Assassination: The Royal Family's 1000-Year Curse

ASSASSINATION
the Royal Family’s 1,000 year curse
David Maislish
© David Maislish 2012

 

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

 

First published in Great Britain by Pen Press

 

ISBN13: 978-1-78003-148-4
Author photograph by Gerald Fass
Assassination – the Royal Family’s 1,000 year curse

Power, glory, wealth; yes, they all came with the crown. But for English and British monarchs there was something else – somebody: a rival, an enemy or a madman would try to kill every single one of them.

As we travel through 1,000 years of history, learning how each monarch won the crown (and a third of them had no right to inherit the crown from his or her predecessor), it will become apparent that there were one or more attempts to kill every person who became king or queen; and many of the attempts succeeded.

Poison, arrows, daggers, swords, pistols, rifles and bombs ensured that over a quarter, perhaps as many as half, of all English/British monarchs were murdered. It was not just the ones we all know about, such as Edward II (the red-hot poker) and Edward V (one of the princes in the Tower), but also many others, with relentless research revealing that the 1,000 year curse has meant that no king or queen escaped at least one attempted killing.

Even in the twentieth century, we will find twelve attempts to kill the monarch – and one of them succeeded.

Here is the history of England and Britain without the things that sent us to sleep in school; instead interweaved with a series of murder and attempted murder stories.

Was there really a 1,000 year curse? Can it be true? Read on and decide for yourself. The evidence is here.
Acknowledgements

My thanks to Claire Spinks, who edited the first complete manuscript; to Catriona Watson at Pen Press, who dealt tirelessly with typesetting and the numerous amendments; and to my daughter Lucy, who corrected the original text chapter by chapter and also selected the illustrations.

DMM September 2012

Author’s note
With very few exceptions, I have limited the images to what I consider to be the most realistic available image of each monarch and of each assassin or assassination or attempt.

By the same author
White Slave,
978-1-90475-498-8: the true story of Captain James Riley; shipwrecked with his crew in 1812 off the coast of Morocco, enslaved and struggling for freedom.

Also available as an eBook.
Contents

Canute 1
Harthacanute 7
Edward the Confessor 11
Harold 17
William I 23
William II 31
Henry I 36
Stephen 43
Henry II 48
Richard I 55
John 61
Henry III 67
Edward I 74
Edward II 81
Edward III 90
Richard II 98
Henry IV 109
Henry V 118
Henry VI and Edward IV 126
Edward V 140
Richard III 147
Henry VII 153
Henry VIII 164
Edward VI 178
Jane Grey 183
Mary I 189
Elizabeth I 197
James I 213
Charles I 227
The Interregnum 240
Charles II 250
James II 263
William III and Mary II 272
Anne 285
George I 296
George II 307
George III 317
George IV 335
William IV 348
Victoria 359
Edward VII 389
George V 412
Edward VIII 432
George VI 443
Elizabeth II 466

Appendix A – The Jacobite succession 479
Appendix B – Principal attendees at the
funeral of King Edward VII 485
Family Trees
1. Kings of all or part of England before Harold 6 2. The Godwines 12

3. Family of William the Conqueror 24
4. Children of William the Conqueror 30
5. Henry I and Matilda 37
6. Stephen and Matilda 44
7. Children of Henry II 52
8. Children of King John 66
9. Children of Henry III 73
10. Children of Edward I 80
11. Earl Godwine’s Triumph 86
12. Children of Edward II 89
13. Children of Edward III 97
14. The Four Dukes – 1377 99
15. The Three Royal Houses – 1398 104
16. The Three Royal Houses – 1399 110
17. The Three Royal Houses – 1412 116
18. The Three Royal Houses – 1415 124

19. The Principal Members of the Royal Houses 127

 

in the reign of Henry VI

20. The Family of Edward IV 141
21. Richard III and Henry Tudor 154
22. Children of Henry VII 163
23. Henry VIII and his wives 177
24. Descendants of Henry VII 184
25. Henry VII to Charles I 226
26. James I to Anne 276
27. The line to George I 295
28. The Georges 316
29. Children of George III 343
30. Queen Victoria and her children 383
31. Edward VII to Elizabeth II 465

32. The connections between Queen Elizabeth II 467

 

and Prince Philip

 

33. The Jacobite succession 484
Illustrations
Cover image – Burglar – © INSADCO Photography / Alamy
p1 Meeting of Edmund Ironside and King Canute – © Timewatch Images / Alamy

 

p7 King Hardicanute – © Mary Evans Picture Library / Alamy p11 Edward the Confessor, from the opening scene of the Bayeux Tapestry

 

– this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

 

p17 Harold II of England– this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

 

p21 Harold Godwinson falls, from the Bayeux Tapestry – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

 

p23 France, Calvados, Falaise, equestrian statue of William the Conqueror

 

– © Hemis / Alamy

 

p30 Duke of Normandy – © Epics / 2011 Getty Images

 

p31 Statue of King William II from Lichfield Cathedral – © Stephen Dorey / Alamy

 

p34 The Rufus Stone Memorial, New Forest – © Greg Balfour Evans / Alamy

 

p36 Henry I of England – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

 

p42 River lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis – © Natural Visions / Alamy p43 Statue of King Stephen from Lichfield Cathedral – © Colin Underhill / Alamy

 

p48 Henry II’s tomb – © Interfoto / Alamy

 

p49 The Angevin Empire – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

p55 Richard the Lionheart statue – © Carole Anne Ferris / Alamy p61 King John’s tomb – © The Art Gallery Collection / Alamy p67 Henry III’s tomb – © Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images p74 Edward I – © Getty Images
p76 Edward I and his would be assassin – © Gustave Dore / Getty Images p81 Edward II – © Getty Images
p90 Edward III – © Getty Images
p98 Richard II – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia p109 Henry IV – © English School / Getty Images
p118 Henry V’s tomb – © Angelo Hornak / Alamy
p126 Henry VI – © INTERFOTO / Alamy
p126 Edward IV – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia p140 Edward V – © Getty Images

p145 The murder of Princes Edward and Richard – © Classic Image / Alamy

p147 Richard III – © World History Archive / Alamy
p153 Henry VII – © INTERFOTO / Alamy
p164 Henry VIII – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

p168 Mary and Charles Brandon Suffolk – © Mary Evans Picture Library / Alamy

p178 Edward VI – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia p180 Portrait of Thomas Seymour – © English School / Getty Images p183 Lady Jane Grey – © Getty Images
p188 Jane Grey Executed – © Mary Evans Picture Library / Alamy p189 Mary I– this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia p194 Thomas Wyatt the younger – © Getty Images
p197 Elizabeth I – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

p210 Robert Devereux – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

p213 James I – © The Art Gallery Collection / Alamy
p215 Assassination attempt at Gowrie House – © Getty Images p219 The Gunpowder Plotters – © Classic Image / Alamy

p227 King Charles I – © Workshop of Sir Anthony van Dyck / Getty Images

p239 Head of State (the execution of Charles I) – © Getty Images p240 Oliver Cromwell – © Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images p250 Charles II – © World History Archive / Alamy
p263 James II – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia p272 “King Billy” (William III and Mary II) – © Getty Images

p285 Queen Anne – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

 

p296 George I – ©World History Archive / Alamy

 

p299 (top) Rugelach – source unknown, believed to be in the public domain, please contact the publisher if you believe copyright has been infringed p299 (middle) Rogalik – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia

p299 (bottom) Croissant – © imagebroker / Alamy
p307 George II – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia p311 George II Battle of Dettingen – © SOTK2011 / Alamy
p317 George III – © PRISMA ARCHIVO / Alamy
p323 Margaret Nicholson – © Getty Images
p327 Attempt on the life of George III – © Getty Images
p331 Despard on Scaffold – © Mary Evans Picture Library / Alamy p335 George IV as Regent – © The Art Gallery Collection / Alamy p348 William IV – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia p359 Queen Victoria – © Getty Images
p365 Oxford’s assassination attempt – © World History Archive / Alamy

p369 Queen Victoria: attempted assassination – © Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy

 

p370 Pate’s assault on Queen Victoria – © The Print Collector / Alamy p379 McClean shooting at Queen Victoria – © World History Archive / Alamy

 

p389 King Edward VII – © Lebrecht Music and Arts Photo Library / Alamy

 

p402 Sipido’s attack on King Edward VII – © Look and Learn Ltd p403 Sipido aged 13 – source unknown, believed to be in the public domain, please contact the publisher if you believe copyright has been infringed p406 Maud Gonne Munsey 1903 – © Mary Evans Picture Library / Alamy p411 Four Kings; George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Edward VII – taken by

Queen Alexandra – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia p412 George V – © Getty Images

p431 Bertrand Edward Dawson – © William Hustler and Georgina Hustler / National Portrait Gallery, London

 

p432 Abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 – © DIZ Muenchen GmbH, Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy

 

p435 Assassin Arrest (Bannigan) – © Getty Images

 

p443 British Royalty pic 1937, King George VI – © Popperfoto / Getty Images

 

p456 Bombed Palace – © Getty Images

 

p458 The Dornier at Victoria Station – this image is in the public domain

 

– source: Wikipedia

p466 Queen Elizabeth II – © Getty Images
p470 Queen (Elizabeth) Crowned – © Getty Images

p475 Marcus Sarjeant aiming at the Queen – tourist photo, source unknown, believed to be in the public domain, please contact the publisher if you believe copyright has been infringed

p475 Marcus Sarjeant – source unknown, believed to be in the public domain, please contact the publisher if you believe copyright has been infringed

p476 Christopher John Lewis – © New Zealand Herald
p478 Queen Elizabeth II – © UK History / Alamy

p482 Duke Franz of Bavaria, from Bridal Soiree Duchess Maria Anna in Bayern – © Getty Images

 

p483 Prince Joseph Wenzel – this image is in the public domain – source: Wikipedia Indonesia

 

CANUTE the first King of England
30 November 1016 – 12 November 1035