver Zetterstrom in an interview says this was his favourite bit to film because of course it was.

-John Dudley is so desperate for Edward to survive that he chooses black magic. Pentagrams, chanting, candles, sacrifices, the works. A black cockerel is sacrificed and John Dudley is sprayed with blood. Some members of the audience are kind of into it.

-Despite England being too backward for the Heimlich manoeuvre, Henry Grey performs mouth to mouth and CPR on Edward.

-No sign of Frances Grey, it goes without saying.

-Edward is dying and Elizabeth has just turned 18. Time to open the Mysterious Box! Inside are two canopic jars and a letter. The letter is from Henry VIII. He tells her that Anthony Denny is tasked with sending her the Mysterious Box. Henry says he has had a prophetic dream revealing that Elizabeth has been Chosen. He apologises for dismissing her because she was a girl and her mother was a Wicked Slut. She must wait for Edward and Mary to die as it has been foretold, then she will be Queen and preside over a Golden Age. After his death, the canopic jars will be filled and given to her as proof of his faith in her.

And what's inside the canopic jars? Why, the heart and stomach of a king! And of a king of England, too!

The End.

[natequarter]

Average British celebrity drama magazine:

Ferdinand and Isabella DIVORCE FEARS?!

How Lady Jane Grey Lost Ten Pounds In Just One Day!

Nero on Caligula: "I guess I was just jealous of all the different ways he killed people..."

Alexios Komnenos' Latest Glow-up!

Top Ten Visigoth Looks!

Napoleon on how to get rich quick: "Listen, the trick is to murder lots of innocent people..."

No more More? We interview England's Lord Chancellor on where he is these days.

BONUS: Exclusive interview with HENRY VIII on why he executed Edmund Dudley! ("Eh, he was just kind of a cunt," says king.)

[queenmarytudor]

Mary I's Fight For The Throne

15th July - Mary wins a fleet

At daybreak, Henry Jerningham, John Tyrrell and Edward Glemham go to inspect the ships in the haven. The crew ask Jerningham "what he would have, and whether he would have their captains or no; and he said yeah, mary. Said they " Ye shall have them, or else we shall throw them to the bottom of the sea." The captains, seeing this perplexity, said forthwith they would serve queen Mary gladly." 1

Jerningham takes Richard Brooke, the squadron's commander, back to Framlingham castle, where they "bring news of this happy and unexpected arrival to the queen." 2 The last ship, The Greyhound, still remains in Lowestoft, but for now they focus on bringing the artillery and weapons from the rest to Framlingham.

Tyrrell and Glemham also reveal to Mary that Lord Wentworth has submitted, telling the pair that "although he had pledged his fealty to Jane by the obligation of his oath, his inner conscience constantly proclaimed that Mary had a greater right to the throne, so that he would pay no more heed to that obligation but set it aside and join his true sovereign with all speed." 3

Approximately on this day, in response to the Duke of Northumberland's letter ordering them to proclaim Jane, the mayor of Coventry, "being ruled by Mr Edward Sanders, the recorder, would not do it." 4 A fervent Catholic, Sanders "speedily proclaimed queen Mary."5 The city hold a "great store of armour; and there was a cry that the city was firing in four places, which caused the common bell to be rung, the gates shut, and the walls manned, but there was no hurt." 6

Meanwhile...

The Duke of Northumberland enters Cambridge. 7

Lord Edward Clinton joins Northumberland with more supplies and weaponry. 8

Francis Jobson raises 500 rebels at Ware to join Northumberland at Cambridge. 9

Northumberland's son and heir, the Earl of Warwick, and George Howard, brother of Mary's step mother Katherine, burn Sawston Hall down in revenge for housing Mary. 10

In Buckinghamshire, Edward Hastings and Sir Edmund Peckham lead a force of men intending to march towards the Palace of Westminster "where their purpose is to apprehend Mr [Francis] Jobson and to take the armour and munitions that they shall there find, for the better furnishing of themselves in the defence of the Queen’s majesty’s person and her title." 11

A printed epistle dedicated to Gilbert Potter, the man who had his ears chopped off for proclaiming Mary, is distributed amongst London . "Whereas thou hast of late showed thy self to be a true subject to Mary, queen of England, not only by words but by deeds, and for the farther trial of thy true heart towards her, did offer thy body to be slain in her quarrel, and offered up thy self into the hands of the ragged bear most rank, with whom is nether mercy, pity, nor compassion, but his indignation present death. Thy promise (Gilbard) is faithful, thy heart is true, thy love is fervent towards her grace ; and, whereas you did promise me faithfully (when I last visited thee in prison) to be torn with wild horses, thou would not deny Marye our queen […] For, as it shall be to the great honour and praise in this world, and in heaven, to die in her grace's quarrel, and in the defence of thy country ; so would it be to the utter destruction both of thy body and soul to do the contrary […] I hear say that the true subject, Sir Edmund Peckham, is gone, with all his power and treasure, to assist her grace […] I hear also, that there is come more to help her grace, the earl of Darbey, the earl of Oxford, the earl of Bath, and divers other nobles […] The good earl of Arundel and the earl of Shrewsbury be here still; but, as I am informed, the earl of Arundel will not consent to none of their doing […] The author reveals he has also sent two "into the ragged bears camp. Keep that close which thou hast; the world is dangerous. The great devil, Dudley, ruleth; (duke, I should have said) : well, let that pass, seeing it is out, but I trust he shall not long. 12

The Imperial ambassadors are "being watched so closely to see whether we do what the Council prohibited that we are unable to negotiate as freely as we could wish or attempt certain useful expedient." 13

Members of the Privy Council visit the Imperial ambassadors again, to ask them to decide whether they want to stay or not "for if we did wish to remain our persons should be secure and my Lords would do their best for us. If we wished to depart they would give us an escort to conduct us safely out of the kingdom." 14 They decide to leave town on the 20th, slowly making their way to Dover hoping to hear of news regarding Mary and Northumberland.

Sources:

1. Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary

2. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

3. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

4. Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary

5. Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary

6. Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary

7. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

8. Vita Mariae Angliae Reginae of Robert Wingfield

9. Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Philip and Mary Vol 1. 1553 - 1554

10. Spanish State Papers, 20th July 1553

11. Acts of the Privy Council, Volume 4

12. Chronicle of Queen Jane and Queen Mary

13. Spanish State Papers, 16th July 1553

14. Spanish State Papers, 16th July 1553

[fideidefenswhore]

gareth russell doesn't give much detail bc he seems to be saving it all for his book (he wrote this in 2010 tho). he was bickering on his blog (confessions of a ci-devant) with conor byrne about anne's age in the comments. conor brought up thomas boleyn's "five years" comment and gareth insisted the year he married elizabeth howard wasn't sure and his research told him elizabeth didn't get her dowry until 1502, so they probably married that year. not much but it'd be interesting to hear more about it.

lolol, well, he's deleted most of that, so...i think his interest in anne boleyn has fallen off, somewhat, generally speaking? he said he was writing and soon publishing a biography of her, years and years ago. i don't really see how that applies to the five years comment, unless he argued that william boleyn ('for every year my father lived, she brought me a child') actually died later than 1505, but without the text in front of me...

i also don't know whether or not that's true about the dowry, offhand, but if it is, it doesn't necessarily mean that 1502 was the year they married. thomas boleyn was high enough in hvii's estimation to be assigned as part of princess margaret's escort to scotland, but the latter still fined him for ...some entirely arbitrary reason, i'm sure, so not that high. elizabeth (howard) boleyn's father was also a ricardian (and by that i don't mean the tumblr version, i mean as in a literal, stalwart, contemporary supporter of richard iii), and while he was officially forgiven and overcame this somewhat, and was shown favor by hvii in many ways, it's plausible enough of a grudge was held to demur for a year or so on financial matters when it came to his family. thomas howard, (second) duke of norfolk had certainly made the list of nobility edmund dudley claimed had "suffered wrongs" and "[been subject to] unjustly imposed fines".

[seedingthecollector]

Dudley Town (AKA The Cursed Town)

Not long ago I heard about a town called "Dudley Town" in Connecticut.

A local rumor that has been frequently shared on the internet alleges the founders of Dudleytown were descended from Edmund Dudley, an English nobleman who was beheaded for treason during the reign of Henry VIII

According to alleged rumors because of their treason the family was cursed, this cursed included crop failures, mental illness as well as several purported violent deaths.

In the history of Dudley Town, it is said that it once was a forest that was converted into farmland. However due to the lack of fertlization in the area the crops would fail to grow.

Records have shown the land was, originally, occupied by the Mohawk Nation, as sacred ground.

According to the Wiki, it states that the town was a distance away from clean water and as I stated before: unstable soil for cultivation. (The soil wasn't good for planting corps.)

However, this isn't where it ends. Does anyone remember the Warrens? I'm talking about Ed and Lorraine Warren. A couple that were paranormal investigators. Their biggest hit was Annabel, the cursed Raggedy Anne doll.

They also visted this town, I am unsure when, but when they said they claimed "There is something evil within this place." and apprently there are multiple things within that town, not just one.

I do personally find these types of hauntings fasinating and very curious. However my job isn't to make every piece of information available.

However I will add some pieces of information left as to supposeably why they closed this place off from the public and places you can go via link to read more about the rumors, the history and so on. I would do it myself, but I unfourtanetly didn't have well enough sleep and my eyes hurt from looking at this screen. According to offical reports: The reason the Dudley Town is off limits to the public is because of trespassers and vandalism. (If any of my spelling is fucked up. I am sorry.) Fun facts as well for the topic: Apparently you can't find any pictures of the town from the inside, just only outside because cameras malfunction once you enter, but when you leave its working just fine. In other notes: What do you think is the real reason behind this curse? Is it real or is it just rumors? Would you explore this place? I know I would.

Happy investigating.

[art-of-manliness]

Odds & Ends: December 8, 2023

The Bishop’s Wife. I watched this oft-overlooked Christmas movie (made in 1947) last week and really enjoyed it. A bishop struggling to build a new cathedral prays to God for help. God sends an angel named Dudley (played by the ever-suave Cary Grant) to help the bishop. However, Dudley’s attention turns towards helping the bishop’s neglected wife. Romantic tension and a Christmas transformation ensue. Ascent Chocolate Peanut Butter Whey Protein. Supplementing with whey protein is an easy way to make sure your body gets all the protein it needs, and I drink one whey protein shake each day. Ascent makes my favorite whey protein; it’s clean — no artificial sweeteners or flavors — and tastes good. I’ve always gotten the straight chocolate flavor, but recently discovered the chocolate peanut butter variety and am really digging it. Claus.com. I’ve been visiting Claus.com every Christmas since 1995, when I was a 12-year-old. It’s a virtual Santa Claus village that hasn’t changed at all in nearly 30 years. It’s all done with HTML. It’s like stepping into an internet time capsule. When I looked into who runs claus.com, it looks like it’s owned by Universal Enterprises, Inc., a mechanical contracting company in Ohio. I have so many questions. Why is a mechanical contracting company in Ohio running the oldest Santa Claus website on the web? Why have they kept the same design for 30 years? This is a Verge.com article waiting to happen. Thanks for the Christmas memories, Claus.com and Universal Enterprises.  The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. I’ve read a lot of TR biographies. Edmund Morris’ The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt was the first one I read way back in 2006, and it’s still my favorite. The book is the first in Morris’ biographical trilogy on TR and covers Roosevelt’s life from his birth in 1858 to his ascent to the U.S. presidency after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901. It details TR’s inspiring transformation from a sickly child into a dynamic statesman, capturing his personal and political growth amidst the backdrop of American expansionism and reform. The rest of Morris’ trilogy is a must-read as well. Quote of the Week Some day, in years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now, in these quiet weeks. Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long-continued process. ―Phillip Brooks The post Odds & Ends: December 8, 2023 appeared first on The Art of Manliness. http://dlvr.it/Szv2jd

[malkaleh]

OT3 Verse Headcast

So @onekisstotakewithme asked me this question from a meme:

🎬 If a movie or show were based on your fic, which fic would you choose and who would you fancast?

And listen I usually say ‘Jewish Anne Boleyn’ but I don’t actually know of any biracial Persian Jewish actors to cast for that so I thought I’d do my giant emotional support Tudors AU aka The OT3 Verse. See here for summary of. So I thought I’d write out (with pictures) all the headcasts I have.

PLEASE feel free to ask me about any of them and I will answer like I was a show runner giving an interview to a media outlet because DUH.

Under a cut because LONG.

The Triad

Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn)

James Frain (Thomas Cromwell)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers (King Henry VIII)

Boleyn Family

Rufus Sewell/Luke Thompson (Thomas Boleyn)

Joanne Whalley/Eleanor Tomlinson (Elizabeth Boleyn)

Jonathan Bailey (George Boleyn)

Morfydd Clark (Jane Boleyn)

Holliday Granger (Mary Boleyn) because @houseofborgia in part because I think she would rock OT3 verse Mary.

Dudley Family

Matthew Goode (John Dudley)

Tom Blythe (Robert Dudley)

(Jane Dudley is obviously here but placeholder for now because stuck on headcast)

Children Of The Triad (adults)

Princess Mary (Sarah Bolger)

Princess Elizabeth (Sophie Turner)

Prince Thomas (Patrick Gibson)

Prince George (Ethan Peck)

Prince William (Ruari O’Connor)

Princess Margaret (Lola Petticrew)

Prince Owen (Ben Barnes)

Prince Edmund (Kerem Busin is the best visual representation I have but honestly like picture Travis Kelce with red hair and Giant)

Princess Philippa (Goldshifteh Farahani)

Other Major Characters

Princess Mihrimah/Mihrimah Sultan (I go between Sujaya Dasgupta for VIBES and because I think she’d kill it and Pelin Karahan)

John Welles, Earl of Norwich (Rupert Graves)

Thomas Howard, Duke Of Norfolk (Jeremy Irons)

Bridget Grey, nee Talbot (Hannah New)

Lionel Grey (Toby Regbo)

Charles Brandon, Duke of Sussex (Henry Cavill)

Mary Brandon, Duchess of Sussex (Debra Messing thank you @the-ships-to-rule-them-all so much for suggestion 🩷)

(I do also have the grandchildrens generation but that’s WAY TOO MUCH)

[cowperviolet]

Ok, that’s official

I am now researching/outlining/writing a historical trilogy based on the Dudley family (Edmund, John, and Robert).

[corallapis]

Henry ‘Chips’ Channon: The Diaries (Vol. 1), 1918-38, entry for 14th April 1923

—

Saturday 14th April

We dined at three tables this evening at the Grafton Galleries, we being the Carlisles, the Prince of Wales,¹ Poppy Baring,² Mrs Coats,³ Alice Astor, Prince Henry⁴ and a little woman he is flirting [with], Prince George,⁵ Lady Alexandra Curzon,⁶ Serge Obolensky and Paul of Serbia. Paul Whiteman,⁷ an American, conducted his fabulous orchestra with intoxicating skill on hearing who was in the room. At about 11.30 the Prince of Wales decided to commandeer the band and we left . . . but where to go? We agreed on the Curzons’ house (which is closed for repairs). The Prince of Wales sent to St James Palace for a great deal of champagne: the band of twenty-eight musicians arrived and we all crept stealthily into the darkened house. But no glasses! Prince Henry and I searched the bedrooms and collected every available toothbrush glass . . . . At dawn we went out on the balcony and at last when the band was ready to collapse and we were exhausted we sadly separated. It was 7.30 Sunday morning. We walked up Pall Mall in our evening dress hunting taxis. The guard at Marlborough House⁸ recognised the young pink princes and presented arms. We have all sworn to secrecy about this hush party but I wonder how long it will be before all of London knows and gossips. I shan’t say a word.

—

1. Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David (1894-1972), elder son of King George V and Queen Mary, created Prince of Wales 1911; succeeded his father in January 1936 as King Edward VIII, abdicated December 1936; created Duke of Windsor on his abdication; married Wallis Warfield Simpson (1896-1986), of Baltimore, in 1937.

2. Helen Azalea ‘Poppy’ Baring (1901-80), daughter of Sir Godfrey Baring Bt, and Eva Hermione Mackintosh: the Duke of York had proposed to her in 1921 but his mother, Queen Mary, had forbidden the union because of her supposed unsuitability. She was also vetoed as a bride for Prince George, whose mistress she became. She married William Piers Thursby (1904-77) in 1928. She ran a dress shop in Down Street, off Piccadilly in London.

3. Audrey Evelyn James (1902-68), daughter of William Dodge James, married in 1922 Captain Muir Dudley Coats MC (1897-1927) of the Scots Guards. Having been widowed she married in 1930 Marshall James Field (1893-1956), an American department-store heir, investment banker and newspaper proprietor. They divorced in 1934.

4. Prince Henry William Frederick Albert (1900-74), third son of King George V and Queen Mary, created Duke of Gloucester 1928; married in 1935 Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott (1901-2004), daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch.

5. Prince George Edward Alexander Edmund (1902-42), fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary, created Duke of Kent 1934; married in 1934 Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (1906-68). Although known before his marriage to have had a number of mistresses he was also believed to be bisexual, and became one of Channon’s closest friends. He was killed on active service with the RAF when his flying boat crashed into a hillside in Caithness.

6. Lady Alexandra Naldera ‘Baba’ Curzon (1904-95), Lord Curzon’s youngest daughter by his first marriage. In 1925 she married Major Edward Dudley ‘Fruity’ Metcalfe (1887-1957), confidant and equerry of the future King Edward VIII, but conducted a number of affairs with men in high society, notably Lord Halifax, between the wars. Because of her flirtations with various fascists in the 1930s her nickname morphed into ‘Baba Blackshirt’.

7. Paul Samuel Whiteman (1890-1967) was one of America’s most famous band leaders.

8. Residence of Queen Alexandra in her widowhood.