British Honours: The M.B.E., O.B.E. and C.B.E. Explained

What Are M.B.E.s, O.B.E.s and C.B.E.s?

In order, lowest to highest, the three awards are:

• M.B.E.: Member of the British Empire.
• O.B.E.: Officer of the British Empire.
• C.B.E.: Commander of the British Empire.

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire’s M.B.E., O.B.E and C.B.E. were created by King George V (1865-1936) to honour people who had made invaluable contributions in non-military roles throughout World War One. For example, nurses and doctors toiling in the U.K. as their military counterparts worked on the front line.

The order and the awards are still popular and widely respected over 100 years later (except by people who deem them elitist or outdated), but today the honours extend to celebrities, from actors to dancers, writers to musicians and sportspeople to entertainers.

People do not have to accept the award offered, and there have been notable refusals in the order’s history, including author C.S. Lewis, Beatle George Harrison and author Roald Dahl (both allegedly wanted knighthoods) and artist L.S. Lowry who refused every honour offered to him.

A Different Kind of Honour

The order was markedly different from other honours in that civilians and women were eligible to receive awards from its inception. Holders have proved themselves in the face of adversity.

Today, nominations for awards can be made to officials at St. James’ Palace. A committee makes its selection of proposed awards, and this list is forwarded to the Prime Minister for approval and, lastly, to King Charles III.

The M.B.E., O.B.E. and C.B.E. are bestowed at new year and the monarch’s official birthday annually. Investitures then take place at a royal palace, often Buckingham Palace, where the recipients receive their awards. Details are published by the government and in the official register in The London Gazette; this publication has been in operation since Charles II's reign (1630-1685, r. 1660-1685).

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire has other ranks, including Companion of Honour, knights and dames. These rank higher than M.B.E., O.B.E and C.B.E.

Any recipient of an award in the order can apply to the Royal College of Arms to have a bespoke coat of arms created for them.

Member of the Order of the British Empire: M.B.E.

This honour recognises a significant achievement or outstanding service, very often at a local community level. It is a sign that the person has positively motivated and contributed to the neighbourhood, for example, through a youth club or fundraising. It is also given to public figures who have achieved and can inspire others. Olympians are frequently given these awards after a successful event at the iconic games.

There is no limit to the number of members in the order at any time, but a maximum of one thousand four hundred and sixty-four may be created during one year.

The badge is a cross patonce of plain silver. It is worn on the left breast by males and from a decorative bow on the left shoulder by females. A lapel pin is available for everyday wear.

Officer of the Order of the British Empire: O.B.E.

The Officer of the British Empire award is given to people who make major contributions in a particular activity or area. These people would normally be known to the nation for their endeavours, for example an explorer or an actor.

The House of Commons Select Committee suggested in 2004 that the name should be altered to Order of British Excellence to make it sound less militaristic. This did not happen and no further mention has been made of a name change.

There isn’t a limit to the number of O.B.E. holders but a maximum of eight hundred and fifty eight are permitted to be created in one year. There are over one hundred thousand people alive who have received an O.B.E.

The badge for officers is a plain gold cross patonce. The O.B.E. is worn on a ribbon on the left breast by men and on a bowed ribbon on the left shoulder by women. A lapel pin is available for everyday use. The pins were introduced in 2006.

Commander of the Order of the British Empire: C.B.E.

Commander of the British Empire is awarded to a person who deserves recognition for their innovations, efforts and achievements at a national or regional level. Internationally recognised sportspeople, writers, directors and actors are frequently awarded this after a significant role or project. Although in 2004, the House of Commons Select Committee submitted that the word Commander should be changed to Companion, this did not occur.

There is a limit of 8,960 holders of this honour at any time.

The badge is worn by males on a ribbon around their neck and females wear it from a bow on their left shoulder. The circlet of the order with the badge suspended from it may be shown on a recipient’s coat of arms.

A lapel pin is available for everyday use.

In a nutshell, trying to make the world a better place, either on your doorstep or further afield can lead to the bonus of a prestigious honour. Love the idea or loathe the allusion to historic empire days, the Order of the British Empire seems here to stay.

Sources

• The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire | British order of knighthood | Britannica
  
• Receiving an honour - UK Honours System
  
• https://www.gov.uk/honours/types-of-honours-and-awards

Fort Belvedere, Windsor: Home of King Edward VIII Before Abdication

 

Fort Belvedere, King Edward VIII's home prior to his 1936 abdication.

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Fort Belvedere, 1936: The Scene of King Edward VIII's Abdication

Fort Belvedere is set within 59 acres of Windsor Great Park, close to Windsor Castle and the village of Sunningdale. It is a Grade II listed building, which means that it has a protected status. It is best known as the country residence of King Edward VIII (1894-1972) prior to his abdication.

The fort was where he signed the Instrument of Abdication on the evening of 10th December 1936 so that he could marry Wallis Simpson. On the 11th of December, he addressed the nation by radio from Windsor Castle, and at 13:52 that day, he officially ceased to rule. His reign lasted for 325 days.

This remains the property's strongest claim to fame in royal and British history. It is referred to today as the forgotten royal residence. In 2022, William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, selected their new Windsor home. There were rumours that Fort Belvedere was a contender, but they chose Adelaide Cottage, built for and named after Adelaide, the wife and consort of King William IV (1765-1837). It's rather more substantial than a quaint English cottage.

William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland's Summer House

Windsor Castle is in the county of Berkshire, but Fort Belvedere sits just over the county boundary in Surrey. From Fort Belvedere's flagstaff tower, seven English counties can be seen on a clear day.

Situated at the south end of Windsor Great Park, the original and smaller property that became known as Fort Belvedere was constructed between 1750 and 1755 for King George II's (1683-1760) youngest son William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765). Designed by eminent architect Henry Flitcroft and shielded from onlookers by a cluster of trees, it was called Shrubs Hill Tower.

William Augustus used the triangular construction for pleasure; it was his summer house and folly. He commissioned a manmade lake, Virginia Water, to enhance his view. This work was completed by Thomas and Paul Sandby.

Fort Belvedere as a Hunting Lodge, Tea House and Tourist Attraction

In 1828 the summer house was converted into a gothic-style hunting lodge by Sir James Wyattville, who had previously worked on Windsor Castle's renovations for King George IV (1762-1830). The tower was made taller, and extensions included an octagonal dining room. The total cost of the project was approximately £4000.

Between 1840 and 1907, Queen Victoria ordered that all gun salutes at Windsor marking royal births, deaths and any official events were to be fired from an 18th-century gun parked at Fort Belvedere. The man charged with the task of firing the salutes lived in the three-storey Bombardiers Cottage adjacent to the fort. The queen frequently used Fort Belvedere as a tea house, and from the 1860s, she opened the property to the public.

Grace and Favour Home and The Prince of Wales

In 1910, the beginning of King George V's (1865-1936) reign the property was again renovated and repurposed as a seven-bedroom "grace and favour" residence for Arthur, Duke of Connaught's (1850-1942) Comptroller of the Household Sir Malcolm Murray and his family. The Duke, the third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, resided at nearby Bagshot Park. (Today, this is the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's residence).

In 1929 George V's eldest son Edward, Prince of Wales, known as David to the family, was given Fort Belvedere as his official Windsor residence. Edward remodelled the property to his tastes. A central heating system and a steam room were installed, and extensive stables were built.

Edward hosted lavish and hedonistic parties with enviable (or inadvisable) guest lists and entertainment. He courted the disapproval of his father by stubbornly refusing to behave as George V believed that an heir to the throne should. Edward stated that he spent some of his happiest days at Fort Belvedere.

It was at the fort that Edward's brother George, Duke of Kent (1902-1942), was weaned off drugs (cocaine and morphine) by his worried and guilt-ridden big brother.

A Bitter Duke of Windsor Loses Fort Belvedere

George V died on 20th January 1936. During his final years, he had become convinced that his son and heir would fail as a king. It was a position with a workload that the trendsetting, golf-playing, partying, Wallis Simpson-infatuated prince had no appetite for.

As a king, Edward used the fort as his home because he preferred it to the official royal residences. Wallis Simpson moved in with him in 1936 after she received death threats.

It was at the fort that the Instrument of Abdication was signed and witnessed by his three brothers, including the new king George VI, previously Albert, Duke of York. Edward and Wallis married in France in 1937, and they were titled the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. (She was never permitted the style of Her Royal Highness).

The Duke of Windsor hoped to return to England when the proverbial dust settled, so he continued to pay the insurance and maintenance costs for Fort Belvedere for four more years. In 1940 he was informed that his abdication had effectively ended his right to reside in the property. It was a possession of the crown. It is still in the Crown Estate's portfolio today.

Crown Estate Leases to Royal and Private Tenants

During World War II, Fort Belvedere was requisitioned for office space. Virginia Water Lake, the Duke of Cumberland's water feature, was drained because it could be identified by enemy aircrews easily.

The property lay empty for almost a decade after the war.

George V and Queen Mary's only daughter Mary, Princess Royal, Viscountess Lascelles, had two sons, and the younger one The Honourable Gerald Lascelles, and his wife Angela leased the property on a 99-year agreement in 1953. They lived there between 1956 and 1976, and they carried out extensive renovations. Their divorce in 1976 necessitated the sale of the remainder of the lease.

The next resident was a son of the Emir of Dubai. In the early 1980s, a friend of the royal family, Canadian billionaire Galen Weston and his wife Hilary, the 26th Lieutenant-General of Ontario, took over the lease, and they used Fort Belvedere as their U.K. base. When he died in Toronto in April 2021, the property lease was returned to Crown Estates.

Sources

• Fort Belvedere, Surrey
  
• Fort Belvedere: The forgotten royal residence of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson | Express.co.uk
  
• Fort Belvedere, Windsor Great Park | Unofficial Royalty

Richard Roose: The Cook That King Henry VIII Boiled to Death

Richard Roose cooked for John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (above) and his guests. He was boiled to death on King Henry VIII's orders. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Richard Roose: Tudor Poisoner?

Welcome to a Tudor whodunnit.

Richard Roose, Rose or Cooke may not have been born with any of those names and he might not have been the full-time cook at the Lambeth (London) property of John Fisher, the Bishop of Rochester; well known as King Henry VIII's enemy.

At lunchtime on the 18th February 1531, Richard Roose was in the bishop's kitchen. Before nightfall he was infamous. Several of the bishop's guests and the poor of London were victims of poisoning, allegedly at his hands, and two of them were dead. As conspiracy theories swirled about who, if anyone, asked Roose to poison the diners Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and her family were implicated.

Henry VIII was paranoid about being poisoned. He was not the first ruler in history to use boiling as a method of execution (Emperor Nero was fond of boiling Christians) but he was the first to change the law so that poisoning was classed as treason punishable by boiling. 

How John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester Knew Henry VIII

Yorkshire-born John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (c.1469-1535) studied at Cambridge University and he was employed by Margaret Beaufort, Henry VIII's grandmother, as her chaplain and confessor.

In October 1504 he was awarded the role of Bishop of Rochester by the pope and Fisher helped to educate the future King Henry VIII. In 1509 he officiated at the funerals of Margaret Beaufort and her son Henry VII.

When Henry VIII decided to rid himself of Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, John Fisher was Catherine's main supporter. As Henry attacked the Catholic church and subsequently declared himself the head of the Church of England, Fisher accepted the new church but only "so far as God's law permits." (He wanted to keep his head on his shoulders and not compromise his principles).

In early 1531 the Bishop of Rochester was secretly plotting with his church colleagues to overthrow Henry VIII. Did Henry know about this?

The 18th February 1531: Two Die, Numerous Left Sick

At lunchtime on the 18th February 1531, Richard Roose prepared some porridge (other records state pottage) for the bishop and his guests, the household staff and for Lambeth's poor. When the guests ate the porridge all sixteen became ill. One, Bennett Curwen, died.

Meanwhile, a beggar named Alice knocked at the kitchen door asking for food. She was an unlucky recipient of the porridge and she too died. John Fisher ate nothing for lunch, we don't know why.

The bishop's brother Richard, in charge of the household, swiftly drew the conclusion that Roose was to blame for the apparent poisoning. Roose ran from the house only to be captured later in another part of London.

He was tortured on the rack and he confessed to adding a powder to the porridge. The powder was passed to him by an unknown man and Roose believed that it was a laxative so that he could play a practical joke. The deed was intended to incapacitate the diners not to kill them. A lie or an odd sense of humour?

The Boleyn Connection to the Bishop of Rochester

While Roose awaited his fate, cannonballs were fired at Fisher's house and the trajectory suggested that they were fired from Anne Boleyn's father's property Durham House.

Anne Boleyn and the Boleyn family also found themselves under suspicion regarding the poisonings. Had one of them or their staff given the "laxative" to Roose? Fisher was unpopular with the Boleyns because he supported Catherine of Aragon. It was mooted that one of the family fired the cannonballs when the poison didn't deliver the desired deadly result.

Another theory emerged that cited King Henry VIII as the instigator of the poisoning. He and Fisher had a long and strained relationship so were the king's faithful servants, spies or courtiers sent to Fisher's Lambeth property to remove an enemy?

Was Roose a pawn in royal or Boleyn's plans? There was never any proof that Roose acted with or for someone else or that he knowingly added poison to the porridge.

The "Acte of Poysonyng" Rapidly Passed

Henry VIII was always suspicious about what his enemies might do. He was paranoid about his food being meddled with and the Richard Roose case apparently heightened his fears. Alternatively, was he worried that his guilt would be determined?

On 28th February 1531, King Henry spoke for well over an hour in the House of Lords. He intoned against the act of poisoning and he stressed the need for the meting of justice to be increased. The Spanish envoy Chapuys wondered if the king was concentrating on Roose's harsh punishment to divert attention from himself.

The speech achieved its goal. The "Acte of Poysonyng" was hastily passed. It made poisoning an act of treason punishable by boiling to death. Richard Roose was found guilty without a trial and he was told that he could not offer a defence. Part of the new law meant that no clergy were permitted at executions by boiling.

Why was Henry VIII so keen to accept Roose's guilt without any evidence and why did he petition for a swift change in the law?

"He roared mighty loud, and divers women who were big with child did feel sick at the sight of what they saw, and were carried away half dead; and other men and women did not seem frightened by the boiling alive, but would prefer to see the headsman at his work."

Two Hour Execution: Roose Boiled to Death

The public agreed with their great king about Roose's depravity and on the 15th April 1532 a crowd gathered in Smithfield, London to watch him die.

Roose was placed on a gibbet, hung but kept alive, and then at intervals he was lowered three times into a pot of boiling water. Contemporary records show that it took two hours for him to die. The punishment was intended to last as long as it would have taken him to prepare the poisoned porridge.

So, whodunnit? I'll let you decide whether Roose was guilty, a pawn in a powerful game or innocent.

Sources

• Boiling | Execution, History, Cruelty | Britannica
  
• Richard Roose Boiled to Death - 5 April 1531 - The Anne Boleyn Files
  
• Prankster or Assassin? How Richard Roose Made Henry VIII Change the Law - Historic Mysteries

Amazing History Fact: In 1593 Ruthless Irish Pirate Grace O' Malley Charmed Queen Elizabeth I

 

Irish female pirate Grace O'Malley met Queen Elizabeth I in 1593. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain. 

Grace O' Malley, Grainne Ni Mhaille

Formidable Grace O' Malley (Grainne Ni Mhaille) was born in 1530 in Umhaill on the west coast of Ireland in todays County Mayo. She was the well educated daughter of the seafaring clan chief Eoghan Dubhdara Ó Máille and his wife Me Ni Mhaille.

She was primarily raised on Clare Island, then called Inishcleer, three miles west of Clew Bay. Its castle became one of Grace's strongholds during her reign and it was called Caisleán Ghráinne meaning Grace's Castle.

Legend has it that a young Grace was not permitted to accompany her father on a voyage to Spain. He told her that her hair would get caught in the ships ropes. So, determined to set sail she hacked off her hair. This was when another of her names Grainne Mhaol was born; in Irish maol meant bald or cropped hair.

She became an unforgiving chief of Clan O'Maille and the "Pirate Queen." Passing ships crews felt her might as she demanded their treasures and money. She commandeered coastal castles from rival clans and she was content to spill blood to achieve her goals.

There were no contemporary portraits or sketches of her so her appearance remains a mystery to us. Yet those who met her and survived probably remembered her vividly.

Grace Marries Donal an Chogaidh O' Flaithbheartaigh

In 1546 Grace was dynastically married to neighbouring clan heir Donal an Chogaidh O' Flaithbheartaigh of Clan Ó Flaithbheartaigh or Clan O'Flaherty. Their lands lay in what is County Galway today.

The couple had three children. Eoghan or Owen, Meadhdh or Maeve and Murchadh or Murrough.

As an adult Eoghan was murdered by Tudor statesman Sir Richard Bingham, more about him later. Spirited Meadhdh emulated her mother and Murchadh refused to listen to or respect Grace because she was a mere female. He betrayed his family by allying himself with Bingham.

From 1542 the English monarch was also the ruler of Ireland according to Tudor law. By 1564 this was the fiery haired and strong willed Elizabeth I. The queen vetoed Donal's succession as clan chief and she placed his relative Murrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh in his place. Donal's dynastic hopes were destroyed.

Clan O'Maille Defeats Clans Joyce and MacMahon

His luck did not improve. The following year Donal was assassinated in an ambush staged by Clan Joyce. He had been engaged in a land dispute that Clan Joyce must have believed was over when Donal was slain but Grace shed few tears and set to work defending her property. She secured the defeat and retreat of Clan Joyce's army.

Grace took a sailor from a shipwrecked craft as her lover although this liaison was unexpectedly short because members of Clan MacMahon murdered him. Grace's revenge was to seize the MacMahon's Castle Doona and she slayed her lovers killers. She was known after this bloody assault as the Dark Lady of Doona.

Grace's second marriage in 1565/1566 was to Risdeárd an Iarainn (Iron Richard) Bourke, 18th Mac William Íochtar (of the Mayo Bourkes). Their son TIbbot na Long Bourke (Theobald) became the 1st Viscount Mayo in 1627.

The Tudor Conquest of Ireland

By 1576 Elizabeth I's Tudor armies had gained power in Ireland. The clans and their chiefs fell under the control of Elizabeth's Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney. Grace was often onboard ship conducting her lucrative piracy business and she seemed to accept the new order but it was claimed by the queen's Governor of Connacht Sir Richard Bingham that Grace plotted or participated in countless rebellions against Tudor rule.

Bingham loathed Grace and all that she stood for. In 1886 he had her incarcerated and she narrowly escaped the death sentence.

In 1593 Grace sailed to England to arrange an urgent meeting with Queen Elizabeth I at Greenwich Palace, London. In the days before Grace set sail her son Eoghan was murdered by Bingham and her youngest son Tibbot and her half brother Donal na Piopa were imprisoned by him.

She was determined to inform the queen in person that this was the latest episode in Bingham's long campaign of victimisation and that she wanted Elizabeth to order him to stop immediately.

"There came to mee a most famous femynyne sea captain called Grace Imallye, and offred her service unto me, wheresoever I woulde command her, with three gallyes and two hundred fightinge men ..."

Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy in a 1577 letter to his son Philip.

Grace O'Malley and Elizabeth I Unite

Grace gained access to the queen through her cousin and court favourite the Earl of Ormond and Elizabeth's chief advisor William Cecil, Lord Burghley. Cecil asked Grace to complete a long questionnaire referred to as the Articles of Interrogatory before he consented to her audience with Elizabeth.

Grace O'Malley must have charmed the queen. Elizabeth recorded that Grace "departeth with great thankfulness and with many more earnest promises that she will, as long as she lives, continue a dutiful subject, yea and will employ all her power to offend and prosecute any offender against Us."

Sir Richard Bingham received his orders from Elizabeth through Grace face to face. Inevitably he didn't believe Grace when she ordered him to release the prisoners, restore her lands and award her a pension in the queen's name. He delayed and was rebuked by Elizabeth. Grace took the queen's support in this matter as permission to return to piracy.

Sir Richard Bingham's Fall From Grace

Bingham had no intention of allowing Grace to terrorise the sailors passing through local waters into the Atlantic. He installed soldiers on her ships and he used her vessels to suppress his enemies and her allies. Grace was soon destitute. Again, she sought redress through the Earl of Ormond, Lord Burghley and Elizabeth I. The queen supported Grace's claim for freedom on her own ships. Bingham received another royal rebuke. This time he took note.

Two years into the Nine Year's War, an Irish revolt led by the Earl of Tyrone against English rule that began in May 1593, Bingham fled from Ireland and he was imprisoned in England. He died in 1599. His replacement Sir Conyers Clifford caused Grace less trouble.

Grace died in 1603, the same year as Queen Elizabeth I. Although the date and location of Grace's death have been disputed it's thought that she was buried in Clare Island Abbey which was the O'Maille dynasty's traditional burial place.

Sources

• Grace O' Malley | Irish female pirate | Royal Museums Greenwich
  
• O'Malley, Grace | Encyclopedia.com
  
• Grace O'Malley - World History Encyclopedia

Nell Gwyn: King Charles II's Mischievous Mistress

King Charles II's fun loving mistress Nell Gwyn. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn

Nell Gwyn was born Eleanor Gwyn around the 2nd of February 1650. Her mother Helena worked in a bawdy house in Covent Garden, London, an area full of brothels, prostitutes and unsavoury public houses. Nell's father either died in debtor's prison or disappeared. Nell had an elder sister named Rose.

As children, Nell and Rose served drinks to the customers at the Rose Tavern. It's widely accepted that all three Gwyns' were prostitutes, even as minors. They knew what it was to be poor with no shoes for the winter and to suffer a scarcity of food, and there was no welfare system to save them. Nell was illiterate and unschooled in the conventional sense, but she was certainly not anyone's fool.

Rose persuaded fourteen-year-old Nell to become an orange seller at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which was the permanent home of the King's Company of Actors. The orange sellers had another role; they acted as a conduit between men in the audience and the actresses backstage to arrange assignations.

Nell's wit and mischievousness made an impression on the theatregoers and Charles Hart, the leading actor in the company. She became Hart's mistress and also had a dalliance with her dancing instructor, John Lacy. By the end of 1665, the spirited orange seller was on stage acting, singing and dancing in comedies.

Nell Gwyn Wins Admirers, Including King Charles II

The audiences loved her sharp retorts, rebellious nature and indiscretion. In that era, the stage and the most sought-after theatre boxes were on the same level so she happily went off script to enjoy some banter with the rich and titled inhabitants of the boxes.

She was less adept at tragedy so she played in fewer of these roles and became acclaimed for her comic characters and romantic heroines. She originated roles for John Dryden and "pretty, witty Nell" was subject to a lot of attention from her male audience, including Lord Buckhurst, to whom she became mistress in 1667. Her time with Lord Buckhurst led to a short break from the theatre, but she returned to the London stage full of vivacity.

She was watching a play at a theatre one night when King Charles II noticed her, and he subsequently ignored the play.

Charles regularly visited the Theatre Royal after that meeting, and she engaged in jokes and unguarded comments with him as she performed. He was no stranger to either having mistresses or actresses as mistresses.

Nell became Charles II's mistress. She had haughty Louise de Kerouaille and the dominating, passionate and fading Barbara, Lady Castlemaine, as her rivals. Nell was the only one of Charles' mistresses that the public liked.

Charles II and Nell Gwyn's Sons: The Beauclerk Line

Charles gave her the use of an opulent property at 79 Pall Mall near St. James's Palace, and she arranged for her mother to have a nice house in Chelsea. Tragically, under the influence of brandy, Nell's mother fell into a stream and drowned in July 1679.

King Charles sneaked from the gardens at St. James's to Nell's bed unseen. Nell remained faithful to the king, and she lived a life of extravagance, hosting parties and living a life that she could only have imagined as an impoverished child. She accumulated huge debts, but her position as the king's mistress protected her from debt collectors.

Her last stage performance was given in January 1670. On 8th May 1670, Nell gave birth to Charles' son Charles Beauclerk. Legend has it that when Nell called to her toddling son, "come here you little b*****d" and the king objected, she rebuked him by saying that she had no other title to call her son by. Shortly afterwards Charles Beauclerk received his titles Baron Hetherington, Earl of Burford, and later 1st Duke of St. Albans. A second son, James, Lord Beauclerk, was born in 1671. He died in 1680.

"Let not poor Nelly starve."

Nell was an exceptional mimic and would regularly impersonate her rivals. Louise de Kerouaille would thunder out of the room as Charles laughed broadly at Nell's impressions of her. Memorably, one day when Nell was mistaken for the unpopular Louise as she stepped out of her carriage, she answered the jeers with the words, "Pray good people, be civil. I am the protestant whore."

It's thanks to Nell that the iconic Royal Hospital in Chelsea was established in the 1680s. She was appalled that a soldier who had fought bravely for Charles was begging on the street, and she asked (nagged) him to do something for heroes.

When Charles II lay on his deathbed in February 1685, Nell was not permitted to see him, but he implored his brother James to "let not poor Nelly starve." He knew that with his death, protection from her creditors would end.

James obliged. He paid off the majority of her debts and he gave her an annual allowance of £1500. However, Nell was not allowed to wear mourning after Charles' death or to attend his funeral.

Nell suffered two strokes, possibly triggered by syphilis, in March and May 1687. She was left partially paralysed. She passed away after a third stroke on 14th November 1687 at the pitiably young age of 37 years old.

Descendant Charles Beauclerk: Nell's Spirit Lives On

Nell and Charles' bloodline continues to this day. The 14th Duke of St. Albans is named Murray Beauclerk, born in 1939. His son and heir is the author Charles Beauclerk, born 1965. He refuses to be called the Earl of Burford, and he was banned for life from the House of Lords in 1999, suggesting that the rebellious streak in Nell has travelled well in the DNA through the centuries. You can read more about him here:

• "A lord's last stand", published in The Guardian.

Sources

• Nell Gwyn, Mistress of King Charles II of England | Unofficial Royalty
  
• Nell Gwyn | English actress | Britannica
• Nell Gwyn: A Biography by Charles Beauclerk. (Recommended, an excellent book).

Henry V: Final Warrior King of England and Victor at the Battle of Agincourt

 

King Henry V led his triumphant army at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

 Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Henry of Monmouth and King Richard II

The future King Henry V was born on or around the 16th of September 1386 at Monmouth Castle in Monmouthshire, Wales and into the House of Lancaster. He was the eldest son of Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby, later King Henry IV, and his first wife, Mary de Bohun. Mary passed away during the birth of their daughter Philippa in June 1394. By this time, in her mid-twenties, she had borne six children.

The Earl of Derby was the Duke of Hereford by 1398. He received the challenge of a duel with the 1st Duke of Norfolk over potentially treasonous comments Norfolk had made about the king, Richard II. The duel was ordered and then cancelled by Richard. Both men were exiled, and in 1399, Henry was prevented from inheriting the lands of his father, John of Gaunt, by the king.

The young Henry of Monmouth was not sent into exile. Richard II commandeered him for a life at court, and reports showed that he treated Henry well, making a wary friend and ally instead of an enemy of him. Henry was intelligent, well educated and coped with the rigmarole of court life well, vital for survival. In 1399, Henry was knighted.

Henry, Prince of Wales

In 1399, when Henry’s father returned to England, deposed Richard II and claimed the throne as Henry IV, his eldest son and heir was created the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Aquitaine and Earl of Chester.

In 1400, Henry, Prince of Wales, was awarded management of Wales, and in 1403, he and the Welsh rebels led by Owain Glyndwr commenced a five-year-long fight for supremacy. Henry was left with a facial scar after an arrow careered into him during one of the battles.

Contrary to Shakespeare’s depiction of him as a drunken hedonist at this stage in his life, he was an enthusiastic soldier, given to occasional recklessness, prone to cruelty. He was not a man who compromised, but he was keen to secure his authority over the people in his father’s realms.

Henry IV/Henry V

As the first decade of the 1400s drew to a close, Henry sought greater powers in the ruling council, an elevation in status that was opposed by an ailing Henry IV. When he felt strong enough, Henry Senior had his son removed from the council because his policies were at odds with his own.

A primary source of disagreement was Henry Junior's keenness to claim the throne of France, as he believed this was the right of all English kings. Henry IV was not interested in causing an inevitable war.

Henry V acceded to the throne on the 21st of March, 1413. His coronation on the 9th of April 1413 was a cold event; there was a snowstorm going on outside.

His reign was not without domestic discontentment. In early 1414, the Lollards, looking for reforms to Christianity, rose up. The following year brought a conspiracy led by the Duke of York, Earl of Cambridge and Lord Scrope of Masham, who had their own candidate for ruler. Both rebellions were suppressed. Henry was alerted to the danger and dispensed with his foe brutally.

War in France

What made Henry V such a remarkable figure in English history was his determination to seize and rule large areas of France that were either once in English hands or in new territories that he found attractive. Remembered as a warrior king with an astute mind that strategised magnificently, his campaign began when he secured the compliance of John, Duke of Burgundy, against the mentally vulnerable Charles VI of France.

Henry entered into half-hearted diplomacy that swiftly descended into bloodshed on French soil, most famously at the 25th October 1415 Battle of Agincourt where the outnumbered English triumphed.

He cut the French naval capabilities, rallied the English to champion the war and as Henry and his soldiers enjoyed victories that delivered new lands and powers, the soldiers made way for administrators who effectively helped the war to pay for itself. John, Duke of Burgundy was murdered in 1419 but this brought Henry good fortune. Burgundy became his territory.

Henry V Marries Catherine de Valois

Henry did not have the desired hasty victory over France. It was seven long years into his reign when he secured the amount of land, power and wealth that he needed, and countless men died fulfilling his vision. Only with the Treaty of Troyes in May 1520 was Henry V recognised as the heir to the French throne.

Less than two weeks after this treaty was signed, Catherine de Valois, daughter of Charles VI, was married to Henry. After taking Catherine to England and at some point impregnating her, he returned to France and war.

Their son Henry was born on the 6th December 1421; Henry V never met him because he died of dysentery or camp fever in Vincennes on the 31st August 1422. His body was dismembered and boiled before it travelled to England for burial at Westminster Abbey.

Henry VI Loses Henry V's Acquisitions

Nine-month-old Henry VI and his council presented a far weaker proposition for England’s enemies, and during his fifty-year reign over England (with Wars of the Roses interruptions) and from 1429 in France, Henry lost his father’s acquisitions with alarming rapidity.

As the Lancastrian element of the Wars of the Roses, he alternated with Yorkist rival Edward, as Edward IV, as monarch in the 1460s into 1470–1471. Henry VI met with a convenient death when incarcerated on Edward’s orders. It was not what warrior king Henry V would have envisaged for his dynasty. His moment of glory for the House of Lancaster and England at the Battle of Agincourt took on a mythical status.

Sources

• The True Story of Henry V, England’s Warrior King – History | Smithsonian Magazine
  
• King Henry V of England | Unofficial Royalty
  
• Henry V | Biography, Facts, Wife, & Significance | Britannica

1066: Viking Harald Hardrada's Fight for England's Throne

Harald Hardrada depicted in battle.  From a 13th century chronicle. 

Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.

Harald Hardrada: Harald Hard Ruler

Born in Ringerike, Norway, in 1015, Viking Harald Hardrada was a merciless warrior king who invaded countries, claimed thrones and riches and even attacked and pillaged his Norwegian chieftains. He was officially called Harald III Sigurdsson, and thanks to his ruthlessness, he earned the sobriquet Hardrada, meaning hard or stern ruler.

Harald was taught how to fight from an early age by his king-chieftain father, Sigurd Sow. His mother, Asta Gudbrandsdatter, had a son from her first marriage who, circa 1018, became Olaf II Haraldsson of Norway. He was later made a saint and the patron saint of Norway.

Aged fifteen, Harald fought his first battle in July 1030 at the legendary Battle of Stiklestad. This was Olaf II's unsuccessful attempt to reclaim Norway from Danish-born King Cnut (Canute), King of England, after two years spent in exile. A twice-injured Olaf II was fatally stabbed in the stomach with a spear, and Harald was lucky to survive.

The battle was memorable for being conducted during a solar eclipse. This was a bad omen for all participants. The Christians took the eclipse as a signal of God's displeasure, as with the loss of light at the crucifixion. The Norse pagans believed that the god Odin was looking down on them to choose who would enter Valhalla (the hall of the slain).

The Byzantine Empire's Vangarian Guard

Harald fled to Kievan Rus, where he served Yarolslav I, The Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev, as a mercenary. He was keen to marry Yaroslav's daughter Elizaveta, but his lack of fortune and land meant that he was not considered suitable.

Harald travelled to Constantinople in the Byzantine Empire ruled by Emperor Michael IV. He fought his way around Europe and into the Holy Land as a member of the renowned axe-wielding and hard-drinking Varangian Guard. Harald was soon their unofficial leader.

Emperor Michael IV's successor Michael V had his widow Empress Zoe arrested and banished to a nunnery. He disbanded the Vangarian Guard and formed his own guard. Zoe's incarceration led to a revolt, and the re-formed Vangarian Guard fought in her name. Michael V was overthrown within four months; legend has it that Harald pulled out Michael's eyes and that he subsequently died.

Harald Returns to Norway and Co-Rules With Magnus I Olafsson

Harald returned to Norway in 1045; during the previous fifteen years he had become an enviably rich man by collecting the spoils of war. He co-ruled with his nephew Magnus I Olafsson. Magnus negotiated a deal to enjoy Harald's wealth in return for a power share. Magnus was slain in battle against the Danes in 1047, and Harald became the undisputed king of Norway.

The following fifteen years were spent trying to oust Sweyn II of Denmark to extend his realm. In 1064 Sweyn and Harald were unable to break the stalemate of a two year long sea battle, so they agreed to recognise one another as the rulers of their respective countries and ended the conflict.

The peace did not extend beyond Denmark. Harald Hardrada set his sights on expansion across the North Sea and claimed the Orkney Islands to the north of Scotland.

He then mounted a bold campaign to claim the English throne. There were three other men in his way. Anglo-Saxon Harold Godwinson had proclaimed himself Harold II, but William of Normandy and Harold's relative Edgar Aetheling had good claims.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge

Harald Hardrada's ally was Anglo-Saxon king Harold II's vengeful brother Tostig. Eleven thousand Vikings disembarked from three hundred ships in September 1066 and overran northern England.

The Vikings made good progress, and they won the Battle of Fulford to seize the northern city of York. Harald and Tostig were probably feeling comfortably confident as dawn broke on 25th September 1066. They had no way of knowing that Harold II (Harold Godwinson) and his army of fifteen thousand men had travelled 175 miles from London to York in just four days to launch a brutal surprise attack on the Viking invaders.

The Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire was overwhelmingly won by Harold II. Many of the Vikings didn't have their full armour with them, so they were easy to slaughter. Only twenty four of the original invasion force of three hundred ships were required to transport the Viking survivors home.

Tostig and Harald Hardrada also died that day; Harald's neck was punctured by an arrow. Most historians consider Harald Hardrada's death as the conclusion of the Viking age in England.

The Norman Era Begins in England

Harald's sons by Tora Torbergsdatter, Magnus and Olaf ruled Norway together until Magnus II's 1069 death. Olaf III remained king until 1093.

In England Harold II faced his own fatal battle three weeks after Harald. The Battle of Hastings on 14th October 1066 was fought against William of Normandy. After his victory, recorded in the Bayeaux Tapestry, the Norman was proclaimed William I, better known to many as William the Conqueror. Although Edgar Aetheling was named king by the Anglo-Saxon Council that October day, he was never crowned.

The Norman age in England had begun.

Sources

• The Battle of Stamford Bridge, 1066
  
• Harald Harada | Varangian, King of Norway & Last Great Viking | HistoryExtra
  
• Harald III Sigurdsson | king of Norway | Britannica

Jennens vs. Jennens: The 117-Year Legal Battle That Inspired Charles Dickens

Image: Pixabay. Public Domain.

Wealthy Financier William Jennens Dies in June 1798

William Jennens, an unmarried and reclusive financier, passed away on 19th June 1798 aged ninety-seven. He was at his substantial property Acton Place in the village of Acton, Suffolk, in southeast England.

The "richest commoner in England" died with an accrued wealth that exceeded £1 million. His annual income was approximately £40000. In 21st-century terms, this gave him an annual income of over £4.8 million or $6 million.

He made his fortune trading in London and by loaning money to gamblers in casinos at eye-wateringly high rates of interest.

His prosperous father, Robert Jennens, purchased and remodelled Acton Place in 1708. When William inherited the property in 1725, he ceased renovations, and he lived in a few sparsely furnished basement rooms with his dogs and a couple of servants. William was awarded the sobriquets of the Miser, the Rich and the Miser of Acton.

William Jennens' will was found in a coat pocket, according to The Gentleman's Magazine. It was: "...sealed, but not signed; [owing to] leaving his spectacles at home when he went to his solicitor for the purpose of duly executing it." 

117 years of legal battles followed as numerous claims were made for his estate.

William Jennens' Unsigned Will

It was a pity that, as the story goes, William forgot his spectacles on the day that he was due to sign his will at his solicitor's office, and so it remained unsigned. For over a century, the great Jennens inheritance was claimed, counter-claimed and disputed by relations and descendants, people named Jennens, Jennings, Jennins and other logical variations of the spelling from the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and the U.S.A.

There has long been a question about why William Jennens "forgot" his spectacles and why he made no further attempts to sign his will. Was he hoping to create chaos for his relations after his death? If so, he far exceeded any imaginings.

The intestate status of the late William's will meant that his case was referred to the Court of Chancery so that appointed judges could rule on who the true heir to his estate was.

1821: Lady Andover and the Earl of Beauchamp

The court declared that young relation George Augustus William Curzon was the heir to William Jennens' considerable fortune. His mother administered his inheritance for him, and when George died young, the fortune passed to his younger brother Richard William Penn Curzon. Accusations were made that Richard was illegitimate and that he was the son of a woman named Anne Oake.

In 1821 the inheritance passed to William's next of kin, Mary, Lady Andover, and William Lygon, 1st Earl of Beauchamp. Both parties were subsequently disputed as heirs because they were the descendants of another William Jennens in the family tree's expansive branches.

Their William died in 1803, not 1798. John Jennens, alive in the 17th century, married twice and two of his descendants were named Robert Jennens, and they died in 1725. Both Roberts had sons named William.

By 1849 Jennens Clubs were plentiful in the U.K. and Ireland. Many people named Jennens, Jennins or Jennings or with a potential link to the family met to discuss their claims to the fortune. Professional genealogists and lawyers were employed to help investigate and to prove the members' rights even though the date for legal action to be initiated (without proof of fraud) was far in the past.

The American Legal Claim: Jennens vs. Jennens

British army officer William Jennens, born in 1676, fought in the American Indian Wars, and he married American Mary Ann Pulliam. Their descendants and hopeful claimants mounted legal action in 1850, confident that they were entitled to a share of the Jennens fortune. The most prominent claimant was U.S. Secretary of State, Senator Henry Clay, William and Mary Ann's great-grandson.

Acton Place in Suffolk was largely demolished in 1825 by Lord Howe, a descendant of the original benefactor George Curzon's mother's family. All that remained of the property was one servant's wing.

In England in 1879, Messers Harrison and Willis compiled and published "The Great Jennens Case: Epitome of the History of the Jennens Family" on behalf of the Jennens family. This document was comprehensive at almost three hundred pages long.

Charles Dickens' Bleak House: Jarndyce Versus Jarndyce

Charles Dickens' serialised novel Bleak House was published in 1852 and 1853. The Jarndyce versus Jarndyce case in the story was very similar to the Jennens versus Jennens battle, at that time, over fifty years long.

In the first chapter, Dickens introduces the reader to the never-ending legal action:

The little plaintiff or defendant, who was promised a new rocking-horse when Jarndyce and Jarndyce should be settled, has grown up, possessed himself of a real horse, and trotted away into the other world. Fair wards of court have faded into mothers and grandmothers; a long procession of Chancellors has come in and gone out...

And so it was with the real case.

How Did the Jennens vs. Jennens Case End in 1915?

How did the case end? With a whimper.

The court case began when George III was the king, and it ended five monarchs later when George V was on the throne. The duration of the case and the large amounts of money that were siphoned from the estate to pay for legal action steadily drained the coffers.

By 1915 there was no inheritance left to quarrel about. William Jennens' estate was worthless, and the claimants went home empty-handed.

There were occasional claims after 1915, including one in New Zealand in 1929, but these met with no success for obvious reasons.

It was only the several generations of lawyers employed on the case that made a profit from Jennens versus Jennens.

Sources

• The Great Jennens Case: Being an Epitome of the History the Jennens Family
  
• Tangled Roots and Trees: The Great Jennens Case
  
• The Miser and the Murderer – A Talk By Martin Hedges | Little Waldingfield History Society