Ten Crown Princes Who Never Reigned
Jun. 9th, 2011 06:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mark_asphodelSince the last list generated some good discussion...
Ten Crown Princes Who Never Became King
Applications to Fire Emblem research should be really obvious. :D
10) Frederick, Prince of Wales (d 1751, age 44). The heir of King George II was a lover of music, a patron of science and the arts... and of cricket. He also had a terrible relationship with his parents. His death from a lung abscess, attributed at the time to a blow from a cricket ball, meant that his son George (III) became the next ruler of the UK and its colonies.
9) Richard, Duke of Bernay (d. 1081, age 27). Richard was the favorite son and presumed heir of the infamous William the Bastard, ruler of England and Normandy. He had a hunting accident in his father’s New Forest, so the next King of England was younger brother William Rufus... who also died in a hunting accident in the New Forest. Hm...
8) Francis, Dauphin and Duke of Brittany (d. 1536, age 18). The eldest son and heir of King Francis I of France and his wife Claude of Brittany, young Francis had a crappy time of it. He spent three years as a hostage in the court of his father’s rival Emperor Charles V, an ordeal which scarred him for life. Francis developed a taste for wearing black and reading books, though he did loosen up enough to have a mistress. Francis died suddenly after drinking some cold water following a game of tennis, and it was thought by some that his sister-in-law Catherine de’ Medici had decided to get rid of the dauphin so that her husband Henry would inherit France.
7) Eustace, Count of Boulogne (d. 1153, age 23ish). Eustace was the son and heir of England’s King Stephen. He was not a nice young man and died suddenly while plundering church lands near Bury St. Edmunds. It seems nobody liked this kid other than his own father, and popular wisdom decided that God had settled the long-running inheritance feud between King Stephen and his cousin Matilda by taking Eustace out of the picture.
6) Tsarevitch Alexey (d. 1718, age 28). Alexey’s parents, Peter the Great and Empress Eudoxia, hated one another. This impacted Alexey’s relationship with his father (major understatement); things went from bad to worse and Alexey at one point exiled himself from Russia, before returning home at Peter’s urging. When Alexey did so, his mother was publicly tried for adultery, all his friends were tortured and killed, and Alexey himself was beaten so severely that he died in prison while awaiting execution by his father’s command.
5) Carlos, Prince of Asturias (d. 1568, age 23). Verdi made the opera Don Carlo about this kid, but the truth wasn’t very nice. His family was so intermarried that he only had four great-grandparents instead of the usual eight, and his parents were so closely linked they might as well have been half-siblings. Add to this a head injury from a fall down the stairs, and Don Carlos wasn’t the most stable boy around. He died after being imprisoned by his father Philip II; Carlos developed binge-and-starve eating disorders in prison and seems to have died from natural causes. Philip, naturally, was blamed for his son’s murder.
4) Arthur, Duke of Brittany (d. 1203, age 16). Arthur was the designated heir of the childless King Richard I of England. He was the son of Richard’s younger brother Geoffrey, who’d married the heiress to Brittany. But when Richard died, he instead made brother John his heir, as Arthur was only twelve and not really king material. Arthur wasn’t pleased with this turn of events and led a little rebellion before reconciling with his uncle John. Things got messy, and fifteen-year-old Arthur ended up laying siege to his own grandmother. At this point John’s forces captured him, and Arthur was imprisoned in Rouen and never seen again.
3) James Francis Edward Stuart, “The Old Pretender” (d. 1766, age 77). His birth was a subject of controversy; rumor had it that the baby was smuggled into the queen’s bed in a warming pan to guarantee a Catholic heir to the English throne. The reign of his father James II was ended by the Glorious Revolution that same year, and Prince James was raised in exile. His father died in 1701, when James was thirteen, and James consequently declared himself King James III. When he was nineteen, James III tried to invade but was unable to reach Scotland. A second attempt in 1715 was a little more successful, but James was annoyed by the lack of support for his reign and, instead of crowning himself in Scotland, he went back to France to be a permanent exile and political embarrassment to the French. His son, Bonnie Prince Charlie, cut a more romantic but equally unsuccessful figure.
2) Philip of France, (died 1131, age 15). Technically, he was joint king alongside his father Louis the Fat for two years. Making a thirteen-year-old King of the Franks turned out to be a lousy idea, as Philip quickly turned from his father’s favorite son into an arrogant little prick. This state of affairs didn’t last long, though-- one day Philip was out riding with friends and his horse was tripped by a pig which darted out of a dung heap. Philip went flying, and the fall "so dreadfully fractured his limbs that he died on the day following" without regaining consciousness. His younger brother then became King Louis VII, who married Eleanor of Aquitaine and did the Second Crusade.
1) Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (d. 1471, age 17). The weirdness of the Wars of the Roses meant that Edward, only son of King Henry VI and his wife Marguerite d’Anjou, was disinherited by Parliament when he was about seven years old. Marguerite fled with her son after her (yes, HER) armies were defeated at Towton, and eventually they ended up in France, where she set up a court in exile while Henry VI was kept prisoner by his successor, Edward IV (yeah, him again). After a lot more twisty-turny shenanigans, seventeen-year-old Edward and his mother invaded England... resulting in the battle of Tewkesbury, which they lost. Horribly. Depending on whom you believe, either a desolate Edward was beheaded after the battle, or he was hauled before his rival King Edward IV, who struck the young rebel across the face with his gauntlet... upon which the men with the king stabbed the defeated Prince Edward to death.
Moral: when inexperienced teenagers show up with a ragtag army looking to get their rightful thrones back, BAD THINGS HAPPEN. TO THEM.
Ten Crown Princes Who Never Became King
Applications to Fire Emblem research should be really obvious. :D
10) Frederick, Prince of Wales (d 1751, age 44). The heir of King George II was a lover of music, a patron of science and the arts... and of cricket. He also had a terrible relationship with his parents. His death from a lung abscess, attributed at the time to a blow from a cricket ball, meant that his son George (III) became the next ruler of the UK and its colonies.
9) Richard, Duke of Bernay (d. 1081, age 27). Richard was the favorite son and presumed heir of the infamous William the Bastard, ruler of England and Normandy. He had a hunting accident in his father’s New Forest, so the next King of England was younger brother William Rufus... who also died in a hunting accident in the New Forest. Hm...
8) Francis, Dauphin and Duke of Brittany (d. 1536, age 18). The eldest son and heir of King Francis I of France and his wife Claude of Brittany, young Francis had a crappy time of it. He spent three years as a hostage in the court of his father’s rival Emperor Charles V, an ordeal which scarred him for life. Francis developed a taste for wearing black and reading books, though he did loosen up enough to have a mistress. Francis died suddenly after drinking some cold water following a game of tennis, and it was thought by some that his sister-in-law Catherine de’ Medici had decided to get rid of the dauphin so that her husband Henry would inherit France.
7) Eustace, Count of Boulogne (d. 1153, age 23ish). Eustace was the son and heir of England’s King Stephen. He was not a nice young man and died suddenly while plundering church lands near Bury St. Edmunds. It seems nobody liked this kid other than his own father, and popular wisdom decided that God had settled the long-running inheritance feud between King Stephen and his cousin Matilda by taking Eustace out of the picture.
6) Tsarevitch Alexey (d. 1718, age 28). Alexey’s parents, Peter the Great and Empress Eudoxia, hated one another. This impacted Alexey’s relationship with his father (major understatement); things went from bad to worse and Alexey at one point exiled himself from Russia, before returning home at Peter’s urging. When Alexey did so, his mother was publicly tried for adultery, all his friends were tortured and killed, and Alexey himself was beaten so severely that he died in prison while awaiting execution by his father’s command.
5) Carlos, Prince of Asturias (d. 1568, age 23). Verdi made the opera Don Carlo about this kid, but the truth wasn’t very nice. His family was so intermarried that he only had four great-grandparents instead of the usual eight, and his parents were so closely linked they might as well have been half-siblings. Add to this a head injury from a fall down the stairs, and Don Carlos wasn’t the most stable boy around. He died after being imprisoned by his father Philip II; Carlos developed binge-and-starve eating disorders in prison and seems to have died from natural causes. Philip, naturally, was blamed for his son’s murder.
4) Arthur, Duke of Brittany (d. 1203, age 16). Arthur was the designated heir of the childless King Richard I of England. He was the son of Richard’s younger brother Geoffrey, who’d married the heiress to Brittany. But when Richard died, he instead made brother John his heir, as Arthur was only twelve and not really king material. Arthur wasn’t pleased with this turn of events and led a little rebellion before reconciling with his uncle John. Things got messy, and fifteen-year-old Arthur ended up laying siege to his own grandmother. At this point John’s forces captured him, and Arthur was imprisoned in Rouen and never seen again.
3) James Francis Edward Stuart, “The Old Pretender” (d. 1766, age 77). His birth was a subject of controversy; rumor had it that the baby was smuggled into the queen’s bed in a warming pan to guarantee a Catholic heir to the English throne. The reign of his father James II was ended by the Glorious Revolution that same year, and Prince James was raised in exile. His father died in 1701, when James was thirteen, and James consequently declared himself King James III. When he was nineteen, James III tried to invade but was unable to reach Scotland. A second attempt in 1715 was a little more successful, but James was annoyed by the lack of support for his reign and, instead of crowning himself in Scotland, he went back to France to be a permanent exile and political embarrassment to the French. His son, Bonnie Prince Charlie, cut a more romantic but equally unsuccessful figure.
2) Philip of France, (died 1131, age 15). Technically, he was joint king alongside his father Louis the Fat for two years. Making a thirteen-year-old King of the Franks turned out to be a lousy idea, as Philip quickly turned from his father’s favorite son into an arrogant little prick. This state of affairs didn’t last long, though-- one day Philip was out riding with friends and his horse was tripped by a pig which darted out of a dung heap. Philip went flying, and the fall "so dreadfully fractured his limbs that he died on the day following" without regaining consciousness. His younger brother then became King Louis VII, who married Eleanor of Aquitaine and did the Second Crusade.
1) Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (d. 1471, age 17). The weirdness of the Wars of the Roses meant that Edward, only son of King Henry VI and his wife Marguerite d’Anjou, was disinherited by Parliament when he was about seven years old. Marguerite fled with her son after her (yes, HER) armies were defeated at Towton, and eventually they ended up in France, where she set up a court in exile while Henry VI was kept prisoner by his successor, Edward IV (yeah, him again). After a lot more twisty-turny shenanigans, seventeen-year-old Edward and his mother invaded England... resulting in the battle of Tewkesbury, which they lost. Horribly. Depending on whom you believe, either a desolate Edward was beheaded after the battle, or he was hauled before his rival King Edward IV, who struck the young rebel across the face with his gauntlet... upon which the men with the king stabbed the defeated Prince Edward to death.
Moral: when inexperienced teenagers show up with a ragtag army looking to get their rightful thrones back, BAD THINGS HAPPEN. TO THEM.
