List of monarchs III

'THE COLD-HEARTED SWOT'
What if Edward VI lived just long enough to produce an heir?

Monarchs of England (1547-1671)
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland (1671-1779)

1547 - 1569: Edward VI (House of Tudor) [1]
1569 - 1576: Stephen II (House of Tudor) [2]
1576 - 1579: Henry IX (House of Fitzalan) [3]
1579 - 1585: Henry X (House of Fitzalan) [4]
1585 - 1585: Edward VII (House of Fitzalan) [5]
1585 -1601: Thomas I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [6]
1601 - 1638: John II (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [7]
1638 - 1651: Edward VIII (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [8]
1651 - 1669: Edward IX (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [9]
1669 - 1678:
John III (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [10]
1678 - 1702: Edward X (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [11]
1702 - 1779: Bridget I (House of Stewart) [12]


Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland (1779-)

1779 - 1795: Mary II (House of Stewart) [13]
1795 - 1804:
Thomas II (House of Cromwell) [14]
1804 - 1804: Alexander IV (House of Cromwell) [15]
1804 - 1853: Andrew I (House of Cromwell) [16]


[1] The only son and child of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was one of the youngest monarchs in English history, ascending to the throne at the age of 9, and ruled during the time that its formation as a truly protestant nation occurred, with the Church of England becoming more in line with those of Sweden and Denmark. A sickly man, many said he survived instead of living, suffering from some sort of disease every year of his lifetime, finally dying from tuberculosis, a disease he had lived with for years, at age 31. He also had two half sisters (who were called bastards but had been born as princesses of England in his father's two previous marriages), the ladies Mary and Elizabeth, the first (made Duchess of Bedford after giving birth to a bastard son by a groom six years prior), died of a disease in the bowels at age 45, and the second married Lord Robert Dudley and later was made Duchess of Leinster by her own right, sent in exile to Ireland for some years, she was in many ways responsible for spreading the protestant faith among the Irish nobility and people, even though many did not follow Anglicanism per se, she served as Lord Deputy of Ireland for years for her brother and his successors. Married to Lady Jane Grey in 1554, after his death she served as regent to their son, Stephen II.

[2] Stephen II of England's brief reign was turbulent. His father having passed when he was less than two years old, the noblemen of the realm immediately began jockeying for power. In 1573, after failing to prevent the annexation of Northumberland by the Scots at the behest of Thomas Percy, Queen Jane was removed by a coalition of nobles and replaced with the Earl of Warwick. However, Warwick's government proved to be equally inept and in 1575 he was removed from power after a brief civil war. Stephen took ill and died (not at all related to his new, noble-appointed chef, of course), and without a male successor the selection of a new king was given over to Parliament. Parliament appointed Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel to take the throne.

[3] The election of Henry IX by Parliament was highly controversial, and largely a result of the fractious political infighting throughout the reign of Stephen II. The 12th Earl of Arundel had been a near-permanent fixture in the courts of the Tudor monarchs, and had shrewdly supported the Regency Council of Jane to maintain a strong political position. However, upon the loss of Northumberland and the humiliation of the Earl of Warwick, Henry was courted by his supporters in Parliament as a neutral candidate around which the nobles of England could unite - and his pragmatic ambition played to their demands. Despite being 63 at the time of his coronation, Henry was able to point to an heir (also called Henry, Baron Maltravers, born in 1538), while his two daughters were well-wedded into the heart of the nobility with children of their own. Coming to the throne in 1576, Henry IX was a divisive figure and often unaccepted by those who favoured his rival candidates for the throne. Many of these candidates remained a threat upon his death just three years later in 1579.

[4] While his father's reign was tense with political intrigue and unrest due to the decision of completely set aside all female Tudors (from the lines of Elizabeth and Mary and Princess Jane, Stephen II's older sister), Henry X's was marked by war. The English Civil War (sometimes called the War of the Five Kings) began when Lady Elizabeth, who had been living in Ireland since 1552, declared Irish independence with herself as Queen in 1582 - basically declaring that any authority England had over it was moot after they basically deposed the Tudors. This action by now Queen Elizabeth started a domino effect as all the groups against the new monarchs decided that now was the time to seize the throne for themselves. The first to raise the banners of war where the Protestants who, together with their belief that Henry X was a crypto-catholic (his family having only begrudgingly accepted Protestantism during the reign of Edward VI) and that this line was barely of royal standard, rose in rebellion by the end of 1582. A good chunk of England rose with them under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford and Thomas (the bastard son of the Lady Mary, who had received her title after her death), the latter of whom was was fiercely Protestant and had eloped and married Princess Jane in 1571. The Scottish were led by the young James VI who invaded England to assert his claim as a man of full royal lineage and a direct descendant of Henry VII, while even the Welsh rose up under a pretender alleging to be the illegitimate son of Edward VI. (He died fighting a second pretender, supposedly the illegitimate grandson of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII). Henry X died in the camp of battle fighting against Thomas, who had by that point taken control of most of the kingdom after allying with his half-aunt. By the time of his death Henry was reviled for rumours that he had (unsuccessfully) proposed to Philip II of Spain to convert to Catholicism should the Habsburgs help him in retaining his English crown, and was succeeded by the short reign of his son Edward VII.

[5] Edward VII, the last of the Fitzalans, came to the throne as any semblance of power slipped from his dynasty's grasp. His father's forces had been decisively defeated by Thomas, and Edward was forced to withdraw further and further south to prevent the obliteration of his few remaining forces. Overtures to Francis II of France also failed, given the ongoing French Wars of Religion, and in late-July Edward was forced to consider drastic options. He wrote to James VI, who was engaged in a protracted campaign against Thomas in the north, citing the claim that they were in fact related given the kinship of the Stewarts and the Fitzalans from Alan Fitz Flaad (d. 1120). Lacking a male heir, Edward proposed that his only daughter Eleanor (still a child) marry James and that their kin would be the heirs of both Scotland and England, unifying the two countries and ending the continuous Anglo-Scottish wars diplomatically. James rebuffed the offer, and moved to engage Thomas directly at the Battle of Yarm (almost a century to the day as the Battle of Bosworth Field). Edward was subsequently killed by rebel mutineers attempting to flee the country from Dartmouth - having been on the throne for less than a year - leading both James and Thomas to declare themselves King prior to their engagement. Although initially favouring the larger force of Thomas, the clash was a narrow one and affected significantly by changeable weather conditions and the difficult conditions to the east around the River Leven. By killing James at the climax of the battle and the subsequent rout, Thomas emerged victorious. With Edward drowned in Devon and the Fitzalan line forced from power, Thomas de Sabaudia faced no further resistance, and was subsequently coronated in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury - ending the War of the Five Kings.

[6] Thomas was not born to greatness, being the result of a short lived romance between the unmarried Princess Mary of England, and Emanuele Tomasso de Sabaudia - the illegitimate son of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and a serving officer of the English court. The young bastard was born in 1540, six years before the death of his grandfather Henry VIII and the crowning of his uncle Edward VII. By the death of his cousin; Stephen II, Thomas de Sabaudia saw himself as the sole remaining heir, and the rightful King of England. Thomas, Duke of Bedford, took a healthy annuity from the Fitzalan Kings, and despite his ties to the English throne, he would go to the continent where he made his name known as a reputable mercenary in the service of Italian dukes, the Spanish crown, and even the King of Poland. With the victory of the War of the English Succession (otherwise known as the War of the Five Kings) Thomas secured his right and the throne. Much of his early rule was spent on clearing the rebel groups, and bringing the heavy hammer of order upon those nobles who had supported the other claimants. By 1593, the purge had been completed, and the nickname “the Bloody” had been attached to the memory of Thomas I. After the death of his wife; Jane Fitzalan, Thomas would married Catherine of Portugal in 1588. The Catholic Catherine was seen as a poor choice, but the prospect of restoring the Anglo-Portuguese alliance proved right. Their union was short but fruitful, with two sons and a daughter being born before her death in 1597. With his rule stable in England, Thomas would turn his sights to the lost Kingdom of Ireland, and despite the loyalties to Elizabeth of Leinster the Irish armies could not withstand the English onslaught; by 1598 English rule was reinstated, at least within the Pale. The last years of his life were spent in relative opulence, with the palaces of England being some of the greatest and wealthiest in Europe. He would pass in 1601, and the throne would pass to his eldest son, John, Prince of Wales.

[7] John was born 1582, to King Thomas and Queen Catherine, he was named after his maternal grandfather, King John IV of Portugal. His upbringing was mainly performed by his mother, while his father was dealing with the rebels (although the Privy Council necessitated the tutors be approved by the Protestant nobility). In 1600, at 16, John married Princess Sophia of Denmark (the youngest daughter of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark, and a year his junior). She was also the sister of Anne, Queen Consort of Scotland. To secure English rule in Ireland John arranged the marriage of his brother Emmanuel, Duke of York, to Elizabeth Dudley - the only surviving heir of Robert I of Ireland. This marriage rallied the Irish nobility behind his rule, while his sister Mary was married to their cousin Sebastian II of Portugal. Along with these marriages John would also be the match-maker for many of his noble subjects, betrothing formerly rival houses to one another, stating that he never wished for English blood to be split by other English men on English soil. Peace was never broken within his 37-year reign, and instead of spending taxes on standing armies the Privy Council was able to concentrate on increasing the size of the Navy and mercantilism. His death at the age of 55 came as a great shock, for the healthy king was assumed to live forever. However, while dancing at a party held in honour of the birth of his first great-grandchild - a feat that no monarch had claimed before - John collapsed into the arms of his daughter-in-law, lost consciousness and was carried to a nearby lounge chair, where he was pronounced dead. At first there was speculation of murder, but after an examination from an independent doctor it was found that he had a brain aneurysm. He was succeeded by his second son Edward, Duke of Clarence - leaving behind his wife, 8 children, 22 grandchild and 1 great-grandchild.

[8] Edward was the second of the six sons of John II and until the age of 4 there was no expectation that he would inherit the throne. When his elder brother Thomas reached the age of 6 his developmental disabilities became apparent. Known to be deaf from birth and developmentally stunted, Thomas was unfit for rule and so Edward was pushed into the limelight as the heir-principal of his father, even though his elder brother was still alive. Having inherited the throne at the age of 37, and with 6 children of his own by his wife Catherine of Milan as well as two illegitimate sons (John and William), Edward VIII looked to be a great king. He worked to continue the peace his father had built, and largely succeeded. However, after a mere thirteen years on the throne Edward would be succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Edward IX.

[9] As the eldest legitimate son of Edward VIII, Edward IX quickly showed a keen interest in the development of the English navy but also, more importantly, in the dramatic surge in commitment to the fledging North American colonies. A major shipbuilding programme was bolstered by the arrival of Protestant Dutch fleeing from the devastating war between France and the Habsburg family compact, while England prospered from her neutrality on the edge of Europe. The peaceful reign of the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty continued, although religious upheaval in Scotland threatened the tentative status quo amid threats of a renewed Auld Alliance. London grew rapidly as England embraced her commercial revolution, and although Edward failed in his attempts to create a single national bank (primarily as a means to finance his navy) economic reforms loomed heavily over the horizon. Blessed with his large extended family and happily married, when Edward died of dropsy in 1669 the crown passed to his younger brother Maximilian John, Duke of York- a monarch who, although tested by both economic and military crises, would reign over the true beginnings of the modern English state.

[10] Maximilian John was born during the reign of his grandfather, John II. Early in life, he was destined to marry Elizabeth of York (the daughter of Emmanuel, 3rd Duke of York, and the senior most descendant of Elizabeth, Queen of Ireland). With their marriage, the cadet branch of the Dukes of York came to an end, and the title returned to the royal family. Their marriage was fruitful, producing three sons and two daughters, - in stark contrast to his brother (the future Edward X), for the Prince of Wales had but one son who died at the young age of 18. Upon the death of Edward IX John took the thrones of England and Ireland, and for the next two years worked tirelessly to consolidate his kingdoms into a single state. The 1671 Act of Union passed through both parliaments, and formed the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland. This, combined with his popular marriage to Elizabeth, finally established the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty as the rightful monarchs of Ireland. However, war would come to the United Kingdoms as the ultra-Catholic Valois attempted to conquer Calais in 1764. Charles XIII of France assaulted the walls of the fortress city no fewer than seven times, also leading an invasion of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the French cannon also struck the munitions store, detonating the powder as well as the King (who was leading the defence of his European redoubt). Upon the death of John III the city quickly fell, and the throne passed to his brother Edward.

[11] The reign of John III had been a turning point for his dynasty; while the unification of England and Ireland would create a powerful mercantile state focused largely upon the Atlantic, his premature death and the forced involvement of the United Kingdoms in European affairs all was a crisis for Tudor-Sabaudian rule. Although Edward was a capable ruler, the 1678 Treaty of Coulogne (establishing a short-lived peace with France) was highly-unpopular and did little to prevent the further conflagration in Europe. France, triumphant, launched enthusiastically into the First War of the Valois - their first attempt to establish both French and High-Church dominance over the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs. Such a challenge to the European status necessitated an Austrian-led coalition, with Emperor Otto VI quickly establishing a strong position in Central Europe. For the most part Edward attempted to keep the United Kingdoms out of the conflict, but in 1682 agreed to sponsor large campaigns against French positions in North America as well as conduct a sizeable naval campaign as part of the anti-Valois coalition. The war dominated his reign, but Edward would not seek any personal glory on the battlefield - instead, he served as a shrewd administrator and diplomat. Upon the European stalemate in 1687, Edward was able to secure major American colonial concessions from the French in exchange for his recognition of the annexation of Calais and the Netherlands. Although the Second War of the Valois would begin in 1691 the United Kingdoms remained neutral until the intervention of the Scots into the conflict in 1697. Most significantly, however, Edward was never able to overcome his fertility problems. When he died in 1702 the throne passed to the only living child of John III - his youngest daughter, Bridget, the Queen of Scotland.

[12] Princess Bridget was the last child of John III and Elizabeth of York. Her siblings were Emmanuel (b. 1650-1678) Elizabeth (1654-1670), Henry (1658-1678), and Thomas (1662-1701). She was a surprise child born to the 40-year-old Queen in 1675 - long after it was thought her child-bearing years were over. She was the only child born while her father was King, and a comfort to her mother still morning the loss of her daughter Elizabeth who had died from the sweating sickness just weeks before her sixteenth birthday. Bridget was only 3 years old when her father and her two oldest brothers died in the Battle of Calais, leaving her and her elder brother Prince Thomas, only 15 years old, as the only heirs to the throne. Thomas was an effeminate boy with no interest in the throne nor the will to resist his uncle, and was subsequently adopted as his heir. Princess Bridget and her mother, the Duchess of York (who no longer used the title of Queen in order to not appear a rival to her brother-in-law) relocated to their lands in Ireland, where the princess was raised apart from the intrigue of the court. In 1693, on her 18th birthday, the Princess was wed to her distant cousin, James VII Stewart, King of Scotland. She gave birth to her first child, later James VIII, in 1696. Her focus was on Presbyterian Scotland and had no idea she would become the heir to the throne of England and Ireland until her brother Thomas died under mysterious circumstances while traveling with his closest companion Geoffrey Howard, the Duke of Clarence. Clarence fled the scene and then hung himself from an oak tree, with many believing that Geoffrey had accidentally killed Thomas during a violent lover's spat. Queen Bridget and the King of Scotland, along with Prince James (now heir to both thrones) traveled back and forth from one court to the next. James' brother, Charles Stewart, acted as his regent while he was with his wife in London, and Bridget's mother, who now reclaimed the title of Dowager Queen, acted as her regent while she was in Edinburgh. A major result of this was the increase in the role of the parliaments in governing both kingdoms; although the kingdoms were not in a personal union, it was clear they eventually would be. The practical reality was that both kingdoms cooperated, especially in overseas matters and trade, and this became even more evident when James VIII ascended to the Scottish throne in 1721. The reigning King of Scotland was the heir to the throne of England and Ireland. Bridget was the longest monarch in the history of England and Ireland, reigning for 77 years and living until she was 104. She outlived many of her children, grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren. During the Bridgettian Era great changes occurred in Britain, a term that was used more and more for the two kingdoms. The Industrial Revolution began, the North American colonies were organized into a colonial federation, the East India Trading Company was established, and Britain became the two most powerful kingdoms in the world. In 1758 the two Parliaments agreed to another Act of Union to be effective on the death of the Queen and assumption of the English & Irish throne by the Scots monarch. They did not expect that it would be another 21 years before the then 83 year old monarch would die. The Bridgettian Era is considered the Golden Age of Britain. When the Queen finally died the entire English speaking world mourned for months and the color black remained a fashion staple for years after the official mourning period was done. She was succeed by her granddaughter, Mary II, the reigning Queen of Scotland.

[13] Commonly overshadowed by her long-living grandmother Mary II started her life as a monarch, as James VIII died five months before her birth while her elder brother James IX died of the sweats (at age 14) less than a week before the Queen Mother entered labour. Her mother also died from what has been theorized as eclampsia. Trained in the art of ruling by her grandmother, Mary's time as Queen of Scots has been traditionally characterized as being unremarkable, as outside the strengthening of ties between the kingdoms of Britain (which was already in process even before her birth) the Queen spent most of her time in leisure. She left government to her relatives and children while she hunted, invested in the arts or traveled, and was the first British monarch to visit the Colonies in 1768 (even if she had only been the Queen of Scotland at the time). She also loved animals and her personal menagerie, and was the ancestress to the modern Royal Zoo of Edinburgh. The zoo included unique animals, extinct in the wild, such as the like the Great Auk, the sea cow (brought by a Scottish fur trader from the Bering Sea) and even elephants. Aged 48 at the time of her ascension to the Anglo-Irish throne, Mary's reign over the united British Isles was relatively peaceful; the Stewarts remained uninvolved in the bloody collapse of the Spanish Empire into its successor kingdoms and outside of the royal intervention/take-over on the East India Trading Company in 1788 after the Cooch Behar Massacre . She was also the first British monarch to be photographed, as the earliest type of camera was invented less than a year before her death (although the image has been, sadly, lost). Married at age 16 to Gregory Cromwell, 2nd Duke of Ardglass, she was succeeded by her eldest son, Thomas.

[14] Thomas took the throne in 1795 at the head of a globe-spanning imperial state, and despite the minor domestic squabbles caused by the ongoing Regnal Number Controversy it seemed the United Kingdoms of Britain were immune to the political convulsions on the continent. The first monarch of the House of Cromwell, Thomas was nevertheless intimidated by the sweeping nationalist revolutions in Europe and quickly established himself as a reactionary. He supported the conservative parliamentary majority of the Church Party, and resisted calls for greater democratization both at home and in the Colonies. He also opposed the growing influence of the 'new gentry' - the rising number of industrialists and career politicians funded by the new northern factories, such as the wealth of the Earl of Salford or the Marquess of Ayrshire. By 1800, protests broke out across the major cities (partly exacerbated by the dire economic situation caused by the collapse of the East India Trading Company and the disastrous effect of the Spanish Revolution on international trade) to push for social reform, financial liberalization and political influence for the masses. Thomas II was highly-reluctant to agree to their demands, and although the protestors never sought to overthrow the monarchy (with the defenestration of the Spanish Habsburgs unpopular in Britain) many celebrated the death of the King in 1804. They viewed his successor, Alexander, with a renewed optimism in the hope for a political settlement, although it was clear that this would be misplaced for the most part.

[15] Alexander IV succeded his father in midst of social, political and economical unrest as Europe and the Americas suffered through the Era of Troubles in the aftermath of the Spanish Revolution. The king was considered by many as a hopeful figure in the stricken kingdoms, which had been suffering through years of protests for democratization, but while more liberal than his predecessor, Alexander did not bring the political settlement hoped for, as while he did try to bring together a bill to expand the franchise to vote to around 30% of the male population and have the colonies send representatives to parliament, he was shot in the neck by a revolutionary (Spanish backed, as he was known for his support of the UK going to war with the revolutionaries after their invasion of Portugal the previous year, and was responsible for convincing his father to send the royal navy to help the Portuguese monarchy escape to their colonies in Brazil) less than three months into his reign, dying drowned in his own blood and leaving his young brother, Andrew, as his successor.

[16] Growing up he was seen as lacking refinement and elegance, instead, he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his hardworking honest subjects.
Having seen his soft-hearted father’s life ruined by rebels and then his Liberal brother killed by their hands, Andrew, who never really shared none of their ideas became highly reactionary and reversed most of the liberal reforms of brought about during the last ten years.
He set about elevating conservative who helped him oppose any reform that limited his autocratic rule as well as eliminating potential enemies.

Under Andrew, the army was improved, working in unison with the monarchy, the church and government. He also imposed regular periods of forced labour on the unemployed members of the population in lieu of taxation.

His final years were rife with paranoia and angry out burst until his death at the age of 73, received mixed reactions, with his loyal subjects mourning his death, while others celebrated in secret. His 49 year rule was succeeded by _____________.
 
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Please everyone, retcon your updates to follow what *I* wrote not what someone else suggested I should have written and to honor Queen Bridget's choice. Thanks.
It wasn't mentioned in the notes that it was her choice, and I didn't pick up on it if it was implied. I was only asking out of curiosity.

I must say I was going more for a break up of the Spanish Colonial empire due to a large-scale civil war due to various branches of the Royal Family vying for the throne after the main one died out, and not a French Revolutionesque scenario, but I guess it works (and maybe the successor kingdoms I spoke of are those born out of the family members who were already in the colonies or who escaped the Revolution).
I think these lists are more fun when posters can interpret points from the previous entry; I saw your successor kingdoms to be the result of the collapse of the Spanish state, as you did, but thought that as religious differences are more pronounced in this Europe it might be along those lines. As such, the emergence of either a liberal democratic or arch-conservative state through violent means could have been known as a Spanish Revolution. (Indeed, our interpretation of the word itself is determined by our OTL). My defenestration of the Habsburgs was meant to indicate that maybe a mob-led movement had propelled a new populist dynasty to a throne somewhere in Spain (deliberately left unspecified), ushering in a continental period of political unrest. The differing interpretations of source material is, to me, what makes these types of lists interesting.

'THE COLD-HEARTED SWOT'
What if Edward VI lived just long enough to produce an heir?

Monarchs of England (1547-1671)
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland (1671-1779)

1547 - 1569: Edward VI (House of Tudor) [1]
1569 - 1576: Stephen II (House of Tudor) [2]
1576 - 1579: Henry IX (House of Fitzalan) [3]
1579 - 1585: Henry X (House of Fitzalan) [4]
1585 - 1585: Edward VII (House of Fitzalan) [5]
1585 -1601: Thomas I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [6]
1601 - 1638: John II (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [7]
1638 - 1651: Edward VIII (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [8]
1651 - 1669: Edward IX (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [9]
1669 - 1678: John III (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [10]
1678 - 1702: Edward X (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [11]
1702 - 1779: Bridget I (House of Stewart) [12]

Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland (1779-)

1779 - 1795: Mary II (House of Stewart) [13]
1795 - 1804: Thomas II (House of Cromwell) [14]
1804 - 1804: Alexander IV (House of Cromwell) [15]
1804 - 1853: Andrew I (House of Cromwell) [16]
1853 - 1857: Andrew II (House of Cromwell) [17]


[1] The only son and child of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was one of the youngest monarchs in English history, ascending to the throne at the age of 9, and ruled during the time that its formation as a truly protestant nation occurred, with the Church of England becoming more in line with those of Sweden and Denmark. A sickly man, many said he survived instead of living, suffering from some sort of disease every year of his lifetime, finally dying from tuberculosis, a disease he had lived with for years, at age 31. He also had two half sisters (who were called bastards but had been born as princesses of England in his father's two previous marriages), the ladies Mary and Elizabeth, the first (made Duchess of Bedford after giving birth to a bastard son by a groom six years prior), died of a disease in the bowels at age 45, and the second married Lord Robert Dudley and later was made Duchess of Leinster by her own right, sent in exile to Ireland for some years, she was in many ways responsible for spreading the protestant faith among the Irish nobility and people, even though many did not follow Anglicanism per se, she served as Lord Deputy of Ireland for years for her brother and his successors. Married to Lady Jane Grey in 1554, after his death she served as regent to their son, Stephen II.

[2] Stephen II of England's brief reign was turbulent. His father having passed when he was less than two years old, the noblemen of the realm immediately began jockeying for power. In 1573, after failing to prevent the annexation of Northumberland by the Scots at the behest of Thomas Percy, Queen Jane was removed by a coalition of nobles and replaced with the Earl of Warwick. However, Warwick's government proved to be equally inept and in 1575 he was removed from power after a brief civil war. Stephen took ill and died (not at all related to his new, noble-appointed chef, of course), and without a male successor the selection of a new king was given over to Parliament. Parliament appointed Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel to take the throne.

[3] The election of Henry IX by Parliament was highly controversial, and largely a result of the fractious political infighting throughout the reign of Stephen II. The 12th Earl of Arundel had been a near-permanent fixture in the courts of the Tudor monarchs, and had shrewdly supported the Regency Council of Jane to maintain a strong political position. However, upon the loss of Northumberland and the humiliation of the Earl of Warwick, Henry was courted by his supporters in Parliament as a neutral candidate around which the nobles of England could unite - and his pragmatic ambition played to their demands. Despite being 63 at the time of his coronation, Henry was able to point to an heir (also called Henry, Baron Maltravers, born in 1538), while his two daughters were well-wedded into the heart of the nobility with children of their own. Coming to the throne in 1576, Henry IX was a divisive figure and often unaccepted by those who favoured his rival candidates for the throne. Many of these candidates remained a threat upon his death just three years later in 1579.

[4] While his father's reign was tense with political intrigue and unrest due to the decision of completely set aside all female Tudors (from the lines of Elizabeth and Mary and Princess Jane, Stephen II's older sister), Henry X's was marked by war. The English Civil War (sometimes called the War of the Five Kings) began when Lady Elizabeth, who had been living in Ireland since 1552, declared Irish independence with herself as Queen in 1582 - basically declaring that any authority England had over it was moot after they basically deposed the Tudors. This action by now Queen Elizabeth started a domino effect as all the groups against the new monarchs decided that now was the time to seize the throne for themselves. The first to raise the banners of war where the Protestants who, together with their belief that Henry X was a crypto-catholic (his family having only begrudgingly accepted Protestantism during the reign of Edward VI) and that this line was barely of royal standard, rose in rebellion by the end of 1582. A good chunk of England rose with them under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford and Thomas (the bastard son of the Lady Mary, who had received her title after her death), the latter of whom was was fiercely Protestant and had eloped and married Princess Jane in 1571. The Scottish were led by the young James VI who invaded England to assert his claim as a man of full royal lineage and a direct descendant of Henry VII, while even the Welsh rose up under a pretender alleging to be the illegitimate son of Edward VI. (He died fighting a second pretender, supposedly the illegitimate grandson of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII). Henry X died in the camp of battle fighting against Thomas, who had by that point taken control of most of the kingdom after allying with his half-aunt. By the time of his death Henry was reviled for rumours that he had (unsuccessfully) proposed to Philip II of Spain to convert to Catholicism should the Habsburgs help him in retaining his English crown, and was succeeded by the short reign of his son Edward VII.

[5] Edward VII, the last of the Fitzalans, came to the throne as any semblance of power slipped from his dynasty's grasp. His father's forces had been decisively defeated by Thomas, and Edward was forced to withdraw further and further south to prevent the obliteration of his few remaining forces. Overtures to Francis II of France also failed, given the ongoing French Wars of Religion, and in late-July Edward was forced to consider drastic options. He wrote to James VI, who was engaged in a protracted campaign against Thomas in the north, citing the claim that they were in fact related given the kinship of the Stewarts and the Fitzalans from Alan Fitz Flaad (d. 1120). Lacking a male heir, Edward proposed that his only daughter Eleanor (still a child) marry James and that their kin would be the heirs of both Scotland and England, unifying the two countries and ending the continuous Anglo-Scottish wars diplomatically. James rebuffed the offer, and moved to engage Thomas directly at the Battle of Yarm (almost a century to the day as the Battle of Bosworth Field). Edward was subsequently killed by rebel mutineers attempting to flee the country from Dartmouth - having been on the throne for less than a year - leading both James and Thomas to declare themselves King prior to their engagement. Although initially favouring the larger force of Thomas, the clash was a narrow one and affected significantly by changeable weather conditions and the difficult conditions to the east around the River Leven. By killing James at the climax of the battle and the subsequent rout, Thomas emerged victorious. With Edward drowned in Devon and the Fitzalan line forced from power, Thomas de Sabaudia faced no further resistance, and was subsequently coronated in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury - ending the War of the Five Kings.

[6] Thomas was not born to greatness, being the result of a short lived romance between the unmarried Princess Mary of England, and Emanuele Tomasso de Sabaudia - the illegitimate son of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and a serving officer of the English court. The young bastard was born in 1540, six years before the death of his grandfather Henry VIII and the crowning of his uncle Edward VII. By the death of his cousin; Stephen II, Thomas de Sabaudia saw himself as the sole remaining heir, and the rightful King of England. Thomas, Duke of Bedford, took a healthy annuity from the Fitzalan Kings, and despite his ties to the English throne, he would go to the continent where he made his name known as a reputable mercenary in the service of Italian dukes, the Spanish crown, and even the King of Poland. With the victory of the War of the English Succession (otherwise known as the War of the Five Kings) Thomas secured his right and the throne. Much of his early rule was spent on clearing the rebel groups, and bringing the heavy hammer of order upon those nobles who had supported the other claimants. By 1593, the purge had been completed, and the nickname “the Bloody” had been attached to the memory of Thomas I. After the death of his wife; Jane Fitzalan, Thomas would married Catherine of Portugal in 1588. The Catholic Catherine was seen as a poor choice, but the prospect of restoring the Anglo-Portuguese alliance proved right. Their union was short but fruitful, with two sons and a daughter being born before her death in 1597. With his rule stable in England, Thomas would turn his sights to the lost Kingdom of Ireland, and despite the loyalties to Elizabeth of Leinster the Irish armies could not withstand the English onslaught; by 1598 English rule was reinstated, at least within the Pale. The last years of his life were spent in relative opulence, with the palaces of England being some of the greatest and wealthiest in Europe. He would pass in 1601, and the throne would pass to his eldest son, John, Prince of Wales.

[7] John was born 1582, to King Thomas and Queen Catherine, he was named after his maternal grandfather, King John IV of Portugal. His upbringing was mainly performed by his mother, while his father was dealing with the rebels (although the Privy Council necessitated the tutors be approved by the Protestant nobility). In 1600, at 16, John married Princess Sophia of Denmark (the youngest daughter of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark, and a year his junior). She was also the sister of Anne, Queen Consort of Scotland. To secure English rule in Ireland John arranged the marriage of his brother Emmanuel, Duke of York, to Elizabeth Dudley - the only surviving heir of Robert I of Ireland. This marriage rallied the Irish nobility behind his rule, while his sister Mary was married to their cousin Sebastian II of Portugal. Along with these marriages John would also be the match-maker for many of his noble subjects, betrothing formerly rival houses to one another, stating that he never wished for English blood to be split by other English men on English soil. Peace was never broken within his 37-year reign, and instead of spending taxes on standing armies the Privy Council was able to concentrate on increasing the size of the Navy and mercantilism. His death at the age of 55 came as a great shock, for the healthy king was assumed to live forever. However, while dancing at a party held in honour of the birth of his first great-grandchild - a feat that no monarch had claimed before - John collapsed into the arms of his daughter-in-law, lost consciousness and was carried to a nearby lounge chair, where he was pronounced dead. At first there was speculation of murder, but after an examination from an independent doctor it was found that he had a brain aneurysm. He was succeeded by his second son Edward, Duke of Clarence - leaving behind his wife, 8 children, 22 grandchild and 1 great-grandchild.

[8] Edward was the second of the six sons of John II and until the age of 4 there was no expectation that he would inherit the throne. When his elder brother Thomas reached the age of 6 his developmental disabilities became apparent. Known to be deaf from birth and developmentally stunted, Thomas was unfit for rule and so Edward was pushed into the limelight as the heir-principal of his father, even though his elder brother was still alive. Having inherited the throne at the age of 37, and with 6 children of his own by his wife Catherine of Milan as well as two illegitimate sons (John and William), Edward VIII looked to be a great king. He worked to continue the peace his father had built, and largely succeeded. However, after a mere thirteen years on the throne Edward would be succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Edward IX.

[9] As the eldest legitimate son of Edward VIII, Edward IX quickly showed a keen interest in the development of the English navy but also, more importantly, in the dramatic surge in commitment to the fledging North American colonies. A major shipbuilding programme was bolstered by the arrival of Protestant Dutch fleeing from the devastating war between France and the Habsburg family compact, while England prospered from her neutrality on the edge of Europe. The peaceful reign of the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty continued, although religious upheaval in Scotland threatened the tentative status quo amid threats of a renewed Auld Alliance. London grew rapidly as England embraced her commercial revolution, and although Edward failed in his attempts to create a single national bank (primarily as a means to finance his navy) economic reforms loomed heavily over the horizon. Blessed with his large extended family and happily married, when Edward died of dropsy in 1669 the crown passed to his younger brother Maximilian John, Duke of York- a monarch who, although tested by both economic and military crises, would reign over the true beginnings of the modern English state.

[10] Maximilian John was born during the reign of his grandfather, John II. Early in life, he was destined to marry Elizabeth of York (the daughter of Emmanuel, 3rd Duke of York, and the senior most descendant of Elizabeth, Queen of Ireland). With their marriage, the cadet branch of the Dukes of York came to an end, and the title returned to the royal family. Their marriage was fruitful, producing three sons and two daughters, - in stark contrast to his brother (the future Edward X), for the Prince of Wales had but one son who died at the young age of 18. Upon the death of Edward IX John took the thrones of England and Ireland, and for the next two years worked tirelessly to consolidate his kingdoms into a single state. The 1671 Act of Union passed through both parliaments, and formed the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland. This, combined with his popular marriage to Elizabeth, finally established the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty as the rightful monarchs of Ireland. However, war would come to the United Kingdoms as the ultra-Catholic Valois attempted to conquer Calais in 1764. Charles XIII of France assaulted the walls of the fortress city no fewer than seven times, also leading an invasion of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the French cannon also struck the munitions store, detonating the powder as well as the King (who was leading the defence of his European redoubt). Upon the death of John III the city quickly fell, and the throne passed to his brother Edward.

[11] The reign of John III had been a turning point for his dynasty; while the unification of England and Ireland would create a powerful mercantile state focused largely upon the Atlantic, his premature death and the forced involvement of the United Kingdoms in European affairs all was a crisis for Tudor-Sabaudian rule. Although Edward was a capable ruler, the 1678 Treaty of Coulogne (establishing a short-lived peace with France) was highly-unpopular and did little to prevent the further conflagration in Europe. France, triumphant, launched enthusiastically into the First War of the Valois - their first attempt to establish both French and High-Church dominance over the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs. Such a challenge to the European status necessitated an Austrian-led coalition, with Emperor Otto VI quickly establishing a strong position in Central Europe. For the most part Edward attempted to keep the United Kingdoms out of the conflict, but in 1682 agreed to sponsor large campaigns against French positions in North America as well as conduct a sizeable naval campaign as part of the anti-Valois coalition. The war dominated his reign, but Edward would not seek any personal glory on the battlefield - instead, he served as a shrewd administrator and diplomat. Upon the European stalemate in 1687, Edward was able to secure major American colonial concessions from the French in exchange for his recognition of the annexation of Calais and the Netherlands. Although the Second War of the Valois would begin in 1691 the United Kingdoms remained neutral until the intervention of the Scots into the conflict in 1697. Most significantly, however, Edward was never able to overcome his fertility problems. When he died in 1702 the throne passed to the only living child of John III - his youngest daughter, Bridget, the Queen of Scotland.

[12] Princess Bridget was the last child of John III and Elizabeth of York. Her siblings were Emmanuel (b. 1650-1678) Elizabeth (1654-1670), Henry (1658-1678), and Thomas (1662-1701). She was a surprise child born to the 40-year-old Queen in 1675 - long after it was thought her child-bearing years were over. She was the only child born while her father was King, and a comfort to her mother still morning the loss of her daughter Elizabeth who had died from the sweating sickness just weeks before her sixteenth birthday. Bridget was only 3 years old when her father and her two oldest brothers died in the Battle of Calais, leaving her and her elder brother Prince Thomas, only 15 years old, as the only heirs to the throne. Thomas was an effeminate boy with no interest in the throne nor the will to resist his uncle, and was subsequently adopted as his heir. Princess Bridget and her mother, the Duchess of York (who no longer used the title of Queen in order to not appear a rival to her brother-in-law) relocated to their lands in Ireland, where the princess was raised apart from the intrigue of the court. In 1693, on her 18th birthday, the Princess was wed to her distant cousin, James VII Stewart, King of Scotland. She gave birth to her first child, later James VIII, in 1696. Her focus was on Presbyterian Scotland and had no idea she would become the heir to the throne of England and Ireland until her brother Thomas died under mysterious circumstances while traveling with his closest companion Geoffrey Howard, the Duke of Clarence. Clarence fled the scene and then hung himself from an oak tree, with many believing that Geoffrey had accidentally killed Thomas during a violent lover's spat. Queen Bridget and the King of Scotland, along with Prince James (now heir to both thrones) traveled back and forth from one court to the next. James' brother, Charles Stewart, acted as his regent while he was with his wife in London, and Bridget's mother, who now reclaimed the title of Dowager Queen, acted as her regent while she was in Edinburgh. A major result of this was the increase in the role of the parliaments in governing both kingdoms; although the kingdoms were not in a personal union, it was clear they eventually would be. The practical reality was that both kingdoms cooperated, especially in overseas matters and trade, and this became even more evident when James VIII ascended to the Scottish throne in 1721. The reigning King of Scotland was the heir to the throne of England and Ireland. Bridget was the longest monarch in the history of England and Ireland, reigning for 77 years and living until she was 104. She outlived many of her children, grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren. During the Bridgettian Era great changes occurred in Britain, a term that was used more and more for the two kingdoms. The Industrial Revolution began, the North American colonies were organized into a colonial federation, the East India Trading Company was established, and Britain became the two most powerful kingdoms in the world. In 1758 the two Parliaments agreed to another Act of Union to be effective on the death of the Queen and assumption of the English & Irish throne by the Scots monarch. They did not expect that it would be another 21 years before the then 83 year old monarch would die. The Bridgettian Era is considered the Golden Age of Britain. When the Queen finally died the entire English speaking world mourned for months and the color black remained a fashion staple for years after the official mourning period was done. She was succeed by her granddaughter, Mary II, the reigning Queen of Scotland.

[13] Commonly overshadowed by her long-living grandmother Mary II started her life as a monarch, as James VIII died five months before her birth while her elder brother James IX died of the sweats (at age 14) less than a week before the Queen Mother entered labour. Her mother also died from what has been theorized as eclampsia. Trained in the art of ruling by her grandmother, Mary's time as Queen of Scots has been traditionally characterized as being unremarkable, as outside the strengthening of ties between the kingdoms of Britain (which was already in process even before her birth) the Queen spent most of her time in leisure. She left government to her relatives and children while she hunted, invested in the arts or traveled, and was the first British monarch to visit the Colonies in 1768 (even if she had only been the Queen of Scotland at the time). She also loved animals and her personal menagerie, and was the ancestress to the modern Royal Zoo of Edinburgh. The zoo included unique animals, extinct in the wild, such as the like the Great Auk, the sea cow (brought by a Scottish fur trader from the Bering Sea) and even elephants. Aged 48 at the time of her ascension to the Anglo-Irish throne, Mary's reign over the united British Isles was relatively peaceful; the Stewarts remained uninvolved in the bloody collapse of the Spanish Empire into its successor kingdoms and outside of the royal intervention/take-over on the East India Trading Company in 1788 after the Cooch Behar Massacre . She was also the first British monarch to be photographed, as the earliest type of camera was invented less than a year before her death (although the image has been, sadly, lost). Married at age 16 to Gregory Cromwell, 2nd Duke of Ardglass, she was succeeded by her eldest son, Thomas.

[14] Thomas took the throne in 1795 at the head of a globe-spanning imperial state, and despite the minor domestic squabbles caused by the ongoing Regnal Number Controversy it seemed the United Kingdoms of Britain were immune to the political convulsions on the continent. The first monarch of the House of Cromwell, Thomas was nevertheless intimidated by the sweeping nationalist revolutions in Europe and quickly established himself as a reactionary. He supported the conservative parliamentary majority of the Church Party, and resisted calls for greater democratization both at home and in the Colonies. He also opposed the growing influence of the 'new gentry' - the rising number of industrialists and career politicians funded by the new northern factories, such as the wealth of the Earl of Salford or the Marquess of Ayrshire. By 1800, protests broke out across the major cities (partly exacerbated by the dire economic situation caused by the collapse of the East India Trading Company and the disastrous effect of the Spanish Revolution on international trade) to push for social reform, financial liberalization and political influence for the masses. Thomas II was highly-reluctant to agree to their demands, and although the protestors never sought to overthrow the monarchy (with the defenestration of the Spanish Habsburgs unpopular in Britain) many celebrated the death of the King in 1804. They viewed his successor, Alexander, with a renewed optimism in the hope for a political settlement, although it was clear that this would be misplaced for the most part.

[15] Alexander IV succeeded his father in midst of social, political and economical unrest as Europe and the Americas suffered through the Era of Troubles in the aftermath of the Spanish Revolution. The king was considered by many as a hopeful figure in the stricken kingdoms, which had been suffering through years of protests for democratization, but while more liberal than his predecessor Alexander did not bring the political settlement hoped for. While he did try to bring together a bill to expand the franchise to vote to around 30% of the male population and have the Colonies send representatives to parliament, he was shot in the neck by a Spanish-backed revolutionary (as he was known for his support of Britain going to war with the revolutionaries after their invasion of Portugal the previous year, and was responsible for helping the Portuguese monarchy escape to their colonies in Brazil) less than three months into his reign, dying drowned in his own blood and leaving his young brother, Andrew, as his successor.

[16] Growing up Andrew was seen as lacking refinement and elegance, and instead he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his hardworking honest subjects.
Having seen his soft-hearted father’s life ruined by rebels and then his liberal brother killed by their hands, Andrew (who never really shared their ideas) became highly reactionary and reversed most of the liberal reforms of brought about during the last ten years. He set about elevating conservatives who helped him oppose any reform that limited his autocratic rule as well as eliminating potential enemies. Under Andrew, the army was improved - working in unison with the monarchy, the Church and government. He also imposed regular periods of forced labour on the unemployed members of the population in lieu of taxation. His final years were rife with paranoia and angry outbursts until his death at the age of 73, which brought out mixed reactions. Loyal subjects mourned his death, while others celebrated in secret. His 49 year rule was succeeded by his son, also called Andrew.

[17] While Andrew I had never expected to take the throne, Andrew II had spent much of his life as heir-apparent before acceding in 1853. However, his reign would be a short and unhappy one. By the mid-1850s the Cromwells were regarded as thoroughly out-of-touch with the peoples of Britain and her overseas possessions, with the reactionary tendencies of Andrew I back-lit by the tragic failings of Alexander IV. Further economic problems, exacerbated by the high price of grain and the growing non-competitiveness of British industry, resulted in a year of crisis for the monarchy in 1855. Although Britain was used to large-scale demonstrations, the intensity of clashes between the masses and the state were unrivaled in modern history. However, it could only go on for so long. Although Andrew was in fact sympathetic to many of the strikers' demands, he was forced by the parliamentary conservatives to hold his ground. Hostile printing presses were broken up, but salacious stories of royal affairs and extravagant expenditure nevertheless reached the mob. Mutinies swept through the forces (especially the Army), and in November a large mob gathered at Eybury Palace - the seat of regal power in London - to demand the abdication of the King. Andrew understood that his position was hopeless, and refused to order troops to break up the crowd violently. Instead he promised to form a new government led by the Liberal Party and support their policies, leading to the satisfaction of the crowd and the diffusion of their revolutionary feeling. Despite significant political opposition, Andrew was true to his word; the Liberals implemented major reforms, balancing the British dependence on a strong gentry with a politically-engaged working class, and (in a surprise to many) the King did indeed abdicate in 1857. (Indeed, he was the first modern British monarch to do so). _____________________ took the throne, as Andrew - despite many illegitimate children - lacked a direct heir, and led Britain into her new era of constitutional monarchy.
 
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'THE COLD-HEARTED SWOT'
What if Edward VI lived just long enough to produce an heir?

Monarchs of England (1547-1671)
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland (1671-1779)

1547 - 1569: Edward VI (House of Tudor) [1]
1569 - 1576: Stephen II (House of Tudor) [2]
1576 - 1579: Henry IX (House of Fitzalan) [3]
1579 - 1585: Henry X (House of Fitzalan) [4]
1585 - 1585: Edward VII (House of Fitzalan) [5]
1585 -1601: Thomas I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [6]
1601 - 1638: John II (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [7]
1638 - 1651: Edward VIII (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [8]
1651 - 1669: Edward IX (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [9]
1669 - 1678: John III (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [10]
1678 - 1702: Edward X (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [11]
1702 - 1779: Bridget I (House of Stewart) [12]

Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland (1779-)

1779 - 1795: Mary II (House of Stewart) [13]
1795 - 1804: Thomas II (House of Cromwell) [14]
1804 - 1804: Alexander IV (House of Cromwell) [15]
1804 - 1853: Andrew I (House of Cromwell) [16]
1853 - 1857: Andrew II (House of Cromwell) [17]
1857 - 1884: William III (House of Ligne) [18]



[1] The only son and child of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was one of the youngest monarchs in English history, ascending to the throne at the age of 9, and ruled during the time that its formation as a truly protestant nation occurred, with the Church of England becoming more in line with those of Sweden and Denmark. A sickly man, many said he survived instead of living, suffering from some sort of disease every year of his lifetime, finally dying from tuberculosis, a disease he had lived with for years, at age 31. He also had two half sisters (who were called bastards but had been born as princesses of England in his father's two previous marriages), the ladies Mary and Elizabeth, the first (made Duchess of Bedford after giving birth to a bastard son by a groom six years prior), died of a disease in the bowels at age 45, and the second married Lord Robert Dudley and later was made Duchess of Leinster by her own right, sent in exile to Ireland for some years, she was in many ways responsible for spreading the protestant faith among the Irish nobility and people, even though many did not follow Anglicanism per se, she served as Lord Deputy of Ireland for years for her brother and his successors. Married to Lady Jane Grey in 1554, after his death she served as regent to their son, Stephen II.

[2] Stephen II of England's brief reign was turbulent. His father having passed when he was less than two years old, the noblemen of the realm immediately began jockeying for power. In 1573, after failing to prevent the annexation of Northumberland by the Scots at the behest of Thomas Percy, Queen Jane was removed by a coalition of nobles and replaced with the Earl of Warwick. However, Warwick's government proved to be equally inept and in 1575 he was removed from power after a brief civil war. Stephen took ill and died (not at all related to his new, noble-appointed chef, of course), and without a male successor the selection of a new king was given over to Parliament. Parliament appointed Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel to take the throne.

[3] The election of Henry IX by Parliament was highly controversial, and largely a result of the fractious political infighting throughout the reign of Stephen II. The 12th Earl of Arundel had been a near-permanent fixture in the courts of the Tudor monarchs, and had shrewdly supported the Regency Council of Jane to maintain a strong political position. However, upon the loss of Northumberland and the humiliation of the Earl of Warwick, Henry was courted by his supporters in Parliament as a neutral candidate around which the nobles of England could unite - and his pragmatic ambition played to their demands. Despite being 63 at the time of his coronation, Henry was able to point to an heir (also called Henry, Baron Maltravers, born in 1538), while his two daughters were well-wedded into the heart of the nobility with children of their own. Coming to the throne in 1576, Henry IX was a divisive figure and often unaccepted by those who favoured his rival candidates for the throne. Many of these candidates remained a threat upon his death just three years later in 1579.

[4] While his father's reign was tense with political intrigue and unrest due to the decision of completely set aside all female Tudors (from the lines of Elizabeth and Mary and Princess Jane, Stephen II's older sister), Henry X's was marked by war. The English Civil War (sometimes called the War of the Five Kings) began when Lady Elizabeth, who had been living in Ireland since 1552, declared Irish independence with herself as Queen in 1582 - basically declaring that any authority England had over it was moot after they basically deposed the Tudors. This action by now Queen Elizabeth started a domino effect as all the groups against the new monarchs decided that now was the time to seize the throne for themselves. The first to raise the banners of war where the Protestants who, together with their belief that Henry X was a crypto-catholic (his family having only begrudgingly accepted Protestantism during the reign of Edward VI) and that this line was barely of royal standard, rose in rebellion by the end of 1582. A good chunk of England rose with them under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford and Thomas (the bastard son of the Lady Mary, who had received her title after her death), the latter of whom was was fiercely Protestant and had eloped and married Princess Jane in 1571. The Scottish were led by the young James VI who invaded England to assert his claim as a man of full royal lineage and a direct descendant of Henry VII, while even the Welsh rose up under a pretender alleging to be the illegitimate son of Edward VI. (He died fighting a second pretender, supposedly the illegitimate grandson of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII). Henry X died in the camp of battle fighting against Thomas, who had by that point taken control of most of the kingdom after allying with his half-aunt. By the time of his death Henry was reviled for rumours that he had (unsuccessfully) proposed to Philip II of Spain to convert to Catholicism should the Habsburgs help him in retaining his English crown, and was succeeded by the short reign of his son Edward VII.

[5] Edward VII, the last of the Fitzalans, came to the throne as any semblance of power slipped from his dynasty's grasp. His father's forces had been decisively defeated by Thomas, and Edward was forced to withdraw further and further south to prevent the obliteration of his few remaining forces. Overtures to Francis II of France also failed, given the ongoing French Wars of Religion, and in late-July Edward was forced to consider drastic options. He wrote to James VI, who was engaged in a protracted campaign against Thomas in the north, citing the claim that they were in fact related given the kinship of the Stewarts and the Fitzalans from Alan Fitz Flaad (d. 1120). Lacking a male heir, Edward proposed that his only daughter Eleanor (still a child) marry James and that their kin would be the heirs of both Scotland and England, unifying the two countries and ending the continuous Anglo-Scottish wars diplomatically. James rebuffed the offer, and moved to engage Thomas directly at the Battle of Yarm (almost a century to the day as the Battle of Bosworth Field). Edward was subsequently killed by rebel mutineers attempting to flee the country from Dartmouth - having been on the throne for less than a year - leading both James and Thomas to declare themselves King prior to their engagement. Although initially favouring the larger force of Thomas, the clash was a narrow one and affected significantly by changeable weather conditions and the difficult conditions to the east around the River Leven. By killing James at the climax of the battle and the subsequent rout, Thomas emerged victorious. With Edward drowned in Devon and the Fitzalan line forced from power, Thomas de Sabaudia faced no further resistance, and was subsequently coronated in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury - ending the War of the Five Kings.

[6] Thomas was not born to greatness, being the result of a short lived romance between the unmarried Princess Mary of England, and Emanuele Tomasso de Sabaudia - the illegitimate son of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and a serving officer of the English court. The young bastard was born in 1540, six years before the death of his grandfather Henry VIII and the crowning of his uncle Edward VII. By the death of his cousin; Stephen II, Thomas de Sabaudia saw himself as the sole remaining heir, and the rightful King of England. Thomas, Duke of Bedford, took a healthy annuity from the Fitzalan Kings, and despite his ties to the English throne, he would go to the continent where he made his name known as a reputable mercenary in the service of Italian dukes, the Spanish crown, and even the King of Poland. With the victory of the War of the English Succession (otherwise known as the War of the Five Kings) Thomas secured his right and the throne. Much of his early rule was spent on clearing the rebel groups, and bringing the heavy hammer of order upon those nobles who had supported the other claimants. By 1593, the purge had been completed, and the nickname “the Bloody” had been attached to the memory of Thomas I. After the death of his wife; Jane Fitzalan, Thomas would married Catherine of Portugal in 1588. The Catholic Catherine was seen as a poor choice, but the prospect of restoring the Anglo-Portuguese alliance proved right. Their union was short but fruitful, with two sons and a daughter being born before her death in 1597. With his rule stable in England, Thomas would turn his sights to the lost Kingdom of Ireland, and despite the loyalties to Elizabeth of Leinster the Irish armies could not withstand the English onslaught; by 1598 English rule was reinstated, at least within the Pale. The last years of his life were spent in relative opulence, with the palaces of England being some of the greatest and wealthiest in Europe. He would pass in 1601, and the throne would pass to his eldest son, John, Prince of Wales.

[7] John was born 1582, to King Thomas and Queen Catherine, he was named after his maternal grandfather, King John IV of Portugal. His upbringing was mainly performed by his mother, while his father was dealing with the rebels (although the Privy Council necessitated the tutors be approved by the Protestant nobility). In 1600, at 16, John married Princess Sophia of Denmark (the youngest daughter of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark, and a year his junior). She was also the sister of Anne, Queen Consort of Scotland. To secure English rule in Ireland John arranged the marriage of his brother Emmanuel, Duke of York, to Elizabeth Dudley - the only surviving heir of Robert I of Ireland. This marriage rallied the Irish nobility behind his rule, while his sister Mary was married to their cousin Sebastian II of Portugal. Along with these marriages John would also be the match-maker for many of his noble subjects, betrothing formerly rival houses to one another, stating that he never wished for English blood to be split by other English men on English soil. Peace was never broken within his 37-year reign, and instead of spending taxes on standing armies the Privy Council was able to concentrate on increasing the size of the Navy and mercantilism. His death at the age of 55 came as a great shock, for the healthy king was assumed to live forever. However, while dancing at a party held in honour of the birth of his first great-grandchild - a feat that no monarch had claimed before - John collapsed into the arms of his daughter-in-law, lost consciousness and was carried to a nearby lounge chair, where he was pronounced dead. At first there was speculation of murder, but after an examination from an independent doctor it was found that he had a brain aneurysm. He was succeeded by his second son Edward, Duke of Clarence - leaving behind his wife, 8 children, 22 grandchild and 1 great-grandchild.

[8] Edward was the second of the six sons of John II and until the age of 4 there was no expectation that he would inherit the throne. When his elder brother Thomas reached the age of 6 his developmental disabilities became apparent. Known to be deaf from birth and developmentally stunted, Thomas was unfit for rule and so Edward was pushed into the limelight as the heir-principal of his father, even though his elder brother was still alive. Having inherited the throne at the age of 37, and with 6 children of his own by his wife Catherine of Milan as well as two illegitimate sons (John and William), Edward VIII looked to be a great king. He worked to continue the peace his father had built, and largely succeeded. However, after a mere thirteen years on the throne Edward would be succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Edward IX.

[9] As the eldest legitimate son of Edward VIII, Edward IX quickly showed a keen interest in the development of the English navy but also, more importantly, in the dramatic surge in commitment to the fledging North American colonies. A major shipbuilding programme was bolstered by the arrival of Protestant Dutch fleeing from the devastating war between France and the Habsburg family compact, while England prospered from her neutrality on the edge of Europe. The peaceful reign of the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty continued, although religious upheaval in Scotland threatened the tentative status quo amid threats of a renewed Auld Alliance. London grew rapidly as England embraced her commercial revolution, and although Edward failed in his attempts to create a single national bank (primarily as a means to finance his navy) economic reforms loomed heavily over the horizon. Blessed with his large extended family and happily married, when Edward died of dropsy in 1669 the crown passed to his younger brother Maximilian John, Duke of York- a monarch who, although tested by both economic and military crises, would reign over the true beginnings of the modern English state.

[10] Maximilian John was born during the reign of his grandfather, John II. Early in life, he was destined to marry Elizabeth of York (the daughter of Emmanuel, 3rd Duke of York, and the senior most descendant of Elizabeth, Queen of Ireland). With their marriage, the cadet branch of the Dukes of York came to an end, and the title returned to the royal family. Their marriage was fruitful, producing three sons and two daughters, - in stark contrast to his brother (the future Edward X), for the Prince of Wales had but one son who died at the young age of 18. Upon the death of Edward IX John took the thrones of England and Ireland, and for the next two years worked tirelessly to consolidate his kingdoms into a single state. The 1671 Act of Union passed through both parliaments, and formed the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland. This, combined with his popular marriage to Elizabeth, finally established the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty as the rightful monarchs of Ireland. However, war would come to the United Kingdoms as the ultra-Catholic Valois attempted to conquer Calais in 1764. Charles XIII of France assaulted the walls of the fortress city no fewer than seven times, also leading an invasion of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the French cannon also struck the munitions store, detonating the powder as well as the King (who was leading the defence of his European redoubt). Upon the death of John III the city quickly fell, and the throne passed to his brother Edward.

[11] The reign of John III had been a turning point for his dynasty; while the unification of England and Ireland would create a powerful mercantile state focused largely upon the Atlantic, his premature death and the forced involvement of the United Kingdoms in European affairs all was a crisis for Tudor-Sabaudian rule. Although Edward was a capable ruler, the 1678 Treaty of Coulogne (establishing a short-lived peace with France) was highly-unpopular and did little to prevent the further conflagration in Europe. France, triumphant, launched enthusiastically into the First War of the Valois - their first attempt to establish both French and High-Church dominance over the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs. Such a challenge to the European status necessitated an Austrian-led coalition, with Emperor Otto VI quickly establishing a strong position in Central Europe. For the most part Edward attempted to keep the United Kingdoms out of the conflict, but in 1682 agreed to sponsor large campaigns against French positions in North America as well as conduct a sizeable naval campaign as part of the anti-Valois coalition. The war dominated his reign, but Edward would not seek any personal glory on the battlefield - instead, he served as a shrewd administrator and diplomat. Upon the European stalemate in 1687, Edward was able to secure major American colonial concessions from the French in exchange for his recognition of the annexation of Calais and the Netherlands. Although the Second War of the Valois would begin in 1691 the United Kingdoms remained neutral until the intervention of the Scots into the conflict in 1697. Most significantly, however, Edward was never able to overcome his fertility problems. When he died in 1702 the throne passed to the only living child of John III - his youngest daughter, Bridget, the Queen of Scotland.

[12] Princess Bridget was the last child of John III and Elizabeth of York. Her siblings were Emmanuel (b. 1650-1678) Elizabeth (1654-1670), Henry (1658-1678), and Thomas (1662-1701). She was a surprise child born to the 40-year-old Queen in 1675 - long after it was thought her child-bearing years were over. She was the only child born while her father was King, and a comfort to her mother still morning the loss of her daughter Elizabeth who had died from the sweating sickness just weeks before her sixteenth birthday. Bridget was only 3 years old when her father and her two oldest brothers died in the Battle of Calais, leaving her and her elder brother Prince Thomas, only 15 years old, as the only heirs to the throne. Thomas was an effeminate boy with no interest in the throne nor the will to resist his uncle, and was subsequently adopted as his heir. Princess Bridget and her mother, the Duchess of York (who no longer used the title of Queen in order to not appear a rival to her brother-in-law) relocated to their lands in Ireland, where the princess was raised apart from the intrigue of the court. In 1693, on her 18th birthday, the Princess was wed to her distant cousin, James VII Stewart, King of Scotland. She gave birth to her first child, later James VIII, in 1696. Her focus was on Presbyterian Scotland and had no idea she would become the heir to the throne of England and Ireland until her brother Thomas died under mysterious circumstances while traveling with his closest companion Geoffrey Howard, the Duke of Clarence. Clarence fled the scene and then hung himself from an oak tree, with many believing that Geoffrey had accidentally killed Thomas during a violent lover's spat. Queen Bridget and the King of Scotland, along with Prince James (now heir to both thrones) traveled back and forth from one court to the next. James' brother, Charles Stewart, acted as his regent while he was with his wife in London, and Bridget's mother, who now reclaimed the title of Dowager Queen, acted as her regent while she was in Edinburgh. A major result of this was the increase in the role of the parliaments in governing both kingdoms; although the kingdoms were not in a personal union, it was clear they eventually would be. The practical reality was that both kingdoms cooperated, especially in overseas matters and trade, and this became even more evident when James VIII ascended to the Scottish throne in 1721. The reigning King of Scotland was the heir to the throne of England and Ireland. Bridget was the longest monarch in the history of England and Ireland, reigning for 77 years and living until she was 104. She outlived many of her children, grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren. During the Bridgettian Era great changes occurred in Britain, a term that was used more and more for the two kingdoms. The Industrial Revolution began, the North American colonies were organized into a colonial federation, the East India Trading Company was established, and Britain became the two most powerful kingdoms in the world. In 1758 the two Parliaments agreed to another Act of Union to be effective on the death of the Queen and assumption of the English & Irish throne by the Scots monarch. They did not expect that it would be another 21 years before the then 83 year old monarch would die. The Bridgettian Era is considered the Golden Age of Britain. When the Queen finally died the entire English speaking world mourned for months and the color black remained a fashion staple for years after the official mourning period was done. She was succeed by her granddaughter, Mary II, the reigning Queen of Scotland.

[13] Commonly overshadowed by her long-living grandmother Mary II started her life as a monarch, as James VIII died five months before her birth while her elder brother James IX died of the sweats (at age 14) less than a week before the Queen Mother entered labour. Her mother also died from what has been theorized as eclampsia. Trained in the art of ruling by her grandmother, Mary's time as Queen of Scots has been traditionally characterized as being unremarkable, as outside the strengthening of ties between the kingdoms of Britain (which was already in process even before her birth) the Queen spent most of her time in leisure. She left government to her relatives and children while she hunted, invested in the arts or traveled, and was the first British monarch to visit the Colonies in 1768 (even if she had only been the Queen of Scotland at the time). She also loved animals and her personal menagerie, and was the ancestress to the modern Royal Zoo of Edinburgh. The zoo included unique animals, extinct in the wild, such as the like the Great Auk, the sea cow (brought by a Scottish fur trader from the Bering Sea) and even elephants. Aged 48 at the time of her ascension to the Anglo-Irish throne, Mary's reign over the united British Isles was relatively peaceful; the Stewarts remained uninvolved in the bloody collapse of the Spanish Empire into its successor kingdoms and outside of the royal intervention/take-over on the East India Trading Company in 1788 after the Cooch Behar Massacre . She was also the first British monarch to be photographed, as the earliest type of camera was invented less than a year before her death (although the image has been, sadly, lost). Married at age 16 to Gregory Cromwell, 2nd Duke of Ardglass, she was succeeded by her eldest son, Thomas.

[14] Thomas took the throne in 1795 at the head of a globe-spanning imperial state, and despite the minor domestic squabbles caused by the ongoing Regnal Number Controversy it seemed the United Kingdoms of Britain were immune to the political convulsions on the continent. The first monarch of the House of Cromwell, Thomas was nevertheless intimidated by the sweeping nationalist revolutions in Europe and quickly established himself as a reactionary. He supported the conservative parliamentary majority of the Church Party, and resisted calls for greater democratization both at home and in the Colonies. He also opposed the growing influence of the 'new gentry' - the rising number of industrialists and career politicians funded by the new northern factories, such as the wealth of the Earl of Salford or the Marquess of Ayrshire. By 1800, protests broke out across the major cities (partly exacerbated by the dire economic situation caused by the collapse of the East India Trading Company and the disastrous effect of the Spanish Revolution on international trade) to push for social reform, financial liberalization and political influence for the masses. Thomas II was highly-reluctant to agree to their demands, and although the protestors never sought to overthrow the monarchy (with the defenestration of the Spanish Habsburgs unpopular in Britain) many celebrated the death of the King in 1804. They viewed his successor, Alexander, with a renewed optimism in the hope for a political settlement, although it was clear that this would be misplaced for the most part.

[15] Alexander IV succeeded his father in midst of social, political and economical unrest as Europe and the Americas suffered through the Era of Troubles in the aftermath of the Spanish Revolution. The king was considered by many as a hopeful figure in the stricken kingdoms, which had been suffering through years of protests for democratization, but while more liberal than his predecessor Alexander did not bring the political settlement hoped for. While he did try to bring together a bill to expand the franchise to vote to around 30% of the male population and have the Colonies send representatives to parliament, he was shot in the neck by a Spanish-backed revolutionary (as he was known for his support of Britain going to war with the revolutionaries after their invasion of Portugal the previous year, and was responsible for helping the Portuguese monarchy escape to their colonies in Brazil) less than three months into his reign, dying drowned in his own blood and leaving his young brother, Andrew, as his successor.

[16] Growing up Andrew was seen as lacking refinement and elegance, and instead he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his hardworking honest subjects.
Having seen his soft-hearted father’s life ruined by rebels and then his liberal brother killed by their hands, Andrew (who never really shared their ideas) became highly reactionary and reversed most of the liberal reforms of brought about during the last ten years. He set about elevating conservatives who helped him oppose any reform that limited his autocratic rule as well as eliminating potential enemies. Under Andrew, the army was improved - working in unison with the monarchy, the Church and government. He also imposed regular periods of forced labour on the unemployed members of the population in lieu of taxation. His final years were rife with paranoia and angry outbursts until his death at the age of 73, which brought out mixed reactions. Loyal subjects mourned his death, while others celebrated in secret. His 49 year rule was succeeded by his son, also called Andrew.

[17] While Andrew I had never expected to take the throne, Andrew II had spent much of his life as heir-apparent before acceding in 1853. However, his reign would be a short and unhappy one. By the mid-1850s the Cromwells were regarded as thoroughly out-of-touch with the peoples of Britain and her overseas possessions, with the reactionary tendencies of Andrew I back-lit by the tragic failings of Alexander IV. Further economic problems, exacerbated by the high price of grain and the growing non-competitiveness of British industry, resulted in a year of crisis for the monarchy in 1855. Although Britain was used to large-scale demonstrations, the intensity of clashes between the masses and the state were unrivaled in modern history. However, it could only go on for so long. Although Andrew was in fact sympathetic to many of the strikers' demands, he was forced by the parliamentary conservatives to hold his ground. Hostile printing presses were broken up, but salacious stories of royal affairs and extravagant expenditure nevertheless reached the mob. Mutinies swept through the forces (especially the Army), and in November a large mob gathered at Eybury Palace - the seat of regal power in London - to demand the abdication of the King. Andrew understood that his position was hopeless, and refused to order troops to break up the crowd violently. Instead he promised to form a new government led by the Liberal Party and support their policies, leading to the satisfaction of the crowd and the diffusion of their revolutionary feeling. Despite significant political opposition, Andrew was true to his word; the Liberals implemented major reforms, balancing the British dependence on a strong gentry with a politically-engaged working class, and (in a surprise to many) the King did indeed abdicate in 1857. (Indeed, he was the first modern British monarch to do so). William, Duke of Gloucester took the throne, as Andrew - despite many illegitimate children - lacked a direct heir, and led Britain into her new era of constitutional monarchy.
194px-Michel_Edmond_de_Selys_Longchamps.jpg
[18] With the Abdication of His Majesty; Andrew II, the line of descent from John III came to an untriumphant end, with Andrew taking the title Duke of Cromwell and resigning to an East Suffolk Estate, and spending his weekends in the Social Clubs of upper class London. The throne came to a descendant of the fourth son of Edward VIII, who had been given the title Duke of Gloucester, and took the throne as William III as the next most senior descendant of the House of Tudor-Sabaudia. William had in fact been known as Guillaume de Ligne for most of his life, and divided his time between his families estates in the French Netherlands, and his titular estates in England. William had been a Roman Catholic for much of his life, and so to take the English throne; he would convert to Protestantism.

His rule, as in the vein of modern monarchy, was largely nominal. Parliament conducted the day-to-day Rule of the Kingdom, so William III was content to not interfere in the politics, and be a figurehead for the country. After an uneventful 27 year reign, despite being an Astounding success for the principal of a constitutional monarchy, William III would pass in his sleep at the age of 78, and the throne would pass to his heir _______
 
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Kings of England and Counts of Boulogne

William III of England
[1] House of Capet (b. 1204) r. 1216 - 1260

1. Married Mahaut, Countess of Boulogne, second son of Eleanor of Brittany and Louis VIII, he was chosen as a compromise to the children of John, the usurper who were exiled to Ireland and France annexing England under Louis VIII and his son Philippe III, the husband of the Countess of Provence, Azalais which led to the integration of Provence to the French crown, he is succeeded by his son, ____.
 
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'THE COLD-HEARTED SWOT'
What if Edward VI lived just long enough to produce an heir?

Monarchs of England (1547-1671)
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland (1671-1779)

1547 - 1569: Edward VI (House of Tudor) [1]
1569 - 1576: Stephen II (House of Tudor) [2]
1576 - 1579: Henry IX (House of Fitzalan) [3]
1579 - 1585: Henry X (House of Fitzalan) [4]
1585 - 1585: Edward VII (House of Fitzalan) [5]
1585 -1601: Thomas I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [6]
1601 - 1638: John II (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [7]
1638 - 1651: Edward VIII (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [8]
1651 - 1669: Edward IX (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [9]
1669 - 1678: John III (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [10]
1678 - 1702: Edward X (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [11]
1702 - 1779: Bridget I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia / Stewart) [12]

Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland (1779-)

1779 - 1795: Mary II (House of Stewart) [13]
1795 - 1804: Thomas II (House of Cromwell) [14]
1804 - 1804: Alexander IV (House of Cromwell) [15]
1804 - 1853: Andrew I (House of Cromwell) [16]
1853 - 1857: Andrew II (House of Cromwell) [17]
1857 - 1884: William III (House of Ligne) [18]
1884 - 1896:
Edward XI (House of Ligne) [19]



[1] The only son and child of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was one of the youngest monarchs in English history, ascending to the throne at the age of 9, and ruled during the time that its formation as a truly protestant nation occurred, with the Church of England becoming more in line with those of Sweden and Denmark. A sickly man, many said he survived instead of living, suffering from some sort of disease every year of his lifetime, finally dying from tuberculosis, a disease he had lived with for years, at age 31. He also had two half sisters (who were called bastards but had been born as princesses of England in his father's two previous marriages), the ladies Mary and Elizabeth, the first (made Duchess of Bedford after giving birth to a bastard son by a groom six years prior), died of a disease in the bowels at age 45, and the second married Lord Robert Dudley and later was made Duchess of Leinster by her own right, sent in exile to Ireland for some years, she was in many ways responsible for spreading the protestant faith among the Irish nobility and people, even though many did not follow Anglicanism per se, she served as Lord Deputy of Ireland for years for her brother and his successors. Married to Lady Jane Grey in 1554, after his death she served as regent to their son, Stephen II.

[2] Stephen II of England's brief reign was turbulent. His father having passed when he was less than two years old, the noblemen of the realm immediately began jockeying for power. In 1573, after failing to prevent the annexation of Northumberland by the Scots at the behest of Thomas Percy, Queen Jane was removed by a coalition of nobles and replaced with the Earl of Warwick. However, Warwick's government proved to be equally inept and in 1575 he was removed from power after a brief civil war. Stephen took ill and died (not at all related to his new, noble-appointed chef, of course), and without a male successor the selection of a new king was given over to Parliament. Parliament appointed Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel to take the throne.

[3] The election of Henry IX by Parliament was highly controversial, and largely a result of the fractious political infighting throughout the reign of Stephen II. The 12th Earl of Arundel had been a near-permanent fixture in the courts of the Tudor monarchs, and had shrewdly supported the Regency Council of Jane to maintain a strong political position. However, upon the loss of Northumberland and the humiliation of the Earl of Warwick, Henry was courted by his supporters in Parliament as a neutral candidate around which the nobles of England could unite - and his pragmatic ambition played to their demands. Despite being 63 at the time of his coronation, Henry was able to point to an heir (also called Henry, Baron Maltravers, born in 1538), while his two daughters were well-wedded into the heart of the nobility with children of their own. Coming to the throne in 1576, Henry IX was a divisive figure and often unaccepted by those who favoured his rival candidates for the throne. Many of these candidates remained a threat upon his death just three years later in 1579.

[4] While his father's reign was tense with political intrigue and unrest due to the decision of completely set aside all female Tudors (from the lines of Elizabeth and Mary and Princess Jane, Stephen II's older sister), Henry X's was marked by war. The English Civil War (sometimes called the War of the Five Kings) began when Lady Elizabeth, who had been living in Ireland since 1552, declared Irish independence with herself as Queen in 1582 - basically declaring that any authority England had over it was moot after they basically deposed the Tudors. This action by now Queen Elizabeth started a domino effect as all the groups against the new monarchs decided that now was the time to seize the throne for themselves. The first to raise the banners of war where the Protestants who, together with their belief that Henry X was a crypto-catholic (his family having only begrudgingly accepted Protestantism during the reign of Edward VI) and that this line was barely of royal standard, rose in rebellion by the end of 1582. A good chunk of England rose with them under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford and Thomas (the bastard son of the Lady Mary, who had received her title after her death), the latter of whom was was fiercely Protestant and had eloped and married Princess Jane in 1571. The Scottish were led by the young James VI who invaded England to assert his claim as a man of full royal lineage and a direct descendant of Henry VII, while even the Welsh rose up under a pretender alleging to be the illegitimate son of Edward VI. (He died fighting a second pretender, supposedly the illegitimate grandson of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII). Henry X died in the camp of battle fighting against Thomas, who had by that point taken control of most of the kingdom after allying with his half-aunt. By the time of his death Henry was reviled for rumours that he had (unsuccessfully) proposed to Philip II of Spain to convert to Catholicism should the Habsburgs help him in retaining his English crown, and was succeeded by the short reign of his son Edward VII.

[5] Edward VII, the last of the Fitzalans, came to the throne as any semblance of power slipped from his dynasty's grasp. His father's forces had been decisively defeated by Thomas, and Edward was forced to withdraw further and further south to prevent the obliteration of his few remaining forces. Overtures to Francis II of France also failed, given the ongoing French Wars of Religion, and in late-July Edward was forced to consider drastic options. He wrote to James VI, who was engaged in a protracted campaign against Thomas in the north, citing the claim that they were in fact related given the kinship of the Stewarts and the Fitzalans from Alan Fitz Flaad (d. 1120). Lacking a male heir, Edward proposed that his only daughter Eleanor (still a child) marry James and that their kin would be the heirs of both Scotland and England, unifying the two countries and ending the continuous Anglo-Scottish wars diplomatically. James rebuffed the offer, and moved to engage Thomas directly at the Battle of Yarm (almost a century to the day as the Battle of Bosworth Field). Edward was subsequently killed by rebel mutineers attempting to flee the country from Dartmouth - having been on the throne for less than a year - leading both James and Thomas to declare themselves King prior to their engagement. Although initially favouring the larger force of Thomas, the clash was a narrow one and affected significantly by changeable weather conditions and the difficult conditions to the east around the River Leven. By killing James at the climax of the battle and the subsequent rout, Thomas emerged victorious. With Edward drowned in Devon and the Fitzalan line forced from power, Thomas de Sabaudia faced no further resistance, and was subsequently coronated in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury - ending the War of the Five Kings.

[6] Thomas was not born to greatness, being the result of a short lived romance between the unmarried Princess Mary of England, and Emanuele Tomasso de Sabaudia - the illegitimate son of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and a serving officer of the English court. The young bastard was born in 1540, six years before the death of his grandfather Henry VIII and the crowning of his uncle Edward VII. By the death of his cousin; Stephen II, Thomas de Sabaudia saw himself as the sole remaining heir, and the rightful King of England. Thomas, Duke of Bedford, took a healthy annuity from the Fitzalan Kings, and despite his ties to the English throne, he would go to the continent where he made his name known as a reputable mercenary in the service of Italian dukes, the Spanish crown, and even the King of Poland. With the victory of the War of the English Succession (otherwise known as the War of the Five Kings) Thomas secured his right and the throne. Much of his early rule was spent on clearing the rebel groups, and bringing the heavy hammer of order upon those nobles who had supported the other claimants. By 1593, the purge had been completed, and the nickname “the Bloody” had been attached to the memory of Thomas I. After the death of his wife; Jane Fitzalan, Thomas would married Catherine of Portugal in 1588. The Catholic Catherine was seen as a poor choice, but the prospect of restoring the Anglo-Portuguese alliance proved right. Their union was short but fruitful, with two sons and a daughter being born before her death in 1597. With his rule stable in England, Thomas would turn his sights to the lost Kingdom of Ireland, and despite the loyalties to Elizabeth of Leinster the Irish armies could not withstand the English onslaught; by 1598 English rule was reinstated, at least within the Pale. The last years of his life were spent in relative opulence, with the palaces of England being some of the greatest and wealthiest in Europe. He would pass in 1601, and the throne would pass to his eldest son, John, Prince of Wales.

[7] John was born 1582, to King Thomas and Queen Catherine, he was named after his maternal grandfather, King John IV of Portugal. His upbringing was mainly performed by his mother, while his father was dealing with the rebels (although the Privy Council necessitated the tutors be approved by the Protestant nobility). In 1600, at 16, John married Princess Sophia of Denmark (the youngest daughter of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark, and a year his junior). She was also the sister of Anne, Queen Consort of Scotland. To secure English rule in Ireland John arranged the marriage of his brother Emmanuel, Duke of York, to Elizabeth Dudley - the only surviving heir of Robert I of Ireland. This marriage rallied the Irish nobility behind his rule, while his sister Mary was married to their cousin Sebastian II of Portugal. Along with these marriages John would also be the match-maker for many of his noble subjects, betrothing formerly rival houses to one another, stating that he never wished for English blood to be split by other English men on English soil. Peace was never broken within his 37-year reign, and instead of spending taxes on standing armies the Privy Council was able to concentrate on increasing the size of the Navy and mercantilism. His death at the age of 55 came as a great shock, for the healthy king was assumed to live forever. However, while dancing at a party held in honour of the birth of his first great-grandchild - a feat that no monarch had claimed before - John collapsed into the arms of his daughter-in-law, lost consciousness and was carried to a nearby lounge chair, where he was pronounced dead. At first there was speculation of murder, but after an examination from an independent doctor it was found that he had a brain aneurysm. He was succeeded by his second son Edward, Duke of Clarence - leaving behind his wife, 8 children, 22 grandchild and 1 great-grandchild.

[8] Edward was the second of the six sons of John II and until the age of 4 there was no expectation that he would inherit the throne. When his elder brother Thomas reached the age of 6 his developmental disabilities became apparent. Known to be deaf from birth and developmentally stunted, Thomas was unfit for rule and so Edward was pushed into the limelight as the heir-principal of his father, even though his elder brother was still alive. Having inherited the throne at the age of 37, and with 6 children of his own by his wife Catherine of Milan as well as two illegitimate sons (John and William), Edward VIII looked to be a great king. He worked to continue the peace his father had built, and largely succeeded. However, after a mere thirteen years on the throne Edward would be succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Edward IX.

[9] As the eldest legitimate son of Edward VIII, Edward IX quickly showed a keen interest in the development of the English navy but also, more importantly, in the dramatic surge in commitment to the fledging North American colonies. A major shipbuilding programme was bolstered by the arrival of Protestant Dutch fleeing from the devastating war between France and the Habsburg family compact, while England prospered from her neutrality on the edge of Europe. The peaceful reign of the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty continued, although religious upheaval in Scotland threatened the tentative status quo amid threats of a renewed Auld Alliance. London grew rapidly as England embraced her commercial revolution, and although Edward failed in his attempts to create a single national bank (primarily as a means to finance his navy) economic reforms loomed heavily over the horizon. Blessed with his large extended family and happily married, when Edward died of dropsy in 1669 the crown passed to his younger brother Maximilian John, Duke of York- a monarch who, although tested by both economic and military crises, would reign over the true beginnings of the modern English state.

[10] Maximilian John was born during the reign of his grandfather, John II. Early in life, he was destined to marry Elizabeth of York (the daughter of Emmanuel, 3rd Duke of York, and the senior most descendant of Elizabeth, Queen of Ireland). With their marriage, the cadet branch of the Dukes of York came to an end, and the title returned to the royal family. Their marriage was fruitful, producing three sons and two daughters, - in stark contrast to his brother (the future Edward X), for the Prince of Wales had but one son who died at the young age of 18. Upon the death of Edward IX John took the thrones of England and Ireland, and for the next two years worked tirelessly to consolidate his kingdoms into a single state. The 1671 Act of Union passed through both parliaments, and formed the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland. This, combined with his popular marriage to Elizabeth, finally established the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty as the rightful monarchs of Ireland. However, war would come to the United Kingdoms as the ultra-Catholic Valois attempted to conquer Calais in 1764. Charles XIII of France assaulted the walls of the fortress city no fewer than seven times, also leading an invasion of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the French cannon also struck the munitions store, detonating the powder as well as the King (who was leading the defence of his European redoubt). Upon the death of John III the city quickly fell, and the throne passed to his brother Edward.

[11] The reign of John III had been a turning point for his dynasty; while the unification of England and Ireland would create a powerful mercantile state focused largely upon the Atlantic, his premature death and the forced involvement of the United Kingdoms in European affairs all was a crisis for Tudor-Sabaudian rule. Although Edward was a capable ruler, the 1678 Treaty of Coulogne (establishing a short-lived peace with France) was highly-unpopular and did little to prevent the further conflagration in Europe. France, triumphant, launched enthusiastically into the First War of the Valois - their first attempt to establish both French and High-Church dominance over the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs. Such a challenge to the European status necessitated an Austrian-led coalition, with Emperor Otto VI quickly establishing a strong position in Central Europe. For the most part Edward attempted to keep the United Kingdoms out of the conflict, but in 1682 agreed to sponsor large campaigns against French positions in North America as well as conduct a sizeable naval campaign as part of the anti-Valois coalition. The war dominated his reign, but Edward would not seek any personal glory on the battlefield - instead, he served as a shrewd administrator and diplomat. Upon the European stalemate in 1687, Edward was able to secure major American colonial concessions from the French in exchange for his recognition of the annexation of Calais and the Netherlands. Although the Second War of the Valois would begin in 1691 the United Kingdoms remained neutral until the intervention of the Scots into the conflict in 1697. Most significantly, however, Edward was never able to overcome his fertility problems. When he died in 1702 the throne passed to the only living child of John III - his youngest daughter, Bridget, the Queen of Scotland.

[12] Princess Bridget was the last child of John III and Elizabeth of York. Her siblings were Emmanuel (b. 1650-1678) Elizabeth (1654-1670), Henry (1658-1678), and Thomas (1662-1701). She was a surprise child born to the 40-year-old Queen in 1675 - long after it was thought her child-bearing years were over. She was the only child born while her father was King, and a comfort to her mother still morning the loss of her daughter Elizabeth who had died from the sweating sickness just weeks before her sixteenth birthday. Bridget was only 3 years old when her father and her two oldest brothers died in the Battle of Calais, leaving her and her elder brother Prince Thomas, only 15 years old, as the only heirs to the throne. Thomas was an effeminate boy with no interest in the throne nor the will to resist his uncle, and was subsequently adopted as his heir. Princess Bridget and her mother, the Duchess of York (who no longer used the title of Queen in order to not appear a rival to her brother-in-law) relocated to their lands in Ireland, where the princess was raised apart from the intrigue of the court. In 1693, on her 18th birthday, the Princess was wed to her distant cousin, James VII Stewart, King of Scotland. She gave birth to her first child, later James VIII, in 1696. Her focus was on Presbyterian Scotland and had no idea she would become the heir to the throne of England and Ireland until her brother Thomas died under mysterious circumstances while traveling with his closest companion Geoffrey Howard, the Duke of Clarence. Clarence fled the scene and then hung himself from an oak tree, with many believing that Geoffrey had accidentally killed Thomas during a violent lover's spat. Queen Bridget and the King of Scotland, along with Prince James (now heir to both thrones) traveled back and forth from one court to the next. James' brother, Charles Stewart, acted as his regent while he was with his wife in London, and Bridget's mother, who now reclaimed the title of Dowager Queen, acted as her regent while she was in Edinburgh. A major result of this was the increase in the role of the parliaments in governing both kingdoms; although the kingdoms were not in a personal union, it was clear they eventually would be. The practical reality was that both kingdoms cooperated, especially in overseas matters and trade, and this became even more evident when James VIII ascended to the Scottish throne in 1721. The reigning King of Scotland was the heir to the throne of England and Ireland. Bridget was the longest monarch in the history of England and Ireland, reigning for 77 years and living until she was 104. She outlived many of her children, grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren. During the Bridgettian Era great changes occurred in Britain, a term that was used more and more for the two kingdoms. The Industrial Revolution began, the North American colonies were organized into a colonial federation, the East India Trading Company was established, and Britain became the two most powerful kingdoms in the world. In 1758 the two Parliaments agreed to another Act of Union to be effective on the death of the Queen and assumption of the English & Irish throne by the Scots monarch. They did not expect that it would be another 21 years before the then 83 year old monarch would die. The Bridgettian Era is considered the Golden Age of Britain. When the Queen finally died the entire English speaking world mourned for months and the color black remained a fashion staple for years after the official mourning period was done. She was succeed by her granddaughter, Mary II, the reigning Queen of Scotland.

[13] Commonly overshadowed by her long-living grandmother Mary II started her life as a monarch, as James VIII died five months before her birth while her elder brother James IX died of the sweats (at age 14) less than a week before the Queen Mother entered labour. Her mother also died from what has been theorized as eclampsia. Trained in the art of ruling by her grandmother, Mary's time as Queen of Scots has been traditionally characterized as being unremarkable, as outside the strengthening of ties between the kingdoms of Britain (which was already in process even before her birth) the Queen spent most of her time in leisure. She left government to her relatives and children while she hunted, invested in the arts or traveled, and was the first British monarch to visit the Colonies in 1768 (even if she had only been the Queen of Scotland at the time). She also loved animals and her personal menagerie, and was the ancestress to the modern Royal Zoo of Edinburgh. The zoo included unique animals, extinct in the wild, such as the like the Great Auk, the sea cow (brought by a Scottish fur trader from the Bering Sea) and even elephants. Aged 48 at the time of her ascension to the Anglo-Irish throne, Mary's reign over the united British Isles was relatively peaceful; the Stewarts remained uninvolved in the bloody collapse of the Spanish Empire into its successor kingdoms and outside of the royal intervention/take-over on the East India Trading Company in 1788 after the Cooch Behar Massacre . She was also the first British monarch to be photographed, as the earliest type of camera was invented less than a year before her death (although the image has been, sadly, lost). Married at age 16 to Gregory Cromwell, 2nd Duke of Ardglass, she was succeeded by her eldest son, Thomas.

[14] Thomas took the throne in 1795 at the head of a globe-spanning imperial state, and despite the minor domestic squabbles caused by the ongoing Regnal Number Controversy it seemed the United Kingdoms of Britain were immune to the political convulsions on the continent. The first monarch of the House of Cromwell, Thomas was nevertheless intimidated by the sweeping nationalist revolutions in Europe and quickly established himself as a reactionary. He supported the conservative parliamentary majority of the Church Party, and resisted calls for greater democratization both at home and in the Colonies. He also opposed the growing influence of the 'new gentry' - the rising number of industrialists and career politicians funded by the new northern factories, such as the wealth of the Earl of Salford or the Marquess of Ayrshire. By 1800, protests broke out across the major cities (partly exacerbated by the dire economic situation caused by the collapse of the East India Trading Company and the disastrous effect of the Spanish Revolution on international trade) to push for social reform, financial liberalization and political influence for the masses. Thomas II was highly-reluctant to agree to their demands, and although the protestors never sought to overthrow the monarchy (with the defenestration of the Spanish Habsburgs unpopular in Britain) many celebrated the death of the King in 1804. They viewed his successor, Alexander, with a renewed optimism in the hope for a political settlement, although it was clear that this would be misplaced for the most part.

[15] Alexander IV succeeded his father in midst of social, political and economical unrest as Europe and the Americas suffered through the Era of Troubles in the aftermath of the Spanish Revolution. The king was considered by many as a hopeful figure in the stricken kingdoms, which had been suffering through years of protests for democratization, but while more liberal than his predecessor Alexander did not bring the political settlement hoped for. While he did try to bring together a bill to expand the franchise to vote to around 30% of the male population and have the Colonies send representatives to parliament, he was shot in the neck by a Spanish-backed revolutionary (as he was known for his support of Britain going to war with the revolutionaries after their invasion of Portugal the previous year, and was responsible for helping the Portuguese monarchy escape to their colonies in Brazil) less than three months into his reign, dying drowned in his own blood and leaving his young brother, Andrew, as his successor.

[16] Growing up Andrew was seen as lacking refinement and elegance, and instead he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his hardworking honest subjects.
Having seen his soft-hearted father’s life ruined by rebels and then his liberal brother killed by their hands, Andrew (who never really shared their ideas) became highly reactionary and reversed most of the liberal reforms of brought about during the last ten years. He set about elevating conservatives who helped him oppose any reform that limited his autocratic rule as well as eliminating potential enemies. Under Andrew, the army was improved - working in unison with the monarchy, the Church and government. He also imposed regular periods of forced labour on the unemployed members of the population in lieu of taxation. His final years were rife with paranoia and angry outbursts until his death at the age of 73, which brought out mixed reactions. Loyal subjects mourned his death, while others celebrated in secret. His 49 year rule was succeeded by his son, also called Andrew.

[17] While Andrew I had never expected to take the throne, Andrew II had spent much of his life as heir-apparent before acceding in 1853. However, his reign would be a short and unhappy one. By the mid-1850s the Cromwells were regarded as thoroughly out-of-touch with the peoples of Britain and her overseas possessions, with the reactionary tendencies of Andrew I back-lit by the tragic failings of Alexander IV. Further economic problems, exacerbated by the high price of grain and the growing non-competitiveness of British industry, resulted in a year of crisis for the monarchy in 1855. Although Britain was used to large-scale demonstrations, the intensity of clashes between the masses and the state were unrivaled in modern history. However, it could only go on for so long. Although Andrew was in fact sympathetic to many of the strikers' demands, he was forced by the parliamentary conservatives to hold his ground. Hostile printing presses were broken up, but salacious stories of royal affairs and extravagant expenditure nevertheless reached the mob. Mutinies swept through the forces (especially the Army), and in November a large mob gathered at Eybury Palace - the seat of regal power in London - to demand the abdication of the King. Andrew understood that his position was hopeless, and refused to order troops to break up the crowd violently. Instead he promised to form a new government led by the Liberal Party and support their policies, leading to the satisfaction of the crowd and the diffusion of their revolutionary feeling. Despite significant political opposition, Andrew was true to his word; the Liberals implemented major reforms, balancing the British dependence on a strong gentry with a politically-engaged working class, and (in a surprise to many) the King did indeed abdicate in 1857. (Indeed, he was the first modern British monarch to do so). William, Duke of Gloucester took the throne, as Andrew - despite many illegitimate children - lacked a direct heir, and led Britain into her new era of constitutional monarchy.

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[18] With the Abdication of His Majesty; Andrew II, the line of descent from John III came to an untriumphant end, with Andrew taking the title Duke of Cromwell and resigning to an East Suffolk Estate, and spending his weekends in the Social Clubs of upper class London. The throne came to a descendant of the fourth son of Edward VIII, who had been given the title Duke of Gloucester, and took the throne as William III as the next most senior descendant of the House of Tudor-Sabaudia. William had in fact been known as Guillaume de Ligne for most of his life, and divided his time between his families estates in the French Netherlands, and his titular estates in England. William had been a Roman Catholic for much of his life, and so to take the English throne; he would convert to Protestantism.

His rule, as in the vein of modern monarchy, was largely nominal. Parliament conducted the day-to-day Rule of the Kingdom, so William III was content to not interfere in the politics, and be a figurehead for the country. After an uneventful 27 year reign, despite being an Astounding success for the principal of a constitutional monarchy, William III would pass in his sleep at the age of 78, and the throne would pass to his heir, Prince of Wales Edward.

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[19] Edward was born in 1830 and was known, until his father became King, as the Earl of Gloucester. He hardly spent time in Britain as a child, staying in the French Netherlands with his mother, Louise, when his father would visit the British estates. His first visit to Britain was in 1844. He thus always spoke his English with a Flemish French accent. This made the young Earl a romantic figure of Continental daring to the girls in the United Kingdoms. That along with his penchant for the latest fashions, his love of horses and fox hunting, and his love of poetry, especially the English Romantics, (allowing him to recite the most appropriate verse at just the right moment) led to him being a 'swordsman' of renown by the time he was 20.

He spent his young adulthood mainly in London when he wasn't on vacation touring Europe with a group of friends. In both situations he was a lover of the Waltz and the women he'd waltz with as he'd woo them. His manner didn't change when he became the Prince of Wales at the age of 26. (He also was Catholic until he converted like his father, but for him it was entirely nominal as his private journals posthumously revealed he was actually an Atheist.) In fact he became more popular with the women as expected and quickly found that he preferred the wives of aristocracy for his affairs, which made it easier to keep himself free of entanglements.

Unfortunately for his desire to remain single, his affair with the Duchess of Glasgow, Sarah McDougal, a descendant of James VI Stewart of Scotland, took a different turn when her husband, the Duke of Glasgow, died in a hunting accident and it was also found out that she was pregnant by the Prince of Wales. She was a perfect match for marriage now and she had the King as an ally for the match. The Royal Wedding in 1861 was a grand affair.

Princess Sarah gained a lot of weight during her pregnancy and never lost it. She also had other children by the Prince of Wales and gained more weight with each and never lost it. The result was that any affection the shallow Prince had for his wife evaporated. He continued his life of affairs, drinking, and traveling. Although he didn't have any reluctance in bedding his wife when her bed was the only one available to him, he just had little interest in socializing with her or helping raise his children until they were older.

He was 54 when he became King. Unlike his father, he loved the trappings of royalty, sporting previously out of fashion signs of royalty like crowns and ermine at every appearance. He hosted grand dances with the fashionable elite of London as his guests. It was rumored that private after parties included opium and absinthe used in abundance.

King Edward was also known for always smoking, non-stop, large cigars. It is now no surprise that his reign ended at the age of 65 when cancer of the lung ended his life. His _______________, _____________ succeeded him.
 
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'THE COLD-HEARTED SWOT'
What if Edward VI lived just long enough to produce an heir?

Monarchs of England (1547-1671)
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland (1671-1779)

1547 - 1569: Edward VI (House of Tudor) [1]
1569 - 1576: Stephen II (House of Tudor) [2]
1576 - 1579: Henry IX (House of Fitzalan) [3]
1579 - 1585: Henry X (House of Fitzalan) [4]
1585 - 1585: Edward VII (House of Fitzalan) [5]
1585 -1601: Thomas I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [6]
1601 - 1638: John II (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [7]
1638 - 1651: Edward VIII (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [8]
1651 - 1669: Edward IX (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [9]
1669 - 1678: John III (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [10]
1678 - 1702: Edward X (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [11]
1702 - 1779: Bridget I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia / Stewart) [12]

Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland (1779-)

1779 - 1795: Mary II (House of Stewart) [13]
1795 - 1804: Thomas II (House of Cromwell) [14]
1804 - 1804: Alexander IV (House of Cromwell) [15]
1804 - 1853: Andrew I (House of Cromwell) [16]
1853 - 1857: Andrew II (House of Cromwell) [17]
1857 - 1884: William III (House of Ligne) [18]
1884 - 1896:
Edward XI (House of Ligne) [19]
1896 - 1923:
Alexander V (House of Ligne) [20]


[1] The only son and child of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was one of the youngest monarchs in English history, ascending to the throne at the age of 9, and ruled during the time that its formation as a truly protestant nation occurred, with the Church of England becoming more in line with those of Sweden and Denmark. A sickly man, many said he survived instead of living, suffering from some sort of disease every year of his lifetime, finally dying from tuberculosis, a disease he had lived with for years, at age 31. He also had two half sisters (who were called bastards but had been born as princesses of England in his father's two previous marriages), the ladies Mary and Elizabeth, the first (made Duchess of Bedford after giving birth to a bastard son by a groom six years prior), died of a disease in the bowels at age 45, and the second married Lord Robert Dudley and later was made Duchess of Leinster by her own right, sent in exile to Ireland for some years, she was in many ways responsible for spreading the protestant faith among the Irish nobility and people, even though many did not follow Anglicanism per se, she served as Lord Deputy of Ireland for years for her brother and his successors. Married to Lady Jane Grey in 1554, after his death she served as regent to their son, Stephen II.

[2] Stephen II of England's brief reign was turbulent. His father having passed when he was less than two years old, the noblemen of the realm immediately began jockeying for power. In 1573, after failing to prevent the annexation of Northumberland by the Scots at the behest of Thomas Percy, Queen Jane was removed by a coalition of nobles and replaced with the Earl of Warwick. However, Warwick's government proved to be equally inept and in 1575 he was removed from power after a brief civil war. Stephen took ill and died (not at all related to his new, noble-appointed chef, of course), and without a male successor the selection of a new king was given over to Parliament. Parliament appointed Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel to take the throne.

[3] The election of Henry IX by Parliament was highly controversial, and largely a result of the fractious political infighting throughout the reign of Stephen II. The 12th Earl of Arundel had been a near-permanent fixture in the courts of the Tudor monarchs, and had shrewdly supported the Regency Council of Jane to maintain a strong political position. However, upon the loss of Northumberland and the humiliation of the Earl of Warwick, Henry was courted by his supporters in Parliament as a neutral candidate around which the nobles of England could unite - and his pragmatic ambition played to their demands. Despite being 63 at the time of his coronation, Henry was able to point to an heir (also called Henry, Baron Maltravers, born in 1538), while his two daughters were well-wedded into the heart of the nobility with children of their own. Coming to the throne in 1576, Henry IX was a divisive figure and often unaccepted by those who favoured his rival candidates for the throne. Many of these candidates remained a threat upon his death just three years later in 1579.

[4] While his father's reign was tense with political intrigue and unrest due to the decision of completely set aside all female Tudors (from the lines of Elizabeth and Mary and Princess Jane, Stephen II's older sister), Henry X's was marked by war. The English Civil War (sometimes called the War of the Five Kings) began when Lady Elizabeth, who had been living in Ireland since 1552, declared Irish independence with herself as Queen in 1582 - basically declaring that any authority England had over it was moot after they basically deposed the Tudors. This action by now Queen Elizabeth started a domino effect as all the groups against the new monarchs decided that now was the time to seize the throne for themselves. The first to raise the banners of war where the Protestants who, together with their belief that Henry X was a crypto-catholic (his family having only begrudgingly accepted Protestantism during the reign of Edward VI) and that this line was barely of royal standard, rose in rebellion by the end of 1582. A good chunk of England rose with them under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford and Thomas (the bastard son of the Lady Mary, who had received her title after her death), the latter of whom was was fiercely Protestant and had eloped and married Princess Jane in 1571. The Scottish were led by the young James VI who invaded England to assert his claim as a man of full royal lineage and a direct descendant of Henry VII, while even the Welsh rose up under a pretender alleging to be the illegitimate son of Edward VI. (He died fighting a second pretender, supposedly the illegitimate grandson of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII). Henry X died in the camp of battle fighting against Thomas, who had by that point taken control of most of the kingdom after allying with his half-aunt. By the time of his death Henry was reviled for rumours that he had (unsuccessfully) proposed to Philip II of Spain to convert to Catholicism should the Habsburgs help him in retaining his English crown, and was succeeded by the short reign of his son Edward VII.

[5] Edward VII, the last of the Fitzalans, came to the throne as any semblance of power slipped from his dynasty's grasp. His father's forces had been decisively defeated by Thomas, and Edward was forced to withdraw further and further south to prevent the obliteration of his few remaining forces. Overtures to Francis II of France also failed, given the ongoing French Wars of Religion, and in late-July Edward was forced to consider drastic options. He wrote to James VI, who was engaged in a protracted campaign against Thomas in the north, citing the claim that they were in fact related given the kinship of the Stewarts and the Fitzalans from Alan Fitz Flaad (d. 1120). Lacking a male heir, Edward proposed that his only daughter Eleanor (still a child) marry James and that their kin would be the heirs of both Scotland and England, unifying the two countries and ending the continuous Anglo-Scottish wars diplomatically. James rebuffed the offer, and moved to engage Thomas directly at the Battle of Yarm (almost a century to the day as the Battle of Bosworth Field). Edward was subsequently killed by rebel mutineers attempting to flee the country from Dartmouth - having been on the throne for less than a year - leading both James and Thomas to declare themselves King prior to their engagement. Although initially favouring the larger force of Thomas, the clash was a narrow one and affected significantly by changeable weather conditions and the difficult conditions to the east around the River Leven. By killing James at the climax of the battle and the subsequent rout, Thomas emerged victorious. With Edward drowned in Devon and the Fitzalan line forced from power, Thomas de Sabaudia faced no further resistance, and was subsequently coronated in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury - ending the War of the Five Kings.

[6] Thomas was not born to greatness, being the result of a short lived romance between the unmarried Princess Mary of England, and Emanuele Tomasso de Sabaudia - the illegitimate son of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and a serving officer of the English court. The young bastard was born in 1540, six years before the death of his grandfather Henry VIII and the crowning of his uncle Edward VII. By the death of his cousin; Stephen II, Thomas de Sabaudia saw himself as the sole remaining heir, and the rightful King of England. Thomas, Duke of Bedford, took a healthy annuity from the Fitzalan Kings, and despite his ties to the English throne, he would go to the continent where he made his name known as a reputable mercenary in the service of Italian dukes, the Spanish crown, and even the King of Poland. With the victory of the War of the English Succession (otherwise known as the War of the Five Kings) Thomas secured his right and the throne. Much of his early rule was spent on clearing the rebel groups, and bringing the heavy hammer of order upon those nobles who had supported the other claimants. By 1593, the purge had been completed, and the nickname “the Bloody” had been attached to the memory of Thomas I. After the death of his wife; Jane Fitzalan, Thomas would married Catherine of Portugal in 1588. The Catholic Catherine was seen as a poor choice, but the prospect of restoring the Anglo-Portuguese alliance proved right. Their union was short but fruitful, with two sons and a daughter being born before her death in 1597. With his rule stable in England, Thomas would turn his sights to the lost Kingdom of Ireland, and despite the loyalties to Elizabeth of Leinster the Irish armies could not withstand the English onslaught; by 1598 English rule was reinstated, at least within the Pale. The last years of his life were spent in relative opulence, with the palaces of England being some of the greatest and wealthiest in Europe. He would pass in 1601, and the throne would pass to his eldest son, John, Prince of Wales.

[7] John was born 1582, to King Thomas and Queen Catherine, he was named after his maternal grandfather, King John IV of Portugal. His upbringing was mainly performed by his mother, while his father was dealing with the rebels (although the Privy Council necessitated the tutors be approved by the Protestant nobility). In 1600, at 16, John married Princess Sophia of Denmark (the youngest daughter of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark, and a year his junior). She was also the sister of Anne, Queen Consort of Scotland. To secure English rule in Ireland John arranged the marriage of his brother Emmanuel, Duke of York, to Elizabeth Dudley - the only surviving heir of Robert I of Ireland. This marriage rallied the Irish nobility behind his rule, while his sister Mary was married to their cousin Sebastian II of Portugal. Along with these marriages John would also be the match-maker for many of his noble subjects, betrothing formerly rival houses to one another, stating that he never wished for English blood to be split by other English men on English soil. Peace was never broken within his 37-year reign, and instead of spending taxes on standing armies the Privy Council was able to concentrate on increasing the size of the Navy and mercantilism. His death at the age of 55 came as a great shock, for the healthy king was assumed to live forever. However, while dancing at a party held in honour of the birth of his first great-grandchild - a feat that no monarch had claimed before - John collapsed into the arms of his daughter-in-law, lost consciousness and was carried to a nearby lounge chair, where he was pronounced dead. At first there was speculation of murder, but after an examination from an independent doctor it was found that he had a brain aneurysm. He was succeeded by his second son Edward, Duke of Clarence - leaving behind his wife, 8 children, 22 grandchild and 1 great-grandchild.

[8] Edward was the second of the six sons of John II and until the age of 4 there was no expectation that he would inherit the throne. When his elder brother Thomas reached the age of 6 his developmental disabilities became apparent. Known to be deaf from birth and developmentally stunted, Thomas was unfit for rule and so Edward was pushed into the limelight as the heir-principal of his father, even though his elder brother was still alive. Having inherited the throne at the age of 37, and with 6 children of his own by his wife Catherine of Milan as well as two illegitimate sons (John and William), Edward VIII looked to be a great king. He worked to continue the peace his father had built, and largely succeeded. However, after a mere thirteen years on the throne Edward would be succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Edward IX.

[9] As the eldest legitimate son of Edward VIII, Edward IX quickly showed a keen interest in the development of the English navy but also, more importantly, in the dramatic surge in commitment to the fledging North American colonies. A major shipbuilding programme was bolstered by the arrival of Protestant Dutch fleeing from the devastating war between France and the Habsburg family compact, while England prospered from her neutrality on the edge of Europe. The peaceful reign of the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty continued, although religious upheaval in Scotland threatened the tentative status quo amid threats of a renewed Auld Alliance. London grew rapidly as England embraced her commercial revolution, and although Edward failed in his attempts to create a single national bank (primarily as a means to finance his navy) economic reforms loomed heavily over the horizon. Blessed with his large extended family and happily married, when Edward died of dropsy in 1669 the crown passed to his younger brother Maximilian John, Duke of York- a monarch who, although tested by both economic and military crises, would reign over the true beginnings of the modern English state.

[10] Maximilian John was born during the reign of his grandfather, John II. Early in life, he was destined to marry Elizabeth of York (the daughter of Emmanuel, 3rd Duke of York, and the senior most descendant of Elizabeth, Queen of Ireland). With their marriage, the cadet branch of the Dukes of York came to an end, and the title returned to the royal family. Their marriage was fruitful, producing three sons and two daughters, - in stark contrast to his brother (the future Edward X), for the Prince of Wales had but one son who died at the young age of 18. Upon the death of Edward IX John took the thrones of England and Ireland, and for the next two years worked tirelessly to consolidate his kingdoms into a single state. The 1671 Act of Union passed through both parliaments, and formed the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland. This, combined with his popular marriage to Elizabeth, finally established the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty as the rightful monarchs of Ireland. However, war would come to the United Kingdoms as the ultra-Catholic Valois attempted to conquer Calais in 1764. Charles XIII of France assaulted the walls of the fortress city no fewer than seven times, also leading an invasion of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the French cannon also struck the munitions store, detonating the powder as well as the King (who was leading the defence of his European redoubt). Upon the death of John III the city quickly fell, and the throne passed to his brother Edward.

[11] The reign of John III had been a turning point for his dynasty; while the unification of England and Ireland would create a powerful mercantile state focused largely upon the Atlantic, his premature death and the forced involvement of the United Kingdoms in European affairs all was a crisis for Tudor-Sabaudian rule. Although Edward was a capable ruler, the 1678 Treaty of Coulogne (establishing a short-lived peace with France) was highly-unpopular and did little to prevent the further conflagration in Europe. France, triumphant, launched enthusiastically into the First War of the Valois - their first attempt to establish both French and High-Church dominance over the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs. Such a challenge to the European status necessitated an Austrian-led coalition, with Emperor Otto VI quickly establishing a strong position in Central Europe. For the most part Edward attempted to keep the United Kingdoms out of the conflict, but in 1682 agreed to sponsor large campaigns against French positions in North America as well as conduct a sizeable naval campaign as part of the anti-Valois coalition. The war dominated his reign, but Edward would not seek any personal glory on the battlefield - instead, he served as a shrewd administrator and diplomat. Upon the European stalemate in 1687, Edward was able to secure major American colonial concessions from the French in exchange for his recognition of the annexation of Calais and the Netherlands. Although the Second War of the Valois would begin in 1691 the United Kingdoms remained neutral until the intervention of the Scots into the conflict in 1697. Most significantly, however, Edward was never able to overcome his fertility problems. When he died in 1702 the throne passed to the only living child of John III - his youngest daughter, Bridget, the Queen of Scotland.

[12] Princess Bridget was the last child of John III and Elizabeth of York. Her siblings were Emmanuel (b. 1650-1678) Elizabeth (1654-1670), Henry (1658-1678), and Thomas (1662-1701). She was a surprise child born to the 40-year-old Queen in 1675 - long after it was thought her child-bearing years were over. She was the only child born while her father was King, and a comfort to her mother still morning the loss of her daughter Elizabeth who had died from the sweating sickness just weeks before her sixteenth birthday. Bridget was only 3 years old when her father and her two oldest brothers died in the Battle of Calais, leaving her and her elder brother Prince Thomas, only 15 years old, as the only heirs to the throne. Thomas was an effeminate boy with no interest in the throne nor the will to resist his uncle, and was subsequently adopted as his heir. Princess Bridget and her mother, the Duchess of York (who no longer used the title of Queen in order to not appear a rival to her brother-in-law) relocated to their lands in Ireland, where the princess was raised apart from the intrigue of the court. In 1693, on her 18th birthday, the Princess was wed to her distant cousin, James VII Stewart, King of Scotland. She gave birth to her first child, later James VIII, in 1696. Her focus was on Presbyterian Scotland and had no idea she would become the heir to the throne of England and Ireland until her brother Thomas died under mysterious circumstances while traveling with his closest companion Geoffrey Howard, the Duke of Clarence. Clarence fled the scene and then hung himself from an oak tree, with many believing that Geoffrey had accidentally killed Thomas during a violent lover's spat. Queen Bridget and the King of Scotland, along with Prince James (now heir to both thrones) traveled back and forth from one court to the next. James' brother, Charles Stewart, acted as his regent while he was with his wife in London, and Bridget's mother, who now reclaimed the title of Dowager Queen, acted as her regent while she was in Edinburgh. A major result of this was the increase in the role of the parliaments in governing both kingdoms; although the kingdoms were not in a personal union, it was clear they eventually would be. The practical reality was that both kingdoms cooperated, especially in overseas matters and trade, and this became even more evident when James VIII ascended to the Scottish throne in 1721. The reigning King of Scotland was the heir to the throne of England and Ireland. Bridget was the longest monarch in the history of England and Ireland, reigning for 77 years and living until she was 104. She outlived many of her children, grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren. During the Bridgettian Era great changes occurred in Britain, a term that was used more and more for the two kingdoms. The Industrial Revolution began, the North American colonies were organized into a colonial federation, the East India Trading Company was established, and Britain became the two most powerful kingdoms in the world. In 1758 the two Parliaments agreed to another Act of Union to be effective on the death of the Queen and assumption of the English & Irish throne by the Scots monarch. They did not expect that it would be another 21 years before the then 83 year old monarch would die. The Bridgettian Era is considered the Golden Age of Britain. When the Queen finally died the entire English speaking world mourned for months and the color black remained a fashion staple for years after the official mourning period was done. She was succeed by her granddaughter, Mary II, the reigning Queen of Scotland.

[13] Commonly overshadowed by her long-living grandmother Mary II started her life as a monarch, as James VIII died five months before her birth while her elder brother James IX died of the sweats (at age 14) less than a week before the Queen Mother entered labour. Her mother also died from what has been theorized as eclampsia. Trained in the art of ruling by her grandmother, Mary's time as Queen of Scots has been traditionally characterized as being unremarkable, as outside the strengthening of ties between the kingdoms of Britain (which was already in process even before her birth) the Queen spent most of her time in leisure. She left government to her relatives and children while she hunted, invested in the arts or traveled, and was the first British monarch to visit the Colonies in 1768 (even if she had only been the Queen of Scotland at the time). She also loved animals and her personal menagerie, and was the ancestress to the modern Royal Zoo of Edinburgh. The zoo included unique animals, extinct in the wild, such as the like the Great Auk, the sea cow (brought by a Scottish fur trader from the Bering Sea) and even elephants. Aged 48 at the time of her ascension to the Anglo-Irish throne, Mary's reign over the united British Isles was relatively peaceful; the Stewarts remained uninvolved in the bloody collapse of the Spanish Empire into its successor kingdoms and outside of the royal intervention/take-over on the East India Trading Company in 1788 after the Cooch Behar Massacre . She was also the first British monarch to be photographed, as the earliest type of camera was invented less than a year before her death (although the image has been, sadly, lost). Married at age 16 to Gregory Cromwell, 2nd Duke of Ardglass, she was succeeded by her eldest son, Thomas.

[14] Thomas took the throne in 1795 at the head of a globe-spanning imperial state, and despite the minor domestic squabbles caused by the ongoing Regnal Number Controversy it seemed the United Kingdoms of Britain were immune to the political convulsions on the continent. The first monarch of the House of Cromwell, Thomas was nevertheless intimidated by the sweeping nationalist revolutions in Europe and quickly established himself as a reactionary. He supported the conservative parliamentary majority of the Church Party, and resisted calls for greater democratization both at home and in the Colonies. He also opposed the growing influence of the 'new gentry' - the rising number of industrialists and career politicians funded by the new northern factories, such as the wealth of the Earl of Salford or the Marquess of Ayrshire. By 1800, protests broke out across the major cities (partly exacerbated by the dire economic situation caused by the collapse of the East India Trading Company and the disastrous effect of the Spanish Revolution on international trade) to push for social reform, financial liberalization and political influence for the masses. Thomas II was highly-reluctant to agree to their demands, and although the protestors never sought to overthrow the monarchy (with the defenestration of the Spanish Habsburgs unpopular in Britain) many celebrated the death of the King in 1804. They viewed his successor, Alexander, with a renewed optimism in the hope for a political settlement, although it was clear that this would be misplaced for the most part.

[15] Alexander IV succeeded his father in midst of social, political and economical unrest as Europe and the Americas suffered through the Era of Troubles in the aftermath of the Spanish Revolution. The king was considered by many as a hopeful figure in the stricken kingdoms, which had been suffering through years of protests for democratization, but while more liberal than his predecessor Alexander did not bring the political settlement hoped for. While he did try to bring together a bill to expand the franchise to vote to around 30% of the male population and have the Colonies send representatives to parliament, he was shot in the neck by a Spanish-backed revolutionary (as he was known for his support of Britain going to war with the revolutionaries after their invasion of Portugal the previous year, and was responsible for helping the Portuguese monarchy escape to their colonies in Brazil) less than three months into his reign, dying drowned in his own blood and leaving his young brother, Andrew, as his successor.

[16] Growing up Andrew was seen as lacking refinement and elegance, and instead he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his hardworking honest subjects.
Having seen his soft-hearted father’s life ruined by rebels and then his liberal brother killed by their hands, Andrew (who never really shared their ideas) became highly reactionary and reversed most of the liberal reforms of brought about during the last ten years. He set about elevating conservatives who helped him oppose any reform that limited his autocratic rule as well as eliminating potential enemies. Under Andrew, the army was improved - working in unison with the monarchy, the Church and government. He also imposed regular periods of forced labour on the unemployed members of the population in lieu of taxation. His final years were rife with paranoia and angry outbursts until his death at the age of 73, which brought out mixed reactions. Loyal subjects mourned his death, while others celebrated in secret. His 49 year rule was succeeded by his son, also called Andrew.

[17] While Andrew I had never expected to take the throne, Andrew II had spent much of his life as heir-apparent before acceding in 1853. However, his reign would be a short and unhappy one. By the mid-1850s the Cromwells were regarded as thoroughly out-of-touch with the peoples of Britain and her overseas possessions, with the reactionary tendencies of Andrew I back-lit by the tragic failings of Alexander IV. Further economic problems, exacerbated by the high price of grain and the growing non-competitiveness of British industry, resulted in a year of crisis for the monarchy in 1855. Although Britain was used to large-scale demonstrations, the intensity of clashes between the masses and the state were unrivaled in modern history. However, it could only go on for so long. Although Andrew was in fact sympathetic to many of the strikers' demands, he was forced by the parliamentary conservatives to hold his ground. Hostile printing presses were broken up, but salacious stories of royal affairs and extravagant expenditure nevertheless reached the mob. Mutinies swept through the forces (especially the Army), and in November a large mob gathered at Eybury Palace - the seat of regal power in London - to demand the abdication of the King. Andrew understood that his position was hopeless, and refused to order troops to break up the crowd violently. Instead he promised to form a new government led by the Liberal Party and support their policies, leading to the satisfaction of the crowd and the diffusion of their revolutionary feeling. Despite significant political opposition, Andrew was true to his word; the Liberals implemented major reforms, balancing the British dependence on a strong gentry with a politically-engaged working class, and (in a surprise to many) the King did indeed abdicate in 1857. (Indeed, he was the first modern British monarch to do so). William, Duke of Gloucester took the throne, as Andrew - despite many illegitimate children - lacked a direct heir, and led Britain into her new era of constitutional monarchy.
[18] With the abdication of Andrew II the line of descent from John III came to an anticlimactic end, with the former King taking the title Duke of Cromwell and resigning to an east Suffolk estate, (spending his weekends in the Social Clubs of upper-class London). The throne came to a descendant of the fourth son of Edward VIII, who had been given the title Duke of Gloucester, and took the throne as William III as the next most senior descendant of the House of Tudor-Sabaudia. William had in fact been known as Guillaume de Ligne for most of his life, and divided his time between his families estates in the French Netherlands, and his titular estates in England. William had been a Roman Catholic for much of his life, and so to take the English throne he would convert to Protestantism. His rule, as in the vein of modern monarchy, was largely nominal. Parliament conducted the day-to-day rule of the Kingdoms, so William III was content to not interfere in the politics and served as a figurehead for the country. After an uneventful 27-year reign, - a resounding success for the principal of a constitutional monarchy - William III would pass in his sleep at the age of 78, and the throne would pass to his heir Edward, Prince of Wales.

[19] Edward was born in 1830 and was known, until his father became King, as the Earl of Gloucester. He hardly spent time in Britain as a child, staying in the French Netherlands with his mother, Louise, when his father would visit the British estates. His first visit to Britain was in 1844 and always spoke his English with a Flemish French accent. This, along with his penchant for the latest fashions, his love of horses and fox hunting, and his poetic verses, made the young Earl a romantic figure of Continental daring to the girls in the United Kingdoms. He subsequently became a central figure for the English Romantics, (known for reciting appropriate verses at opportune moments), and quickly established a reputation as a 'swordsman' of renown by the time he was 20. He spent most of his young adulthood in London when not touring Europe with a loyal group of friends, and was known for wooing young women with his mastery of the Waltz. His manner did not change upon becoming Prince of Wales at the age of 26, and although he also was obliged to convert to Protestantism the issue was nominal as Edward was actually an atheist. His great personal popularity accompanied his rakish behaviour, and he was known for many affairs with the wives of aristocracy. One such affair, with Sarah McDougal (herself a descendant of James VI of Scotland, and the wife of the Duke of Glasgow) resulted in a scandalous pregnancy, revealed only after the death of the Duke in a hunting accident. However, both parties quickly agreed upon marriage to alleviate the political pressure, and their union in 1861 was a grand affair. However, following her pregnancy Sarah retained a portly figure and Edward soon lost interest. He continued his extravagant lifestyle at the expense of his family, and sported great fashion icons of royalty to define the latest fashions. Known for his large cigars, it was no surprise when Edward died of lung cancer at the age of 65. His eldest son, Alexander, succeeded him.

[20] Alexander V was a polar opposite to Edward XI; deeply affectionate to his maligned mother, whom he regarded had been slighted by his father, Alexander was a frugal and diligent monarch who himself had been largely ignored even as Prince of Wales. A Cambridge graduate and amateur mathematician, Alexander shunned the opulence of his father in favour of a closely-knit and well-informed Privy Council and was both shrewd and eloquent in his dealings with Parliament. A known Liberal sympathizer, Alexander quietly supported the social reforms of the 1901-1907 ministries that established a fledging welfare state around the ministrations of the Church, and was invited to the Stockholm Conference of 1911 (which independently established a naval armament treaty between the major European powers). The death of the Queen Mother soon afterwards was one of the first public events to be widely reported on the radio, and Alexander understood the value and importance of the apparatus as a political tool. He was keen to avoid the familial mistakes of his father, and lovingly doted on his family. He also instilled his sons the significance of national duty, although never quite recovered emotionally following the controversial death of his eldest son Edward in the sinking of HMS Argos in 1917. The end of his reign was marked by the beginning of the Great European War (1920-1926); the assassination of the Dauphin by the Orange Hand separatists in the French Netherlands was deeply upsetting to the royal family, given their close association with the region. Upon the outbreak of conflict between France and the Holy Roman Empire, Britain was forced into a difficult diplomatic decision. Although it looked likely that the United Kingdoms would intervene on behalf of Flemish independence, the death of Alexander in 1923 caused political chaos. Britain would ultimately remain neutral, and although Alexander would not live to see the conclusion of the war his successor _______________ signed the observer clauses in the 1926 Treaty of Fontainebleau.
 
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'THE COLD-HEARTED SWOT'
What if Edward VI lived just long enough to produce an heir?

Monarchs of England (1547-1671)
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland (1671-1779)

1547 - 1569: Edward VI (House of Tudor) [1]
1569 - 1576: Stephen II (House of Tudor) [2]
1576 - 1579: Henry IX (House of Fitzalan) [3]
1579 - 1585: Henry X (House of Fitzalan) [4]
1585 - 1585: Edward VII (House of Fitzalan) [5]
1585 -1601: Thomas I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [6]
1601 - 1638: John II (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [7]
1638 - 1651: Edward VIII (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [8]
1651 - 1669: Edward IX (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [9]
1669 - 1678: John III (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [10]
1678 - 1702: Edward X (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [11]
1702 - 1779: Bridget I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia / Stewart) [12]

Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland (1779-)

1779 - 1795: Mary II (House of Stewart) [13]
1795 - 1804: Thomas II (House of Cromwell) [14]
1804 - 1804: Alexander IV (House of Cromwell) [15]
1804 - 1853: Andrew I (House of Cromwell) [16]
1853 - 1857: Andrew II (House of Cromwell) [17]
1857 - 1884: William III (House of Ligne) [18]
1884 - 1896:
Edward XI (House of Ligne) [19]
1896 - 1923:
Alexander V (House of Ligne) [20]
1923 - 1979:
Charles I (House of Ligne) [21]


[1] The only son and child of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was one of the youngest monarchs in English history, ascending to the throne at the age of 9, and ruled during the time that its formation as a truly protestant nation occurred, with the Church of England becoming more in line with those of Sweden and Denmark. A sickly man, many said he survived instead of living, suffering from some sort of disease every year of his lifetime, finally dying from tuberculosis, a disease he had lived with for years, at age 31. He also had two half sisters (who were called bastards but had been born as princesses of England in his father's two previous marriages), the ladies Mary and Elizabeth, the first (made Duchess of Bedford after giving birth to a bastard son by a groom six years prior), died of a disease in the bowels at age 45, and the second married Lord Robert Dudley and later was made Duchess of Leinster by her own right, sent in exile to Ireland for some years, she was in many ways responsible for spreading the protestant faith among the Irish nobility and people, even though many did not follow Anglicanism per se, she served as Lord Deputy of Ireland for years for her brother and his successors. Married to Lady Jane Grey in 1554, after his death she served as regent to their son, Stephen II.

[2] Stephen II of England's brief reign was turbulent. His father having passed when he was less than two years old, the noblemen of the realm immediately began jockeying for power. In 1573, after failing to prevent the annexation of Northumberland by the Scots at the behest of Thomas Percy, Queen Jane was removed by a coalition of nobles and replaced with the Earl of Warwick. However, Warwick's government proved to be equally inept and in 1575 he was removed from power after a brief civil war. Stephen took ill and died (not at all related to his new, noble-appointed chef, of course), and without a male successor the selection of a new king was given over to Parliament. Parliament appointed Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel to take the throne.

[3] The election of Henry IX by Parliament was highly controversial, and largely a result of the fractious political infighting throughout the reign of Stephen II. The 12th Earl of Arundel had been a near-permanent fixture in the courts of the Tudor monarchs, and had shrewdly supported the Regency Council of Jane to maintain a strong political position. However, upon the loss of Northumberland and the humiliation of the Earl of Warwick, Henry was courted by his supporters in Parliament as a neutral candidate around which the nobles of England could unite - and his pragmatic ambition played to their demands. Despite being 63 at the time of his coronation, Henry was able to point to an heir (also called Henry, Baron Maltravers, born in 1538), while his two daughters were well-wedded into the heart of the nobility with children of their own. Coming to the throne in 1576, Henry IX was a divisive figure and often unaccepted by those who favoured his rival candidates for the throne. Many of these candidates remained a threat upon his death just three years later in 1579.

[4] While his father's reign was tense with political intrigue and unrest due to the decision of completely set aside all female Tudors (from the lines of Elizabeth and Mary and Princess Jane, Stephen II's older sister), Henry X's was marked by war. The English Civil War (sometimes called the War of the Five Kings) began when Lady Elizabeth, who had been living in Ireland since 1552, declared Irish independence with herself as Queen in 1582 - basically declaring that any authority England had over it was moot after they basically deposed the Tudors. This action by now Queen Elizabeth started a domino effect as all the groups against the new monarchs decided that now was the time to seize the throne for themselves. The first to raise the banners of war where the Protestants who, together with their belief that Henry X was a crypto-catholic (his family having only begrudgingly accepted Protestantism during the reign of Edward VI) and that this line was barely of royal standard, rose in rebellion by the end of 1582. A good chunk of England rose with them under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford and Thomas (the bastard son of the Lady Mary, who had received her title after her death), the latter of whom was was fiercely Protestant and had eloped and married Princess Jane in 1571. The Scottish were led by the young James VI who invaded England to assert his claim as a man of full royal lineage and a direct descendant of Henry VII, while even the Welsh rose up under a pretender alleging to be the illegitimate son of Edward VI. (He died fighting a second pretender, supposedly the illegitimate grandson of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII). Henry X died in the camp of battle fighting against Thomas, who had by that point taken control of most of the kingdom after allying with his half-aunt. By the time of his death Henry was reviled for rumours that he had (unsuccessfully) proposed to Philip II of Spain to convert to Catholicism should the Habsburgs help him in retaining his English crown, and was succeeded by the short reign of his son Edward VII.

[5] Edward VII, the last of the Fitzalans, came to the throne as any semblance of power slipped from his dynasty's grasp. His father's forces had been decisively defeated by Thomas, and Edward was forced to withdraw further and further south to prevent the obliteration of his few remaining forces. Overtures to Francis II of France also failed, given the ongoing French Wars of Religion, and in late-July Edward was forced to consider drastic options. He wrote to James VI, who was engaged in a protracted campaign against Thomas in the north, citing the claim that they were in fact related given the kinship of the Stewarts and the Fitzalans from Alan Fitz Flaad (d. 1120). Lacking a male heir, Edward proposed that his only daughter Eleanor (still a child) marry James and that their kin would be the heirs of both Scotland and England, unifying the two countries and ending the continuous Anglo-Scottish wars diplomatically. James rebuffed the offer, and moved to engage Thomas directly at the Battle of Yarm (almost a century to the day as the Battle of Bosworth Field). Edward was subsequently killed by rebel mutineers attempting to flee the country from Dartmouth - having been on the throne for less than a year - leading both James and Thomas to declare themselves King prior to their engagement. Although initially favouring the larger force of Thomas, the clash was a narrow one and affected significantly by changeable weather conditions and the difficult conditions to the east around the River Leven. By killing James at the climax of the battle and the subsequent rout, Thomas emerged victorious. With Edward drowned in Devon and the Fitzalan line forced from power, Thomas de Sabaudia faced no further resistance, and was subsequently coronated in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury - ending the War of the Five Kings.

[6] Thomas was not born to greatness, being the result of a short lived romance between the unmarried Princess Mary of England, and Emanuele Tomasso de Sabaudia - the illegitimate son of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and a serving officer of the English court. The young bastard was born in 1540, six years before the death of his grandfather Henry VIII and the crowning of his uncle Edward VII. By the death of his cousin; Stephen II, Thomas de Sabaudia saw himself as the sole remaining heir, and the rightful King of England. Thomas, Duke of Bedford, took a healthy annuity from the Fitzalan Kings, and despite his ties to the English throne, he would go to the continent where he made his name known as a reputable mercenary in the service of Italian dukes, the Spanish crown, and even the King of Poland. With the victory of the War of the English Succession (otherwise known as the War of the Five Kings) Thomas secured his right and the throne. Much of his early rule was spent on clearing the rebel groups, and bringing the heavy hammer of order upon those nobles who had supported the other claimants. By 1593, the purge had been completed, and the nickname “the Bloody” had been attached to the memory of Thomas I. After the death of his wife; Jane Fitzalan, Thomas would married Catherine of Portugal in 1588. The Catholic Catherine was seen as a poor choice, but the prospect of restoring the Anglo-Portuguese alliance proved right. Their union was short but fruitful, with two sons and a daughter being born before her death in 1597. With his rule stable in England, Thomas would turn his sights to the lost Kingdom of Ireland, and despite the loyalties to Elizabeth of Leinster the Irish armies could not withstand the English onslaught; by 1598 English rule was reinstated, at least within the Pale. The last years of his life were spent in relative opulence, with the palaces of England being some of the greatest and wealthiest in Europe. He would pass in 1601, and the throne would pass to his eldest son, John, Prince of Wales.

[7] John was born 1582, to King Thomas and Queen Catherine, he was named after his maternal grandfather, King John IV of Portugal. His upbringing was mainly performed by his mother, while his father was dealing with the rebels (although the Privy Council necessitated the tutors be approved by the Protestant nobility). In 1600, at 16, John married Princess Sophia of Denmark (the youngest daughter of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark, and a year his junior). She was also the sister of Anne, Queen Consort of Scotland. To secure English rule in Ireland John arranged the marriage of his brother Emmanuel, Duke of York, to Elizabeth Dudley - the only surviving heir of Robert I of Ireland. This marriage rallied the Irish nobility behind his rule, while his sister Mary was married to their cousin Sebastian II of Portugal. Along with these marriages John would also be the match-maker for many of his noble subjects, betrothing formerly rival houses to one another, stating that he never wished for English blood to be split by other English men on English soil. Peace was never broken within his 37-year reign, and instead of spending taxes on standing armies the Privy Council was able to concentrate on increasing the size of the Navy and mercantilism. His death at the age of 55 came as a great shock, for the healthy king was assumed to live forever. However, while dancing at a party held in honour of the birth of his first great-grandchild - a feat that no monarch had claimed before - John collapsed into the arms of his daughter-in-law, lost consciousness and was carried to a nearby lounge chair, where he was pronounced dead. At first there was speculation of murder, but after an examination from an independent doctor it was found that he had a brain aneurysm. He was succeeded by his second son Edward, Duke of Clarence - leaving behind his wife, 8 children, 22 grandchild and 1 great-grandchild.

[8] Edward was the second of the six sons of John II and until the age of 4 there was no expectation that he would inherit the throne. When his elder brother Thomas reached the age of 6 his developmental disabilities became apparent. Known to be deaf from birth and developmentally stunted, Thomas was unfit for rule and so Edward was pushed into the limelight as the heir-principal of his father, even though his elder brother was still alive. Having inherited the throne at the age of 37, and with 6 children of his own by his wife Catherine of Milan as well as two illegitimate sons (John and William), Edward VIII looked to be a great king. He worked to continue the peace his father had built, and largely succeeded. However, after a mere thirteen years on the throne Edward would be succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Edward IX.

[9] As the eldest legitimate son of Edward VIII, Edward IX quickly showed a keen interest in the development of the English navy but also, more importantly, in the dramatic surge in commitment to the fledging North American colonies. A major shipbuilding programme was bolstered by the arrival of Protestant Dutch fleeing from the devastating war between France and the Habsburg family compact, while England prospered from her neutrality on the edge of Europe. The peaceful reign of the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty continued, although religious upheaval in Scotland threatened the tentative status quo amid threats of a renewed Auld Alliance. London grew rapidly as England embraced her commercial revolution, and although Edward failed in his attempts to create a single national bank (primarily as a means to finance his navy) economic reforms loomed heavily over the horizon. Blessed with his large extended family and happily married, when Edward died of dropsy in 1669 the crown passed to his younger brother Maximilian John, Duke of York- a monarch who, although tested by both economic and military crises, would reign over the true beginnings of the modern English state.

[10] Maximilian John was born during the reign of his grandfather, John II. Early in life, he was destined to marry Elizabeth of York (the daughter of Emmanuel, 3rd Duke of York, and the senior most descendant of Elizabeth, Queen of Ireland). With their marriage, the cadet branch of the Dukes of York came to an end, and the title returned to the royal family. Their marriage was fruitful, producing three sons and two daughters, - in stark contrast to his brother (the future Edward X), for the Prince of Wales had but one son who died at the young age of 18. Upon the death of Edward IX John took the thrones of England and Ireland, and for the next two years worked tirelessly to consolidate his kingdoms into a single state. The 1671 Act of Union passed through both parliaments, and formed the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland. This, combined with his popular marriage to Elizabeth, finally established the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty as the rightful monarchs of Ireland. However, war would come to the United Kingdoms as the ultra-Catholic Valois attempted to conquer Calais in 1764. Charles XIII of France assaulted the walls of the fortress city no fewer than seven times, also leading an invasion of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the French cannon also struck the munitions store, detonating the powder as well as the King (who was leading the defence of his European redoubt). Upon the death of John III the city quickly fell, and the throne passed to his brother Edward.

[11] The reign of John III had been a turning point for his dynasty; while the unification of England and Ireland would create a powerful mercantile state focused largely upon the Atlantic, his premature death and the forced involvement of the United Kingdoms in European affairs all was a crisis for Tudor-Sabaudian rule. Although Edward was a capable ruler, the 1678 Treaty of Coulogne (establishing a short-lived peace with France) was highly-unpopular and did little to prevent the further conflagration in Europe. France, triumphant, launched enthusiastically into the First War of the Valois - their first attempt to establish both French and High-Church dominance over the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs. Such a challenge to the European status necessitated an Austrian-led coalition, with Emperor Otto VI quickly establishing a strong position in Central Europe. For the most part Edward attempted to keep the United Kingdoms out of the conflict, but in 1682 agreed to sponsor large campaigns against French positions in North America as well as conduct a sizeable naval campaign as part of the anti-Valois coalition. The war dominated his reign, but Edward would not seek any personal glory on the battlefield - instead, he served as a shrewd administrator and diplomat. Upon the European stalemate in 1687, Edward was able to secure major American colonial concessions from the French in exchange for his recognition of the annexation of Calais and the Netherlands. Although the Second War of the Valois would begin in 1691 the United Kingdoms remained neutral until the intervention of the Scots into the conflict in 1697. Most significantly, however, Edward was never able to overcome his fertility problems. When he died in 1702 the throne passed to the only living child of John III - his youngest daughter, Bridget, the Queen of Scotland.

[12] Princess Bridget was the last child of John III and Elizabeth of York. Her siblings were Emmanuel (b. 1650-1678) Elizabeth (1654-1670), Henry (1658-1678), and Thomas (1662-1701). She was a surprise child born to the Queen after it was thought her child bearing years were done, in 1675 when the Queen was 40 and the King was 50. She was the only child born while her father was King. The child was a comfort to her mother still morning the loss of her daughter Elizabeth who had died from the sweating sickness just weeks before her sixteenth birthday.

Bridget was only 3 years old when her father and her two oldest brothers died in the Battle of Calais. That left her as a toddler and Prince Thomas, only 15 years old, to inherit the throne. Thomas was an effeminate boy with no interest in the throne nor the will to resist his uncle. Thomas was instead adopted by his uncle as his heir and became the Prince of Wales.

Princess Bridget and her mother, the Duchess of York, who no longer used the title of Queen in order to not appear a rival to her brother-in-law, relocated to the Duchess's lands in Ireland, where the Princess was raised apart from the intrigue of the court.

In 1693 on her 18th birthday, the Princess was wed to her distant cousin, James VII Stewart, King of Scotland. She gave birth to her first child, later James VIII, in 1696. Her focus was on Presbyterian Scotland and had no idea she would become the heir to the throne of England and Ireland until her brother Thomas died under mysterious circumstances while traveling with his closest companion, Geoffrey Howard, the Duke of Clarence, who fled the scene and then hung himself from an oak tree. Many believe that Geoffrey accidentally killed Thomas during a lover's spat that turned violent.

Queen Bridget and the King of Scotland, along with Prince James, now heir to both thrones, and their other children, traveled back and forth from one court to the next. James' brother, Charles Stewart, acted as his regent while he was with his wife in London, and Bridget's mother, who now reclaimed the title of Dowager Queen, acted as her regent while she was in Edinburgh. A major result of this was the increase in the role of the Parliaments in governing both kingdoms.

Although the kingdoms were not in a personal union, it was clear they eventually would be. The practical reality was that both kingdoms cooperated, especially in overseas matters and trade. This became even more so when James VIII ascended to the Scots throne in 1721. The reigning King of Scotland was the heir to the throne of England and Ireland.

Bridget was the longest monarch in the history of England and Ireland, reigning for 77 years and living until she was 104. She outlived many of her children, grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren. During the Bridgettian Era great changes occurred in Britain, a term that was used more and more for the two kingdoms. The Industrial Revolution began, the North American colonies were organized into a colonial federation, the East India Trading Company was established, and Britain became the two most powerful kingdoms in the world.

In 1758 the two Parliaments agreed to an act of union to be effective on the death of the Queen and assumption of the English & Irish throne by the Scots monarch. They did not expect that it would be another 21 years before the then 83 year old monarch would die.

The Bridgettian Era is considered the Golden Age of Britain. When the Queen finally died the entire English speaking world mourned for months and the color black remained a fashion staple for years after the official mourning period was done. She was succeed by her granddaughter, Mary II, the reigning Queen of Scotland.

[13] Commonly overshadowed by her long-living grandmother Mary II started her life as a monarch, as James VIII died five months before her birth while her elder brother James IX died of the sweats (at age 14) less than a week before the Queen Mother entered labour. Her mother also died from what has been theorized as eclampsia. Trained in the art of ruling by her grandmother, Mary's time as Queen of Scots has been traditionally characterized as being unremarkable, as outside the strengthening of ties between the kingdoms of Britain (which was already in process even before her birth) the Queen spent most of her time in leisure. She left government to her relatives and children while she hunted, invested in the arts or traveled, and was the first British monarch to visit the Colonies in 1768 (even if she had only been the Queen of Scotland at the time). She also loved animals and her personal menagerie, and was the ancestress to the modern Royal Zoo of Edinburgh. The zoo included unique animals, extinct in the wild, such as the like the Great Auk, the sea cow (brought by a Scottish fur trader from the Bering Sea) and even elephants. Aged 48 at the time of her ascension to the Anglo-Irish throne, Mary's reign over the united British Isles was relatively peaceful; the Stewarts remained uninvolved in the bloody collapse of the Spanish Empire into its successor kingdoms and outside of the royal intervention/take-over on the East India Trading Company in 1788 after the Cooch Behar Massacre . She was also the first British monarch to be photographed, as the earliest type of camera was invented less than a year before her death (although the image has been, sadly, lost). Married at age 16 to Gregory Cromwell, 2nd Duke of Ardglass, she was succeeded by her eldest son, Thomas.

[14] Thomas took the throne in 1795 at the head of a globe-spanning imperial state, and despite the minor domestic squabbles caused by the ongoing Regnal Number Controversy it seemed the United Kingdoms of Britain were immune to the political convulsions on the continent. The first monarch of the House of Cromwell, Thomas was nevertheless intimidated by the sweeping nationalist revolutions in Europe and quickly established himself as a reactionary. He supported the conservative parliamentary majority of the Church Party, and resisted calls for greater democratization both at home and in the Colonies. He also opposed the growing influence of the 'new gentry' - the rising number of industrialists and career politicians funded by the new northern factories, such as the wealth of the Earl of Salford or the Marquess of Ayrshire. By 1800, protests broke out across the major cities (partly exacerbated by the dire economic situation caused by the collapse of the East India Trading Company and the disastrous effect of the Spanish Revolution on international trade) to push for social reform, financial liberalization and political influence for the masses. Thomas II was highly-reluctant to agree to their demands, and although the protestors never sought to overthrow the monarchy (with the defenestration of the Spanish Habsburgs unpopular in Britain) many celebrated the death of the King in 1804. They viewed his successor, Alexander, with a renewed optimism in the hope for a political settlement, although it was clear that this would be misplaced for the most part.

[15] Alexander IV succeeded his father in midst of social, political and economical unrest as Europe and the Americas suffered through the Era of Troubles in the aftermath of the Spanish Revolution. The king was considered by many as a hopeful figure in the stricken kingdoms, which had been suffering through years of protests for democratization, but while more liberal than his predecessor Alexander did not bring the political settlement hoped for. While he did try to bring together a bill to expand the franchise to vote to around 30% of the male population and have the Colonies send representatives to parliament, he was shot in the neck by a Spanish-backed revolutionary (as he was known for his support of Britain going to war with the revolutionaries after their invasion of Portugal the previous year, and was responsible for helping the Portuguese monarchy escape to their colonies in Brazil) less than three months into his reign, dying drowned in his own blood and leaving his young brother, Andrew, as his successor.

[16] Growing up Andrew was seen as lacking refinement and elegance, and instead he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his hardworking honest subjects.
Having seen his soft-hearted father’s life ruined by rebels and then his liberal brother killed by their hands, Andrew (who never really shared their ideas) became highly reactionary and reversed most of the liberal reforms of brought about during the last ten years. He set about elevating conservatives who helped him oppose any reform that limited his autocratic rule as well as eliminating potential enemies. Under Andrew, the army was improved - working in unison with the monarchy, the Church and government. He also imposed regular periods of forced labour on the unemployed members of the population in lieu of taxation. His final years were rife with paranoia and angry outbursts until his death at the age of 73, which brought out mixed reactions. Loyal subjects mourned his death, while others celebrated in secret. His 49 year rule was succeeded by his son, also called Andrew.

[17] While Andrew I had never expected to take the throne, Andrew II had spent much of his life as heir-apparent before acceding in 1853. However, his reign would be a short and unhappy one. By the mid-1850s the Cromwells were regarded as thoroughly out-of-touch with the peoples of Britain and her overseas possessions, with the reactionary tendencies of Andrew I back-lit by the tragic failings of Alexander IV. Further economic problems, exacerbated by the high price of grain and the growing non-competitiveness of British industry, resulted in a year of crisis for the monarchy in 1855. Although Britain was used to large-scale demonstrations, the intensity of clashes between the masses and the state were unrivaled in modern history. However, it could only go on for so long. Although Andrew was in fact sympathetic to many of the strikers' demands, he was forced by the parliamentary conservatives to hold his ground. Hostile printing presses were broken up, but salacious stories of royal affairs and extravagant expenditure nevertheless reached the mob. Mutinies swept through the forces (especially the Army), and in November a large mob gathered at Eybury Palace - the seat of regal power in London - to demand the abdication of the King. Andrew understood that his position was hopeless, and refused to order troops to break up the crowd violently. Instead he promised to form a new government led by the Liberal Party and support their policies, leading to the satisfaction of the crowd and the diffusion of their revolutionary feeling. Despite significant political opposition, Andrew was true to his word; the Liberals implemented major reforms, balancing the British dependence on a strong gentry with a politically-engaged working class, and (in a surprise to many) the King did indeed abdicate in 1857. (Indeed, he was the first modern British monarch to do so). William, Duke of Gloucester took the throne, as Andrew - despite many illegitimate children - lacked a direct heir, and led Britain into her new era of constitutional monarchy.
[18] With the abdication of Andrew II the line of descent from John III came to an anticlimactic end, with the former King taking the title Duke of Cromwell and resigning to an east Suffolk estate, (spending his weekends in the Social Clubs of upper-class London). The throne came to a descendant of the fourth son of Edward VIII, who had been given the title Duke of Gloucester, and took the throne as William III as the next most senior descendant of the House of Tudor-Sabaudia. William had in fact been known as Guillaume de Ligne for most of his life, and divided his time between his families estates in the French Netherlands, and his titular estates in England. William had been a Roman Catholic for much of his life, and so to take the English throne he would convert to Protestantism. His rule, as in the vein of modern monarchy, was largely nominal. Parliament conducted the day-to-day rule of the Kingdoms, so William III was content to not interfere in the politics and served as a figurehead for the country. After an uneventful 27-year reign, - a resounding success for the principal of a constitutional monarchy - William III would pass in his sleep at the age of 78, and the throne would pass to his heir Edward, Prince of Wales.

[19] Edward was born in 1830 and was known, until his father became King, as the Earl of Gloucester. He hardly spent time in Britain as a child, staying in the French Netherlands with his mother, Louise, when his father would visit the British estates. His first visit to Britain was in 1844. He thus always spoke his English with a Flemish French accent. This made the young Earl a romantic figure of Continental daring to the girls in the United Kingdoms. That along with his penchant for the latest fashions, his love of horses and fox hunting, and his love of poetry, especially the English Romantics, (allowing him to recite the most appropriate verse at just the right moment) led to him being a 'swordsman' of renown by the time he was 20.

He spent his young adulthood mainly in London when he wasn't on vacation touring Europe with a group of friends. In both situations he was a lover of the Waltz and the women he'd waltz with as he'd woo them. His manner didn't change when he became the Prince of Wales at the age of 26. (He also was Catholic until he converted like his father, but for him it was entirely nominal as his private journals posthumously revealed he was actually an Atheist.) In fact he became more popular with the women as expected and quickly found that he preferred the wives of aristocracy for his affairs, which made it easier to keep himself free of entanglements.

Unfortunately for his desire to remain single, his affair with the Duchess of Glasgow, Sarah McDougal, a descendant of James VI Stewart of Scotland, took a different turn when her husband, the Duke of Glasgow, died in a hunting accident and it was also found out that she was pregnant by the Prince of Wales. She was a perfect match for marriage now and she had the King as an ally for the match. The Royal Wedding in 1861 was a grand affair.

Princess Sarah gained a lot of weight during her pregnancy and never lost it. She also had other children by the Prince of Wales and gained more weight with each and never lost it. The result was that any affection the shallow Prince had for his wife evaporated. He continued his life of affairs, drinking, and traveling. Although he didn't have any reluctance in bedding his wife when her bed was the only one available to him, he just had little interest in socializing with her or helping raise his children until they were older.

He was 54 when he became King. Unlike his father, he loved the trappings of royalty, sporting previously out of fashion signs of royalty like crowns and ermine at every appearance. He hosted grand dances with the fashionable elite of London as his guests. It was rumored that private after parties included opium and absinthe used in abundance.

King Edward was also known for always smoking, non-stop, large cigars. It is now no surprise that his reign ended at the age of 65 when cancer of the lung ended his life.
His eldest son, Alexander, succeeded him.

[20] Alexander V was a polar opposite to Edward XI; deeply affectionate to his maligned mother, whom he regarded had been slighted by his father, Alexander was a frugal and diligent monarch who himself had been largely ignored even as Prince of Wales. A Cambridge graduate and amateur mathematician, Alexander shunned the opulence of his father in favour of a closely-knit and well-informed Privy Council and was both shrewd and eloquent in his dealings with Parliament. A known Liberal sympathizer, Alexander quietly supported the social reforms of the 1901-1907 ministries that established a fledging welfare state around the ministrations of the Church, and was invited to the Stockholm Conference of 1911 (which independently established a naval armament treaty between the major European powers). The death of the Queen Mother soon afterwards was one of the first public events to be widely reported on the radio, and Alexander understood the value and importance of the apparatus as a political tool. He was keen to avoid the familial mistakes of his father, and lovingly doted on his family. He also instilled his sons the significance of national duty, although never quite recovered emotionally following the controversial death of his eldest son Edward in the sinking of HMS Argos in 1917. The end of his reign was marked by the beginning of the Great European War (1920-1926); the assassination of the Dauphin by the Orange Hand separatists in the French Netherlands was deeply upsetting to the royal family, given their close association with the region. Upon the outbreak of conflict between France and the Holy Roman Empire, Britain was forced into a difficult diplomatic decision. Although it looked likely that the United Kingdoms would intervene on behalf of Flemish independence, the death of Alexander in 1923 caused political chaos. Britain would ultimately remain neutral, and although Alexander would not live to see the conclusion of the war his successor, his grandson, Charles I, signed the observer clauses in the 1926 Treaty of Fontainebleau.

KingsSpeechColinFirth.jpg
[21] Charles Henry Emmanuel Alexander Ligne was only 10 years old when his father, Edward, the Prince of Wales, died in 1917 at the age of 32. The Princess of Wales, Mary Ligne, was a second cousin once removed of Prince Edward, as she was the granddaughter of the much younger brother of King William III, Charles Ligne, whom his brother had granted the title of Duke of Gloucester upon his taking the throne. Mary's father was also named Charles and was born late in life to his father, making Mary actually younger than her second cousin once removed.

Prince Charles never was invested as the Prince of Wales, which was intended to happen on his 18th Birthday, September 17, 1924. He was only 16 and a half years old when he took the throne on June 2, 1923. His maternal uncle, Emmanuel Ligne, the Earl of Gloucester (as his grandfather was still alive and so was the current Duke of Gloucester) was the official regent, but the Princess of Wales also operated as a royal surrogate as did his paternal uncle, Prince Richard, and paternal great uncles, Prince Edward and Prince Henry. The Earl was granted this honor as he had stepped into the paternal role for his nephew after the death of the Prince of Wales, living in the same suite of apartments in the Royal Palace with the Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and his younger sister, only 7 at the death of their father, Princess Catherine.

His uncle and mother had intensified his training for the throne, imposing on him a deep sense of duty, after the death of his father. The five years he was the direct heir and the following year and a half before his majority, were filled with instruction in everything a 20th Century King should know from politics to warfare, horse back riding to fencing, history to philosophy, and most importantly the proper etiquette. The result was a King who embodied the ideals of the Philosopher King of Marcus Aurelius, a bust of whom was prominently displayed in Charles' royal office his entire reign.

The young King was only 19 years old when he attended the 1926 Conference at Fontainebleau after the Great War as an observer. All heads of state at the Conference were deeply impressed by the young King's demeanor and knowledge, perhaps due to their having low expectations due to his youth. Although he was only officially an observer, he, along with Gordon Sinclair, the Liberal Minister for Foreign Affairs, who also was there as an official observer, actually helped shape the terms of the treaty. The neutrality of Britain added credibility to their input as to what the future shape of Europe should be. Both the French Emperor and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire had the title of "Emperor" removed. (Part of the conflict, supposedly, between the French Empire and the Holy Roman Empire was which one was the true heir of the Roman Empire.) As Revolutions had taken place in the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, and the German Empire, there were now no Emperors left in Europe.

Both the French and the Austrians gave up their Italian possessions and a new Republic of Italy was formed, basically transforming the Republic of Naples and moving the seat of government to Rome. Austria-Hungary now became officially Austria-Hungary-Serbia with three Parliaments and the Hapsburgs as constitutional monarchs with the title King. France gave up its holdings of Catalonia, which became part of the Republic of Spain. However, no European nation was required to surrender their overseas colonies, even though Japan, also an observer at the Conference, thought the German Pacific colonies should be transferred to them. (The German Empire had joined the side of the H.R.E. in the war.) The British King and Minister convinced the conference that no blame nor reparations should be imposed. Most historians consider this a key to the long peace of Europe in the 20th Century.

Charles returned to Britain a popular hero. The Liberals became entrenched in power and the door was opened for further reform. Charles toured the kingdoms promoting these reforms which included women's suffrage, full voting rights to all British subjects, a national pension, and further development of the national health plan.

King Charles married in 1931 and the new Queen was a third cousin also descended from King William III through a younger daughter. Elizabeth Winterville was the daughter of the Duke of Glastonbury, David Winterville, who was the son of Edmund Winterville, the Duke of Glastonbury, and of the Duchess of Glastonbury, who was Jessica Carson-Meade, baronette of Canterbury, daughter of the Duke of Canterbury, Howard Carson-Meade, and of the Duchess of Canterbury, Princess Elizabeth Ligne, youngest daughter of William III.

Charles and Elizabeth had many children. Charles mother, who never remarried, and his 'confirmed bachelor' uncle, the former regent, continued to reside with the family and advise the King.

The King and his now prime minister, Gordon Sinclair, began a program of Independence for the colonies of the British Empire in the late 1930s, also encouraging other European nations towards the same end. This was intended as a long transition period to full Dominion status for the English speaking colonies with the British monarch also being the monarch of the Dominions and full independence in a mutual alliance for the other colonies of a Commonwealth of Nations. However the outbreak of war in the Great Pacific & Asian War in 1936 put that on hold as Japan invaded the German colonies in the Pacific and the British, Dutch, and French colonies in the Pacific and Asia.

Only after the defeat of the Japanese Empire in 1941 was the program of decolonization able to begin again. However now partisans in Southeast Asia, the Dutch East Indies, and Korea and Manchuria were not willing to wait for France, the Netherlands, and the Russian Socialist Republic to to do a slow transition and started wars of independence. Britain was able to avoid such wars by moving swiftly to more and more local government. The King worked tirelessly diplomatically to end these colonial wars of the European powers, to no success except with the Netherlands and the East Indies so that the Republic of the Indies became an independent nation in 1947.

As the other European nations found the middle of the 20th Century a period of almost unending colonial wars until their overseas colonies were free, but Britain peacefully transitioned to a Commonwealth, it was Britain that had the most post-war prosperity of the mid-20th Century among the nations of Europe.

King Charles and Queen Elizabeth visited each Dominion upon its full achievement of Dominionship including the Antipodes (OOC: Australia), New Cornwall (OOC: New Zealand), America (OOC: Canada & USA), and South Africa. They also planned to visit the new free nations of India, but when those four nations began fighting each other, that was cancelled.

By 1961 the British Empire was fully transformed into a Commonwealth of Nations. The other European nations took until the mid 1970s to fully end their overseas colonies.

Charles saw vast cultural changes during his reign. He was the first monarch to address the kingdoms and Commonwealth on television. His ongoing tours of the various Dominions moved to the use of the Royal Jet in the 1960s. Charles welcome the Beatles to the Royal Palace in 1964 and personally invested them with M.B.E.s and spoke to the first Astronauts to land on the Moon in 1972 to congratulate them.

His mother died in 1949 and his uncle died in 1952. Charles died peacefully in 1979 on December 3 at the age of 73 after complications from pneumonia. Queen Elizabeth was at his side as were his children, grandchildren, nieces & nephews, and cousins. He was succeeded by his ________________, ______________.
 
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Is it acceptable for someone to edit another's entry when quoting it not to fix contradictions, (which I've done and noted when I do it,) but simply because the person thinks it would read better the way they want to edit it?

This has happened to me twice and the person doing it knows who they are. I think the instances were uncalled for and one actually changed the history when it was not needed to fix an inconsistency. I wrote:

Unfortunately for his desire to remain single, his affair with the Duchess of Glasgow, Sarah McDougal, a descendant of James VI Stewart of Scotland, took a different turn when her husband, the Duke of Glasgow, died in a hunting accident and it was also found out that she was pregnant by the Prince of Wales.

It was changed to:

One such affair, with Sarah McDougal (herself a descendant of James VI of Scotland, and the wife of the Duke of Glasgow) resulted in a scandalous pregnancy, revealed only after the death of the Duke in a hunting accident.

This implies that her ancestor was illegitimate, something I didn't intend.
 
I think minor corrections are okay (slight adjustments to dates if they don't synch, titles etc), but rewriting intent not so much, and probably better to check or find a way to legitimately change it in your own subsequent part.
 
I think minor corrections are okay (slight adjustments to dates if they don't synch, titles etc), but rewriting intent not so much, and probably better to check or find a way to legitimately change it in your own subsequent part.

I'd add that if when you read someone's entry and you don't think it is clear, you quote it and ask about it, let the author then go back and edit it to make it clear.
 
Agreed. If you see an error, it's probably best to simply inform the writer of the error, and let him/her make the edit. As a writer myself, I would find someone waltzing in and editing my work-without a may I please?-to be incredibly insulting...
 
'THE COLD-HEARTED SWOT'
What if Edward VI lived just long enough to produce an heir?

Monarchs of England (1547-1671)
Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland (1671-1779)

1547 - 1569: Edward VI (House of Tudor) [1]
1569 - 1576: Stephen II (House of Tudor) [2]
1576 - 1579: Henry IX (House of Fitzalan) [3]
1579 - 1585: Henry X (House of Fitzalan) [4]
1585 - 1585: Edward VII (House of Fitzalan) [5]
1585 -1601: Thomas I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [6]
1601 - 1638: John II (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [7]
1638 - 1651: Edward VIII (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [8]
1651 - 1669: Edward IX (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [9]
1669 - 1678: John III (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [10]
1678 - 1702: Edward X (House of Tudor-Sabaudia) [11]
1702 - 1779: Bridget I (House of Tudor-Sabaudia / Stewart) [12]

Monarchs of the United Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland (1779-)

1779 - 1795: Mary II (House of Stewart) [13]
1795 - 1804: Thomas II (House of Cromwell) [14]
1804 - 1804: Alexander IV (House of Cromwell) [15]
1804 - 1853: Andrew I (House of Cromwell) [16]
1853 - 1857: Andrew II (House of Cromwell) [17]
1857 - 1884: William III (House of Ligne) [18]
1884 - 1896:
Edward XI (House of Ligne) [19]
1896 - 1923:
Alexander V (House of Ligne) [20]
1923 - 1979:
Charles I (House of Ligne) [21]
1979 - Present:
Edward XII (House of Ligne) [22]


[1] The only son and child of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour, Edward was one of the youngest monarchs in English history, ascending to the throne at the age of 9, and ruled during the time that its formation as a truly protestant nation occurred, with the Church of England becoming more in line with those of Sweden and Denmark. A sickly man, many said he survived instead of living, suffering from some sort of disease every year of his lifetime, finally dying from tuberculosis, a disease he had lived with for years, at age 31. He also had two half sisters (who were called bastards but had been born as princesses of England in his father's two previous marriages), the ladies Mary and Elizabeth, the first (made Duchess of Bedford after giving birth to a bastard son by a groom six years prior), died of a disease in the bowels at age 45, and the second married Lord Robert Dudley and later was made Duchess of Leinster by her own right, sent in exile to Ireland for some years, she was in many ways responsible for spreading the protestant faith among the Irish nobility and people, even though many did not follow Anglicanism per se, she served as Lord Deputy of Ireland for years for her brother and his successors. Married to Lady Jane Grey in 1554, after his death she served as regent to their son, Stephen II.

[2] Stephen II of England's brief reign was turbulent. His father having passed when he was less than two years old, the noblemen of the realm immediately began jockeying for power. In 1573, after failing to prevent the annexation of Northumberland by the Scots at the behest of Thomas Percy, Queen Jane was removed by a coalition of nobles and replaced with the Earl of Warwick. However, Warwick's government proved to be equally inept and in 1575 he was removed from power after a brief civil war. Stephen took ill and died (not at all related to his new, noble-appointed chef, of course), and without a male successor the selection of a new king was given over to Parliament. Parliament appointed Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel to take the throne.

[3] The election of Henry IX by Parliament was highly controversial, and largely a result of the fractious political infighting throughout the reign of Stephen II. The 12th Earl of Arundel had been a near-permanent fixture in the courts of the Tudor monarchs, and had shrewdly supported the Regency Council of Jane to maintain a strong political position. However, upon the loss of Northumberland and the humiliation of the Earl of Warwick, Henry was courted by his supporters in Parliament as a neutral candidate around which the nobles of England could unite - and his pragmatic ambition played to their demands. Despite being 63 at the time of his coronation, Henry was able to point to an heir (also called Henry, Baron Maltravers, born in 1538), while his two daughters were well-wedded into the heart of the nobility with children of their own. Coming to the throne in 1576, Henry IX was a divisive figure and often unaccepted by those who favoured his rival candidates for the throne. Many of these candidates remained a threat upon his death just three years later in 1579.

[4] While his father's reign was tense with political intrigue and unrest due to the decision of completely set aside all female Tudors (from the lines of Elizabeth and Mary and Princess Jane, Stephen II's older sister), Henry X's was marked by war. The English Civil War (sometimes called the War of the Five Kings) began when Lady Elizabeth, who had been living in Ireland since 1552, declared Irish independence with herself as Queen in 1582 - basically declaring that any authority England had over it was moot after they basically deposed the Tudors. This action by now Queen Elizabeth started a domino effect as all the groups against the new monarchs decided that now was the time to seize the throne for themselves. The first to raise the banners of war where the Protestants who, together with their belief that Henry X was a crypto-catholic (his family having only begrudgingly accepted Protestantism during the reign of Edward VI) and that this line was barely of royal standard, rose in rebellion by the end of 1582. A good chunk of England rose with them under the leadership of the Duke of Bedford and Thomas (the bastard son of the Lady Mary, who had received her title after her death), the latter of whom was was fiercely Protestant and had eloped and married Princess Jane in 1571. The Scottish were led by the young James VI who invaded England to assert his claim as a man of full royal lineage and a direct descendant of Henry VII, while even the Welsh rose up under a pretender alleging to be the illegitimate son of Edward VI. (He died fighting a second pretender, supposedly the illegitimate grandson of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII). Henry X died in the camp of battle fighting against Thomas, who had by that point taken control of most of the kingdom after allying with his half-aunt. By the time of his death Henry was reviled for rumours that he had (unsuccessfully) proposed to Philip II of Spain to convert to Catholicism should the Habsburgs help him in retaining his English crown, and was succeeded by the short reign of his son Edward VII.

[5] Edward VII, the last of the Fitzalans, came to the throne as any semblance of power slipped from his dynasty's grasp. His father's forces had been decisively defeated by Thomas, and Edward was forced to withdraw further and further south to prevent the obliteration of his few remaining forces. Overtures to Francis II of France also failed, given the ongoing French Wars of Religion, and in late-July Edward was forced to consider drastic options. He wrote to James VI, who was engaged in a protracted campaign against Thomas in the north, citing the claim that they were in fact related given the kinship of the Stewarts and the Fitzalans from Alan Fitz Flaad (d. 1120). Lacking a male heir, Edward proposed that his only daughter Eleanor (still a child) marry James and that their kin would be the heirs of both Scotland and England, unifying the two countries and ending the continuous Anglo-Scottish wars diplomatically. James rebuffed the offer, and moved to engage Thomas directly at the Battle of Yarm (almost a century to the day as the Battle of Bosworth Field). Edward was subsequently killed by rebel mutineers attempting to flee the country from Dartmouth - having been on the throne for less than a year - leading both James and Thomas to declare themselves King prior to their engagement. Although initially favouring the larger force of Thomas, the clash was a narrow one and affected significantly by changeable weather conditions and the difficult conditions to the east around the River Leven. By killing James at the climax of the battle and the subsequent rout, Thomas emerged victorious. With Edward drowned in Devon and the Fitzalan line forced from power, Thomas de Sabaudia faced no further resistance, and was subsequently coronated in London by the Archbishop of Canterbury - ending the War of the Five Kings.

[6] Thomas was not born to greatness, being the result of a short lived romance between the unmarried Princess Mary of England, and Emanuele Tomasso de Sabaudia - the illegitimate son of Carlo III, Duke of Savoy, and a serving officer of the English court. The young bastard was born in 1540, six years before the death of his grandfather Henry VIII and the crowning of his uncle Edward VII. By the death of his cousin; Stephen II, Thomas de Sabaudia saw himself as the sole remaining heir, and the rightful King of England. Thomas, Duke of Bedford, took a healthy annuity from the Fitzalan Kings, and despite his ties to the English throne, he would go to the continent where he made his name known as a reputable mercenary in the service of Italian dukes, the Spanish crown, and even the King of Poland. With the victory of the War of the English Succession (otherwise known as the War of the Five Kings) Thomas secured his right and the throne. Much of his early rule was spent on clearing the rebel groups, and bringing the heavy hammer of order upon those nobles who had supported the other claimants. By 1593, the purge had been completed, and the nickname “the Bloody” had been attached to the memory of Thomas I. After the death of his wife; Jane Fitzalan, Thomas would married Catherine of Portugal in 1588. The Catholic Catherine was seen as a poor choice, but the prospect of restoring the Anglo-Portuguese alliance proved right. Their union was short but fruitful, with two sons and a daughter being born before her death in 1597. With his rule stable in England, Thomas would turn his sights to the lost Kingdom of Ireland, and despite the loyalties to Elizabeth of Leinster the Irish armies could not withstand the English onslaught; by 1598 English rule was reinstated, at least within the Pale. The last years of his life were spent in relative opulence, with the palaces of England being some of the greatest and wealthiest in Europe. He would pass in 1601, and the throne would pass to his eldest son, John, Prince of Wales.

[7] John was born 1582, to King Thomas and Queen Catherine, he was named after his maternal grandfather, King John IV of Portugal. His upbringing was mainly performed by his mother, while his father was dealing with the rebels (although the Privy Council necessitated the tutors be approved by the Protestant nobility). In 1600, at 16, John married Princess Sophia of Denmark (the youngest daughter of Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and King Frederick II of Denmark, and a year his junior). She was also the sister of Anne, Queen Consort of Scotland. To secure English rule in Ireland John arranged the marriage of his brother Emmanuel, Duke of York, to Elizabeth Dudley - the only surviving heir of Robert I of Ireland. This marriage rallied the Irish nobility behind his rule, while his sister Mary was married to their cousin Sebastian II of Portugal. Along with these marriages John would also be the match-maker for many of his noble subjects, betrothing formerly rival houses to one another, stating that he never wished for English blood to be split by other English men on English soil. Peace was never broken within his 37-year reign, and instead of spending taxes on standing armies the Privy Council was able to concentrate on increasing the size of the Navy and mercantilism. His death at the age of 55 came as a great shock, for the healthy king was assumed to live forever. However, while dancing at a party held in honour of the birth of his first great-grandchild - a feat that no monarch had claimed before - John collapsed into the arms of his daughter-in-law, lost consciousness and was carried to a nearby lounge chair, where he was pronounced dead. At first there was speculation of murder, but after an examination from an independent doctor it was found that he had a brain aneurysm. He was succeeded by his second son Edward, Duke of Clarence - leaving behind his wife, 8 children, 22 grandchild and 1 great-grandchild.

[8] Edward was the second of the six sons of John II and until the age of 4 there was no expectation that he would inherit the throne. When his elder brother Thomas reached the age of 6 his developmental disabilities became apparent. Known to be deaf from birth and developmentally stunted, Thomas was unfit for rule and so Edward was pushed into the limelight as the heir-principal of his father, even though his elder brother was still alive. Having inherited the throne at the age of 37, and with 6 children of his own by his wife Catherine of Milan as well as two illegitimate sons (John and William), Edward VIII looked to be a great king. He worked to continue the peace his father had built, and largely succeeded. However, after a mere thirteen years on the throne Edward would be succeeded by his eldest son, who took the throne as Edward IX.

[9] As the eldest legitimate son of Edward VIII, Edward IX quickly showed a keen interest in the development of the English navy but also, more importantly, in the dramatic surge in commitment to the fledging North American colonies. A major shipbuilding programme was bolstered by the arrival of Protestant Dutch fleeing from the devastating war between France and the Habsburg family compact, while England prospered from her neutrality on the edge of Europe. The peaceful reign of the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty continued, although religious upheaval in Scotland threatened the tentative status quo amid threats of a renewed Auld Alliance. London grew rapidly as England embraced her commercial revolution, and although Edward failed in his attempts to create a single national bank (primarily as a means to finance his navy) economic reforms loomed heavily over the horizon. Blessed with his large extended family and happily married, when Edward died of dropsy in 1669 the crown passed to his younger brother Maximilian John, Duke of York- a monarch who, although tested by both economic and military crises, would reign over the true beginnings of the modern English state.

[10] Maximilian John was born during the reign of his grandfather, John II. Early in life, he was destined to marry Elizabeth of York (the daughter of Emmanuel, 3rd Duke of York, and the senior most descendant of Elizabeth, Queen of Ireland). With their marriage, the cadet branch of the Dukes of York came to an end, and the title returned to the royal family. Their marriage was fruitful, producing three sons and two daughters, - in stark contrast to his brother (the future Edward X), for the Prince of Wales had but one son who died at the young age of 18. Upon the death of Edward IX John took the thrones of England and Ireland, and for the next two years worked tirelessly to consolidate his kingdoms into a single state. The 1671 Act of Union passed through both parliaments, and formed the United Kingdoms of England and Ireland. This, combined with his popular marriage to Elizabeth, finally established the Tudor-Sabaudia dynasty as the rightful monarchs of Ireland. However, war would come to the United Kingdoms as the ultra-Catholic Valois attempted to conquer Calais in 1764. Charles XIII of France assaulted the walls of the fortress city no fewer than seven times, also leading an invasion of the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the French cannon also struck the munitions store, detonating the powder as well as the King (who was leading the defence of his European redoubt). Upon the death of John III the city quickly fell, and the throne passed to his brother Edward.

[11] The reign of John III had been a turning point for his dynasty; while the unification of England and Ireland would create a powerful mercantile state focused largely upon the Atlantic, his premature death and the forced involvement of the United Kingdoms in European affairs all was a crisis for Tudor-Sabaudian rule. Although Edward was a capable ruler, the 1678 Treaty of Coulogne (establishing a short-lived peace with France) was highly-unpopular and did little to prevent the further conflagration in Europe. France, triumphant, launched enthusiastically into the First War of the Valois - their first attempt to establish both French and High-Church dominance over the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs. Such a challenge to the European status necessitated an Austrian-led coalition, with Emperor Otto VI quickly establishing a strong position in Central Europe. For the most part Edward attempted to keep the United Kingdoms out of the conflict, but in 1682 agreed to sponsor large campaigns against French positions in North America as well as conduct a sizeable naval campaign as part of the anti-Valois coalition. The war dominated his reign, but Edward would not seek any personal glory on the battlefield - instead, he served as a shrewd administrator and diplomat. Upon the European stalemate in 1687, Edward was able to secure major American colonial concessions from the French in exchange for his recognition of the annexation of Calais and the Netherlands. Although the Second War of the Valois would begin in 1691 the United Kingdoms remained neutral until the intervention of the Scots into the conflict in 1697. Most significantly, however, Edward was never able to overcome his fertility problems. When he died in 1702 the throne passed to the only living child of John III - his youngest daughter, Bridget, the Queen of Scotland.

[12] Princess Bridget was the last child of John III and Elizabeth of York. Her siblings were Emmanuel (b. 1650-1678) Elizabeth (1654-1670), Henry (1658-1678), and Thomas (1662-1701). She was a surprise child born to the Queen after it was thought her child bearing years were done, in 1675 when the Queen was 40 and the King was 50. She was the only child born while her father was King. The child was a comfort to her mother still morning the loss of her daughter Elizabeth who had died from the sweating sickness just weeks before her sixteenth birthday.

Bridget was only 3 years old when her father and her two oldest brothers died in the Battle of Calais. That left her as a toddler and Prince Thomas, only 15 years old, to inherit the throne. Thomas was an effeminate boy with no interest in the throne nor the will to resist his uncle. Thomas was instead adopted by his uncle as his heir and became the Prince of Wales.

Princess Bridget and her mother, the Duchess of York, who no longer used the title of Queen in order to not appear a rival to her brother-in-law, relocated to the Duchess's lands in Ireland, where the Princess was raised apart from the intrigue of the court.

In 1693 on her 18th birthday, the Princess was wed to her distant cousin, James VII Stewart, King of Scotland. She gave birth to her first child, later James VIII, in 1696. Her focus was on Presbyterian Scotland and had no idea she would become the heir to the throne of England and Ireland until her brother Thomas died under mysterious circumstances while traveling with his closest companion, Geoffrey Howard, the Duke of Clarence, who fled the scene and then hung himself from an oak tree. Many believe that Geoffrey accidentally killed Thomas during a lover's spat that turned violent.

Queen Bridget and the King of Scotland, along with Prince James, now heir to both thrones, and their other children, traveled back and forth from one court to the next. James' brother, Charles Stewart, acted as his regent while he was with his wife in London, and Bridget's mother, who now reclaimed the title of Dowager Queen, acted as her regent while she was in Edinburgh. A major result of this was the increase in the role of the Parliaments in governing both kingdoms.

Although the kingdoms were not in a personal union, it was clear they eventually would be. The practical reality was that both kingdoms cooperated, especially in overseas matters and trade. This became even more so when James VIII ascended to the Scots throne in 1721. The reigning King of Scotland was the heir to the throne of England and Ireland.

Bridget was the longest monarch in the history of England and Ireland, reigning for 77 years and living until she was 104. She outlived many of her children, grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren. During the Bridgettian Era great changes occurred in Britain, a term that was used more and more for the two kingdoms. The Industrial Revolution began, the North American colonies were organized into a colonial federation, the East India Trading Company was established, and Britain became the two most powerful kingdoms in the world.

In 1758 the two Parliaments agreed to an act of union to be effective on the death of the Queen and assumption of the English & Irish throne by the Scots monarch. They did not expect that it would be another 21 years before the then 83 year old monarch would die.

The Bridgettian Era is considered the Golden Age of Britain. When the Queen finally died the entire English speaking world mourned for months and the color black remained a fashion staple for years after the official mourning period was done. She was succeed by her granddaughter, Mary II, the reigning Queen of Scotland.

[13] Commonly overshadowed by her long-living grandmother Mary II started her life as a monarch, as James VIII died five months before her birth while her elder brother James IX died of the sweats (at age 14) less than a week before the Queen Mother entered labour. Her mother also died from what has been theorized as eclampsia. Trained in the art of ruling by her grandmother, Mary's time as Queen of Scots has been traditionally characterized as being unremarkable, as outside the strengthening of ties between the kingdoms of Britain (which was already in process even before her birth) the Queen spent most of her time in leisure. She left government to her relatives and children while she hunted, invested in the arts or traveled, and was the first British monarch to visit the Colonies in 1768 (even if she had only been the Queen of Scotland at the time). She also loved animals and her personal menagerie, and was the ancestress to the modern Royal Zoo of Edinburgh. The zoo included unique animals, extinct in the wild, such as the like the Great Auk, the sea cow (brought by a Scottish fur trader from the Bering Sea) and even elephants. Aged 48 at the time of her ascension to the Anglo-Irish throne, Mary's reign over the united British Isles was relatively peaceful; the Stewarts remained uninvolved in the bloody collapse of the Spanish Empire into its successor kingdoms and outside of the royal intervention/take-over on the East India Trading Company in 1788 after the Cooch Behar Massacre . She was also the first British monarch to be photographed, as the earliest type of camera was invented less than a year before her death (although the image has been, sadly, lost). Married at age 16 to Gregory Cromwell, 2nd Duke of Ardglass, she was succeeded by her eldest son, Thomas.

[14] Thomas took the throne in 1795 at the head of a globe-spanning imperial state, and despite the minor domestic squabbles caused by the ongoing Regnal Number Controversy it seemed the United Kingdoms of Britain were immune to the political convulsions on the continent. The first monarch of the House of Cromwell, Thomas was nevertheless intimidated by the sweeping nationalist revolutions in Europe and quickly established himself as a reactionary. He supported the conservative parliamentary majority of the Church Party, and resisted calls for greater democratization both at home and in the Colonies. He also opposed the growing influence of the 'new gentry' - the rising number of industrialists and career politicians funded by the new northern factories, such as the wealth of the Earl of Salford or the Marquess of Ayrshire. By 1800, protests broke out across the major cities (partly exacerbated by the dire economic situation caused by the collapse of the East India Trading Company and the disastrous effect of the Spanish Revolution on international trade) to push for social reform, financial liberalization and political influence for the masses. Thomas II was highly-reluctant to agree to their demands, and although the protestors never sought to overthrow the monarchy (with the defenestration of the Spanish Habsburgs unpopular in Britain) many celebrated the death of the King in 1804. They viewed his successor, Alexander, with a renewed optimism in the hope for a political settlement, although it was clear that this would be misplaced for the most part.

[15] Alexander IV succeeded his father in midst of social, political and economical unrest as Europe and the Americas suffered through the Era of Troubles in the aftermath of the Spanish Revolution. The king was considered by many as a hopeful figure in the stricken kingdoms, which had been suffering through years of protests for democratization, but while more liberal than his predecessor Alexander did not bring the political settlement hoped for. While he did try to bring together a bill to expand the franchise to vote to around 30% of the male population and have the Colonies send representatives to parliament, he was shot in the neck by a Spanish-backed revolutionary (as he was known for his support of Britain going to war with the revolutionaries after their invasion of Portugal the previous year, and was responsible for helping the Portuguese monarchy escape to their colonies in Brazil) less than three months into his reign, dying drowned in his own blood and leaving his young brother, Andrew, as his successor.

[16] Growing up Andrew was seen as lacking refinement and elegance, and instead he rather relished the idea of being of the same rough texture as some of his hardworking honest subjects.
Having seen his soft-hearted father’s life ruined by rebels and then his liberal brother killed by their hands, Andrew (who never really shared their ideas) became highly reactionary and reversed most of the liberal reforms of brought about during the last ten years. He set about elevating conservatives who helped him oppose any reform that limited his autocratic rule as well as eliminating potential enemies. Under Andrew, the army was improved - working in unison with the monarchy, the Church and government. He also imposed regular periods of forced labour on the unemployed members of the population in lieu of taxation. His final years were rife with paranoia and angry outbursts until his death at the age of 73, which brought out mixed reactions. Loyal subjects mourned his death, while others celebrated in secret. His 49 year rule was succeeded by his son, also called Andrew.

[17] While Andrew I had never expected to take the throne, Andrew II had spent much of his life as heir-apparent before acceding in 1853. However, his reign would be a short and unhappy one. By the mid-1850s the Cromwells were regarded as thoroughly out-of-touch with the peoples of Britain and her overseas possessions, with the reactionary tendencies of Andrew I back-lit by the tragic failings of Alexander IV. Further economic problems, exacerbated by the high price of grain and the growing non-competitiveness of British industry, resulted in a year of crisis for the monarchy in 1855. Although Britain was used to large-scale demonstrations, the intensity of clashes between the masses and the state were unrivaled in modern history. However, it could only go on for so long. Although Andrew was in fact sympathetic to many of the strikers' demands, he was forced by the parliamentary conservatives to hold his ground. Hostile printing presses were broken up, but salacious stories of royal affairs and extravagant expenditure nevertheless reached the mob. Mutinies swept through the forces (especially the Army), and in November a large mob gathered at Eybury Palace - the seat of regal power in London - to demand the abdication of the King. Andrew understood that his position was hopeless, and refused to order troops to break up the crowd violently. Instead he promised to form a new government led by the Liberal Party and support their policies, leading to the satisfaction of the crowd and the diffusion of their revolutionary feeling. Despite significant political opposition, Andrew was true to his word; the Liberals implemented major reforms, balancing the British dependence on a strong gentry with a politically-engaged working class, and (in a surprise to many) the King did indeed abdicate in 1857. (Indeed, he was the first modern British monarch to do so). William, Duke of Gloucester took the throne, as Andrew - despite many illegitimate children - lacked a direct heir, and led Britain into her new era of constitutional monarchy.
[18] With the abdication of Andrew II the line of descent from John III came to an anticlimactic end, with the former King taking the title Duke of Cromwell and resigning to an east Suffolk estate, (spending his weekends in the Social Clubs of upper-class London). The throne came to a descendant of the fourth son of Edward VIII, who had been given the title Duke of Gloucester, and took the throne as William III as the next most senior descendant of the House of Tudor-Sabaudia. William had in fact been known as Guillaume de Ligne for most of his life, and divided his time between his families estates in the French Netherlands, and his titular estates in England. William had been a Roman Catholic for much of his life, and so to take the English throne he would convert to Protestantism. His rule, as in the vein of modern monarchy, was largely nominal. Parliament conducted the day-to-day rule of the Kingdoms, so William III was content to not interfere in the politics and served as a figurehead for the country. After an uneventful 27-year reign, - a resounding success for the principal of a constitutional monarchy - William III would pass in his sleep at the age of 78, and the throne would pass to his heir Edward, Prince of Wales.

[19] Edward was born in 1830 and was known, until his father became King, as the Earl of Gloucester. He hardly spent time in Britain as a child, staying in the French Netherlands with his mother, Louise, when his father would visit the British estates. His first visit to Britain was in 1844. He thus always spoke his English with a Flemish French accent. This made the young Earl a romantic figure of Continental daring to the girls in the United Kingdoms. That along with his penchant for the latest fashions, his love of horses and fox hunting, and his love of poetry, especially the English Romantics, (allowing him to recite the most appropriate verse at just the right moment) led to him being a 'swordsman' of renown by the time he was 20.

He spent his young adulthood mainly in London when he wasn't on vacation touring Europe with a group of friends. In both situations he was a lover of the Waltz and the women he'd waltz with as he'd woo them. His manner didn't change when he became the Prince of Wales at the age of 26. (He also was Catholic until he converted like his father, but for him it was entirely nominal as his private journals posthumously revealed he was actually an Atheist.) In fact he became more popular with the women as expected and quickly found that he preferred the wives of aristocracy for his affairs, which made it easier to keep himself free of entanglements.

Unfortunately for his desire to remain single, his affair with the Duchess of Glasgow, Sarah McDougal, a descendant of James VI Stewart of Scotland, took a different turn when her husband, the Duke of Glasgow, died in a hunting accident and it was also found out that she was pregnant by the Prince of Wales. She was a perfect match for marriage now and she had the King as an ally for the match. The Royal Wedding in 1861 was a grand affair.

Princess Sarah gained a lot of weight during her pregnancy and never lost it. She also had other children by the Prince of Wales and gained more weight with each and never lost it. The result was that any affection the shallow Prince had for his wife evaporated. He continued his life of affairs, drinking, and traveling. Although he didn't have any reluctance in bedding his wife when her bed was the only one available to him, he just had little interest in socializing with her or helping raise his children until they were older.

He was 54 when he became King. Unlike his father, he loved the trappings of royalty, sporting previously out of fashion signs of royalty like crowns and ermine at every appearance. He hosted grand dances with the fashionable elite of London as his guests. It was rumored that private after parties included opium and absinthe used in abundance.

King Edward was also known for always smoking, non-stop, large cigars. It is now no surprise that his reign ended at the age of 65 when cancer of the lung ended his life.
His eldest son, Alexander, succeeded him.

[20] Alexander V was a polar opposite to Edward XI; deeply affectionate to his maligned mother, whom he regarded had been slighted by his father, Alexander was a frugal and diligent monarch who himself had been largely ignored even as Prince of Wales. A Cambridge graduate and amateur mathematician, Alexander shunned the opulence of his father in favour of a closely-knit and well-informed Privy Council and was both shrewd and eloquent in his dealings with Parliament. A known Liberal sympathizer, Alexander quietly supported the social reforms of the 1901-1907 ministries that established a fledging welfare state around the ministrations of the Church, and was invited to the Stockholm Conference of 1911 (which independently established a naval armament treaty between the major European powers). The death of the Queen Mother soon afterwards was one of the first public events to be widely reported on the radio, and Alexander understood the value and importance of the apparatus as a political tool. He was keen to avoid the familial mistakes of his father, and lovingly doted on his family. He also instilled his sons the significance of national duty, although never quite recovered emotionally following the controversial death of his eldest son Edward in the sinking of HMS Argos in 1917. The end of his reign was marked by the beginning of the Great European War (1920-1926); the assassination of the Dauphin by the Orange Hand separatists in the French Netherlands was deeply upsetting to the royal family, given their close association with the region. Upon the outbreak of conflict between France and the Holy Roman Empire, Britain was forced into a difficult diplomatic decision. Although it looked likely that the United Kingdoms would intervene on behalf of Flemish independence, the death of Alexander in 1923 caused political chaos. Britain would ultimately remain neutral, and although Alexander would not live to see the conclusion of the war his successor, his grandson, Charles I, signed the observer clauses in the 1926 Treaty of Fontainebleau.

KingsSpeechColinFirth.jpg
[21] Charles Henry Emmanuel Alexander Ligne was only 10 years old when his father, Edward, the Prince of Wales, died in 1917 at the age of 32. The Princess of Wales, Mary Ligne, was a second cousin once removed of Prince Edward, as she was the granddaughter of the much younger brother of King William III, Charles Ligne, whom his brother had granted the title of Duke of Gloucester upon his taking the throne. Mary's father was also named Charles and was born late in life to his father, making Mary actually younger than her second cousin once removed.

Prince Charles never was invested as the Prince of Wales, which was intended to happen on his 18th Birthday, September 17, 1924. He was only 16 and a half years old when he took the throne on June 2, 1923. His maternal uncle, Emmanuel Ligne, the Earl of Gloucester (as his grandfather was still alive and so was the current Duke of Gloucester) was the official regent, but the Princess of Wales also operated as a royal surrogate as did his paternal uncle, Prince Richard, and paternal great uncles, Prince Edward and Prince Henry. The Earl was granted this honor as he had stepped into the paternal role for his nephew after the death of the Prince of Wales, living in the same suite of apartments in the Royal Palace with the Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and his younger sister, only 7 at the death of their father, Princess Catherine.

His uncle and mother had intensified his training for the throne, imposing on him a deep sense of duty, after the death of his father. The five years he was the direct heir and the following year and a half before his majority, were filled with instruction in everything a 20th Century King should know from politics to warfare, horse back riding to fencing, history to philosophy, and most importantly the proper etiquette. The result was a King who embodied the ideals of the Philosopher King of Marcus Aurelius, a bust of whom was prominently displayed in Charles' royal office his entire reign.

The young King was only 19 years old when he attended the 1926 Conference at Fontainebleau after the Great War as an observer. All heads of state at the Conference were deeply impressed by the young King's demeanor and knowledge, perhaps due to their having low expectations due to his youth. Although he was only officially an observer, he, along with Gordon Sinclair, the Liberal Minister for Foreign Affairs, who also was there as an official observer, actually helped shape the terms of the treaty. The neutrality of Britain added credibility to their input as to what the future shape of Europe should be. Both the French Emperor and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire had the title of "Emperor" removed. (Part of the conflict, supposedly, between the French Empire and the Holy Roman Empire was which one was the true heir of the Roman Empire.) As Revolutions had taken place in the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, and the German Empire, there were now no Emperors left in Europe.

Both the French and the Austrians gave up their Italian possessions and a new Republic of Italy was formed, basically transforming the Republic of Naples and moving the seat of government to Rome. Austria-Hungary now became officially Austria-Hungary-Serbia with three Parliaments and the Hapsburgs as constitutional monarchs with the title King. France gave up its holdings of Catalonia, which became part of the Republic of Spain. However, no European nation was required to surrender their overseas colonies, even though Japan, also an observer at the Conference, thought the German Pacific colonies should be transferred to them. (The German Empire had joined the side of the H.R.E. in the war.) The British King and Minister convinced the conference that no blame nor reparations should be imposed. Most historians consider this a key to the long peace of Europe in the 20th Century.

Charles returned to Britain a popular hero. The Liberals became entrenched in power and the door was opened for further reform. Charles toured the kingdoms promoting these reforms which included women's suffrage, full voting rights to all British subjects, a national pension, and further development of the national health plan.

King Charles married in 1931 and the new Queen was a third cousin also descended from King William III through a younger daughter. Elizabeth Winterville was the daughter of the Duke of Glastonbury, David Winterville, who was the son of Edmund Winterville, the Duke of Glastonbury, and of the Duchess of Glastonbury, who was Jessica Carson-Meade, baronette of Canterbury, daughter of the Duke of Canterbury, Howard Carson-Meade, and of the Duchess of Canterbury, Princess Elizabeth Ligne, youngest daughter of William III.

Charles and Elizabeth had many children. Charles mother, who never remarried, and his 'confirmed bachelor' uncle, the former regent, continued to reside with the family and advise the King.

The King and his now prime minister, Gordon Sinclair, began a program of Independence for the colonies of the British Empire in the late 1930s, also encouraging other European nations towards the same end. This was intended as a long transition period to full Dominion status for the English speaking colonies with the British monarch also being the monarch of the Dominions and full independence in a mutual alliance for the other colonies of a Commonwealth of Nations. However the outbreak of war in the Great Pacific & Asian War in 1936 put that on hold as Japan invaded the German colonies in the Pacific and the British, Dutch, and French colonies in the Pacific and Asia.

Only after the defeat of the Japanese Empire in 1941 was the program of decolonization able to begin again. However now partisans in Southeast Asia, the Dutch East Indies, and Korea and Manchuria were not willing to wait for France, the Netherlands, and the Russian Socialist Republic to to do a slow transition and started wars of independence. Britain was able to avoid such wars by moving swiftly to more and more local government. The King worked tirelessly diplomatically to end these colonial wars of the European powers, to no success except with the Netherlands and the East Indies so that the Republic of the Indies became an independent nation in 1947.

As the other European nations found the middle of the 20th Century a period of almost unending colonial wars until their overseas colonies were free, but Britain peacefully transitioned to a Commonwealth, it was Britain that had the most post-war prosperity of the mid-20th Century among the nations of Europe.

King Charles and Queen Elizabeth visited each Dominion upon its full achievement of Dominionship including the Antipodes (OOC: Australia), New Cornwall (OOC: New Zealand), America (OOC: Canada & USA), and South Africa. They also planned to visit the new free nations of India, but when those four nations began fighting each other, that was cancelled.

By 1961 the British Empire was fully transformed into a Commonwealth of Nations. The other European nations took until the mid 1970s to fully end their overseas colonies.

Charles saw vast cultural changes during his reign. He was the first monarch to address the kingdoms and Commonwealth on television. His ongoing tours of the various Dominions moved to the use of the Royal Jet in the 1960s. Charles welcome the Beatles to the Royal Palace in 1964 and personally invested them with M.B.E.s and spoke to the first Astronauts to land on the Moon in 1972 to congratulate them.

His mother died in 1949 and his uncle died in 1952. Charles died peacefully in 1979 on December 3 at the age of 73 after complications from pneumonia. Queen Elizabeth was at his side as were his children, grandchildren, nieces & nephews, and cousins. He was succeeded by his eldest child, Edward, Prince of Wales.

[22] Edward Emmanuel Henry Richard Ligne was born in 1933, the eldest child, to Charles and Elizabeth and was affectionately known as “Eddy” by his close family.

His education was a high priority especially with his father, arranging for him to attend at Wellesley House School, a prep school at Broadstairs in Kent, then at Eton College, where he achieved mention in the Eton College Chronicle for his debating and oratory skills.
After leaving Eton in 1952, he went up to Magdalene College, Cambridge, to read history, graduating with a BA degree in 1955, subsequently raised to an MA (Cantab.) degree in 1960.

While trying to keep his education regimental, King Charles, also knew the importance of his son knowing his future kingdom and dominions, arranging for tutors to attend him whenever the King and his family performed royal visits. Charles was quoted on saying that “I was thrown into the deep end and had to learn fearing making a mistake, where as now I have the opportunity to mould Edward into my protégés”

As well as attending the royal visit, Charles also requested that Edward, was present during meetings with the Prime Minister and other politicians, getting him used to this part of the ruling process.

Growing up, Edward saw the changes the monarchy and his country was going through. His investment as Prince of Wales in 1951, was televised, allowing the public to view this traditional event.

In 1962, 29 year old, Edward married Alexandra McDuff, Duchess of Inverness, the heiress of Alexander McDuff, 14th Duke of Inverness, who died when she was 5, and she as his only child, became a ward of Edwards’s cousin, Bridget, Duchess of Northumberland.

Together the pair would have three children, Charles, Elizabeth and Alexandra.

Ascending to his father’s throne at the age of 46, Edward was lucky to have experience on his side, although he did have the disadvantages of having large shoes to fill.

With the turn of the millennium, Edward had to move with progression, learning new sk and become a 21st century monarch, as of 31st July 2020, 87 year old Edward, is still in good health.
 
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Catherine of Howard faithfully bares Henry VIII a son.

Kings of England
1509-1547: Henry VIII (House of Tudor)
1547-1553: Edward VI (House of Tudor)
1553-1598: Henry IX (House of Tudor) [1]


[1] Born in 7th March 1541, Henry, Duke of York was born to 50 year old King Henry VIII, and 18 year old, Catherine Howard.
Upon his birth he was second in line, behind his half brother, Edward, Duke of Cornwall, but before his older sisters, Mary and Elizabeth.
Before his sixth birthday, his father at the age of 55, died on 28 January 1547.
His brother became Edward VI, however since Edward was still a child, rule passed to a regency council dominated by Protestants, who attempted to establish their faith throughout the country. Prince Henry, Duke of York, became heir presumptive.
On 6 July 1553, at the age of 15, Edward VI died from a lung infection, leaving 12 year old, Henry to succeed him.
Again a regency was needed and this came in the form of his maternal Great-uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1473 – 25 August 1554) and then his cousin, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (10 March 1536 – 2 June 1572)
In 1555, 14 year old Henry IX was married by proxy to 10 year old Princess Anna of Sweden (19 June 1545 – 20 March 1610), his sister Princess Elizabeth stood in her place in London, while Prince Eric stood in his place in Stockholm. The official wedding took place five years later at Richmond Palace
The marriage was said to be a happy one resulting in the birth of 12 children, with _______ reaching adulthood.
Taking control of the throne fully in 1558, Henry’s first job was the smooth relations between foreign warring nations.
His sister Mary, at 42 was seen as to what of to wed off to a reasonable suitor, so instead was married off as the second wife toThomas Howard (ca. 1520 – 1582)the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Lady Elizabeth Stafford. Thomas and Mary was rewarded with the title Duke and Duchess of Richmond. Mary would become weak and ill from May 1558. In pain, possibly from ovarian cysts or uterine cancer, she died in 17 November, leaving her lands and money to Thomas and his children from his first marriage.

Elizabeth on the other hand was 25 and still suited, there were rumours of marrying Anne’s older brother Prince Eric of Sweden, but a double Swedish marriage was seen i beneficial, so instead she was wed off to Frederick II of Denmark & Norway (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588), this marriage would help peaceful diplomacy in 1563 between Sweden and Denmark & Norway.

Henry IX’s reign was seen as a great alliance of Northern Protestant Nations, while keeping the peace with Spain, France and Rome.

Henry died just before his 57th birthday, following a short illness and was succeeded by ____________,____________.
 
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Claiming, also @Jonathan would you mind if I changed Thomas and Mary to being reward with the Duchy of Richmond? Suffolk would have already been given to Frances Brandon and her husband.
 
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Catherine of Howard faithfully bares Henry VIII a son.

Kings of England
1509-1547: Henry VIII (House of Tudor)

1547-1553: Edward VI (House of Tudor)
1553-1598: Henry IX (House of Tudor) [1]
1598-1629: Edward VII (House of Tudor) [2]


[1] Born in 7th March 1541, Henry, Duke of York was born to 50 year old King Henry VIII, and 18 year old, Catherine Howard.
Upon his birth he was second in line, behind his half brother, Edward, Duke of Cornwall, but before his older sisters, Mary and Elizabeth.

Before his sixth birthday, his father at the age of 55, died on 28 January 1547.

His brother became Edward VI, however since Edward was still a child, rule passed to a regency council dominated by Protestants, who attempted to establish their faith throughout the country. Prince Henry, Duke of York, became heir presumptive.

On 6 July 1553, at the age of 15, Edward VI died from a lung infection, leaving 12 year old, Henry to succeed him.

Again a regency was needed and this came in the form of his maternal Great-uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1473 – 25 August 1554) and then his cousin, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (10 March 1536 – 2 June 1572)

In 1555, 14 year old Henry IX was married by proxy to 10 year old Princess Anna of Sweden (19 June 1545 – 20 March 1610), his sister Princess Elizabeth stood in her place in London, while Prince Eric stood in his place in Stockholm. The official wedding took place five years later at Richmond Palace

The marriage was said to be a happy one resulting in the birth of 12 children, with 9 reaching adulthood.

Taking control of the throne fully in 1558, Henry’s first job was the smooth relations between foreign warring nations.

His sister Mary, at 42 was seen as to old to wed to a reasonable suitor, so instead was married off as the second wife to Thomas Howard (ca. 1520 – 1582) the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Lady Elizabeth Stafford. Thomas and Mary was rewarded with the title Duke and Duchess of Richmond. Mary would become weak and ill in May 1558. In pain, possibly from ovarian cysts or uterine cancer, she died in 17 November, leaving her lands and money to Thomas and his children from his first marriage.

Elizabeth on the other hand was 25 and still suited, there were rumors of marrying Anne’s older brother Prince Eric of Sweden, but a double Swedish marriage was seen as beneficial, so instead she was wed off to Frederick II of Denmark & Norway (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588), this marriage would help peaceful diplomacy in 1563 between Sweden and Denmark & Norway.

Henry IX’s reign was seen as a great alliance of Northern Protestant Nations, while keeping the peace with Spain, France and Rome.

Henry died just before his 57th birthday, following a short illness and was succeeded by King Edward VII Tudor, his grandson.


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[2] The eldest son of Prince Thomas of Wales, eldest son of Henry IX, Edward VII was born May 3rd of 1580. He would spend the majority of his childhood in Wales while his father governed as Prince of Wales. An active child, Edward rode extensively and was usually outdoors. Then in 1592 when Prince Thomas of Wales passed, Edward and his two younger siblings, ________ and ________ would be placed in the care of their uncle, Prince Henry Tudor Duke of York.

After Edward's marriage to Princess Elisabeth of Denmark and Norway, the great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Tudor, Edward would return to Wales where he would take up his duties as Prince of Wales. Or in reality, Princess Elizabeth took up the duties, for Edward had returned to the hunting and riding of his youth. But as he was handsome and personable, and Princess Elizabeth handled things ably, no one really cared that the heir to the thrown was somewhat useless.

At age eighteen, Henry IX would die leaving Edward King Edward VII King of England, Ireland, and France (really only a small part of France). As King Edward continued the pattern set while he was Prince of Wales, most tasks were left to his wife or the Privy Council and he would hunt and ride pretty much all day everyday.

In 1614, France would attempt to retake much of the English lands in Normandy. King Edward would travel with the English forces and participate in battle. This endeared him to the common soldier. After almost seven years of war, the borders hadn't really changed all that much, but both sides would finally agree to a peace.

King Edward would return from war a changed man. Having spent a great deal of time with common soldier for seven years, he became concerned with the plight of the common man. He would spend the last 8 years of his life forcing reforms with Tudor bullheadedness.

While many agreed with the changes purposed, most of them wished he wasn't quite so pushy about it. As such, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when finally all that riding and hunting did him in. King Edward VII would die form a head injury that occurred while riding at age 49 leaving his _________, _________ as King/Queen of England, Ireland, and part of France. He/She looked to be a much more reasonable individual.
 
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The Earl was granted this honor as he had stepped into the paternal role for his nephew after the death of the Prince of Wales, living in the same suite of apartments in the Royal Palace with the Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and his younger sister, only 7 at the death of their father, Princess Catherine.
In 1962, 29 year old, Edward married Alexandra McDuff, Duchess of Inverness, the heiress of Alexander McDuff, 14th Duke of Inverness, who died when she was 5, and she as his only child, became a ward of Edwards’s paternal aunt, Bridget, Duchess of York.

These two facts are inconsistent, as the Princess of Wales, Eddie's grandmother, never remarried.

So it is easy to fix this. We can change Catherine to Bridget or you can change Bridget to Catherine, or we could say she was Bridget Catherine.
 
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