#miscellaneousfacts

[thebritishmonarchycouk]

Miscellaneous Facts . About King William the Conqueror (William I) . . 👑 William the Conqueror was known as ‘William the Bastard’ during his lifetime, being the result of his father’s affair with a tanner’s daughter – but never to his face. His tendency, when offended, to order a person’s tongue to be cut out and nailed to a door probably accounted for this. . 👑 The White Tower (pictured), centrepiece of the Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. . 👑 He was a brutal monarch who, after an uprising in York, sent his army north with orders to kill every man, woman and child living there. Around 150,000 people died and much of the north of England was depopulated for generations. . 👑 William died putting down a rebellion in Normandy in 1087. He was already obese and his body swelled further on its journey to Caen to be buried. It would not fit his coffin and had to be forced in. During the struggle his abdomen burst open. The smell was horrendous & they couldn’t get the lid on fast enough. . . . #Miscellaneousfacts #KingWilliamI #WilliamI #WilliamtheConqueror #HouseofNormandy #Normans #History #KingofEngland #DukeofNormandy #England #EnglishMonarchy #Britishmonarchy #WhiteTower #TowerofLondon (at United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsMAS6QFHyd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17ltc2hb8kzif

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King Richard I . . 👑 Although Richard I lived up to his ‘lion-hearted’ title and his men fought valiantly, they failed to take Jerusalem. . 👑 During a truce, when some of his crusaders entered Jerusalem, Richard I refused to accompany them, saying that he would not enter as a pilgrim into the city which he could not rescue as a conqueror. . 👑 On his return from the Holy Land, Richard I was shipwrecked off the coast of the Adriatic &, while attempting to travel through Austria in disguise, he was recognised & captured by Duke Leopold, whom he had offended at the siege of Acre. Leopold kept him prisoner at Dürnstein Castle, Austria, before handing him over to Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor, who imprisoned him in Trifels Castle & demanded a huge ransom for his release. The ransom was equivalent to more than twice the annual revenues of England. . 👑 Meanwhile, Richard’s brother, Prince John, had joined forces with Philip Augustus, King of France, & they sent a letter to Henry asking him to keep Richard away from England for as long as possible, offering payment to keep Richard imprisoned. Although he was the youngest of Henry II’s sons, Prince John was manoeuvring to gain the crown for himself. . 👑 Prince John's offer was declined & Richard’s ransom was paid by his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had to pawn the Crown Jewels of England to do so), he was set free. . 👑 Upon Richard’s release, his brother John grovelled & pleaded for forgiveness. Much to the disgust of his nobles, Richard granted clemency & named John heir presumptive. . 👑 Richard I died during the siege of a small castle in the Limousin, having already defeated King Philip of France. On 25 March 1199, Richard was walking around the castle when a fluke long-distance arrow, fired by a young French bowman, pierced his shoulder. Gangrene set in and he died within days.. . . . #Miscellaneousfacts #RoyalFacts #KingRichardI #richardI #RichardIofEngland #RichardILionheart #CoeurdeLion #RichardtheLionheart #HouseofPlantagenet #HouseofAngevin #History #EnglishMonarchy #britishmonarchy https://www.instagram.com/p/BD3c2YlBYKh/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=jvun3n45l0w0

[thebritishmonarchycouk]

Miscellaneous Facts . King Henry III . . 👑 Henry III was nine years old when he became king. . 👑 He kept a quartet of lions in the Tower of London. They were called Fanny, Miss Fanny, Miss Howe & Miss Fanny Howe. . 👑 Henry III received a polar bear from the King of Norway. It was allowed to hunt for fish in the River Thames on the end of a long rope. The first elephant in England was a gift to King Henry III from the King of France. . 👑 The Magna Carta was reissued when Henry III became king & again when he turned 18 in 1225. . 👑 In 1264, Henry III was captured during the rebellion of barons led by Simon de Montfort & was forced to set up a ‘Parlement’ at Westminster, which was how the House of Commons began. . 👑 Henry III was the greatest patron of medieval architecture & ordered the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey in the Gothic style. . . . #Miscellaneousfacts #RoyalFacts #Facts #KingHenryIII #HenryIII #HenryIIIofEngland #KingofEngland #Royalty #HouseofPlantagenet #History #EnglishMonarchy #England #Britain #heritage #Royal #Historic #TowerofLondon #London #TheBritishMonarchy #Britishmonarchy #Westminster (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrM-a0NlOak/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=103uu1dfrjysg

[thebritishmonarchycouk]

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II . . 👑 For her 21st birthday, celebrated on tour in South Africa, Elizabeth was presented with a gift of 87 diamonds by the host nation. . 👑 She learned to drive in 1945 when she joined the wartime army but has never held a driving licence. Her Company Commander described her as ‘a very good and extremely careful and considerate driver’. . 👑 The Queen named one of her racehorses Charlton after the brothers Bobby and Jack who helped lead England to victory in the 1966 World Cup. . 👑 The Queen’s nickname for her grandfather, King George V, was ‘Grandpapa England’. . . #Facts #Miscellaneous #MiscellaneousFacts #HerMajesty #TheQueen #Queen #ElizabethII #QueenElizabethII #HouseofWindsor #Royalty #Royal #RoyalFamily #HeadofState #Sovereign #Monarch #Monarchy #BritishMonarchy #Britain #BuckinghamPalace #TheBritishMonarchy #GodSaveTheQueen (at United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/BosClY6FhKC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ko5b4zxo08m2

[thebritishmonarchycouk]

Facts you 'probably' didn't know! . ◼ Technically the Queen still owns the sturgeons, whales & dolphins in the waters around the UK. . ◼ A statute from 1324, at the time of the reign of King Edward II, states that: ‘Also the king shall have… whales & sturgeons taken in the sea or elsewhere within the realm.’ . ◼ This statute is still valid today, & sturgeons, porpoises, whales & dolphins are recognised as ‘Fishes Royal’. . ◼ When captured within three miles of UK shores, or washed ashore either dead or alive, they may be claimed on behalf of the Crown. . ◼ Generally, when brought into port, a sturgeon is sold in the usual way, and the purchaser, as a gesture of loyalty, requests the honour of its being accepted by the Queen. . . . #Facts #royalfacts #MiscellaneousFacts #HerMajesty #TheQueen #Queen #ElizabethII #QueenElizabethII #HouseofWindsor #Royalty #Royal #RoyalFamily #HeadofState #Sovereign #British #Monarch #Monarchy #BritishMonarchy #Britain #BuckinghamPalace #TheBritishMonarchy #GodSaveTheQueen #Dolphins #Sturgeon #Whales #Porpoises (at United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrU11v8FIqe/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=saza0ev4ec1j

[thebritishmonarchycouk]

Elizabeth II is descended from Henry VII and not, as is generally supposed, from Henry VIII. . ◼ The line passed via Queen Margaret of Scotland (Henry VIII's sister) and her granddaughter, Mary Queen of Scots, through to her son, James I of England. . . . #Facts #Miscellaneous #MiscellaneousFacts #HerMajesty #TheQueen #Queen #ElizabethII #QueenElizabethII #HouseofWindsor #Royalty #Royal #RoyalFamily #HeadofState #Sovereign #Monarch #Monarchy #BritishMonarchy #Britain #BuckinghamPalace #TheBritishMonarchy #GodSaveTheQueen #HenryVII #HenryVIII (at United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/BosBdtWF4Jo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=i9tr1j5ptes0