Commoner Queens of England

[Music] commoner queens of [Music] England the United Kingdom has a new king and a new Queen consort Camila she is only the ninth Queen consort of England in its Thousand-Year history to actually be English and only the sixth to have been born a commoner in fact she is England's first commoner Queen consort in 475 years since Henry VII died in 1547 and his final wife Katherine par was downgraded to Queen Dowager since the Norman Conquest in 1066 English and British Royals have almost exclusively married other Royals usually as part of treaties with powerful neighboring nations of the 43 Royal consorts 13 have been French eight German five Spanish four Danish one Dutch one Italian one Portuguese and one Scottish political alliances came first and sometimes love would follow but on a few rare occasions an English Monarch put his heart or his lust before his head and chose instead to make an English woman his Queen there have been nine English queens of England one was a member of a rival branch of the English royal family two were from noble families and six were commoners let's meet them Elizabeth Woodville was born in 1437 in the midst of the wars of the Roses a multi-generational conflict between the York and Lancaster factions of the English royal family she was the child of a socially unequal marriage her father was a member of the landed at Gentry the medieval middle class while her mother Jetta was the daughter of the Duke of Luxembourg Elizabeth was called the most beautiful woman in the island of Britain she was also charming and had a keen intellect at 15 she married Sir John Gray and they had two sons Thomas and Richard before he was killed fighting for the lancastrians in the wars of the Roses according to Legend Elizabeth's mother-in-law kept her inheritance from her and left her destitute desperate to provide for her sons she waited under an oak tree where she knew the king would be hunting and when she saw him she approached pled her case and asked King Edward IV to Aid her in her dispute he did her one better by falling in love with her on site and marrying her in secret at the nearby Home of her family Edward had his new bride crowned Queen in Westminster Abbey she was dressed head to ankle in Royal Purple and she walked into the Abbey Barefoot under a purple silk canopy Elizabeth became the first English Queen consort of England since the early Anglo-Saxon Queens prior to 1066 King Edward's right-hand man the Earl of Warick was at the time busy negotiating a political marriage for the king with a French princess when he learned that Edward had married a lancastrian commoner he was Furious even more so when Edward granted his new bride's relatives Plum appointments and marriages ensconcing them in the upper echelons of society Elizabeth's 20-year-old brother married a 60-year-old wealthy Widow causing considerable Scandal Edward's choice of Elizabeth as his bride might have been a romantic impulse but it could also have been part of a political master plan for a king embroiled in a Civil War Alliance with foreign powers wasn't nearly as important as securing his position at home by Marrying an English woman and appointing her family to prominent positions he filled his treacherous government with people he knew would be loyal to him but playing favorites was a dangerous game War's outrage grew he accused the Queen's mother Jetta of Witchcraft and Rose up in Rebellion against the king he briefly defeated Edward and sent him on the run in France during his Exile Queen Elizabeth sought a sanctuary in Westminster Abby with her three young daughters there she gave birth to Edward's first son the future Edward V within a year the king returned and killed Warick in battle Elizabeth and Edward had 10 children together during their 19-year marriage Edward was very fond of his wife and she held a good deal of influence with him he was however notoriously Unfaithful and fathered several illegitimate children Edward died suddenly possibly of pneumonia at the age of 40 leaving his 12-year-old son the throne and naming his brother Richard as Regent Elizabeth and the Woodville didn't trust Richard they attempted to protect young King Edward from his uncle but Richard seized the king and his younger brother and locked them up in the Tower of London he claimed this was for their protection but they would never be seen again Queen Elizabeth returned to Sanctuary at Westminster Abbey to protect her other children conveniently Uncle Richard uncovered a priest who swore that Edward IV had been betrothed to another young woman before he married Elizabeth thus making their marriage unlawful and their children illegitimate he had himself crowned King Richard III and he probably had the two young princes in the tower murdered devastated by the loss of her sons Elizabeth now stripped of her property and title as Dowager Queen focused on destroying King Richard his consort an Neville also hailed from a non-royal family she was the daughter of the Earl of War so not exactly a commoner she and Richard had been childhood's sweethearts but when her father rebelled against King Edward he instead chose to back King Henry VI 6 only son Edward Prince of Wales and wed 14-year-old an to him to seal the deal the prince was killed in battle alongside Anne's father Anne and her older sister Isabelle inherited his vast estate Isabelle's husband wanted to keep the cash for himself so he hid teenage an in a London cook shop disguised as a servant to prevent her from ever marrying but Richard was so Keen to wet her that he forfeited her fortune in order to learn where she was hidden as Richard was a younger brother of a king who already had sons of his own he was not expected to inherit the throne therefore it was not unusual for him to marry an English Noble woman rather than a foreign princess but when the couple unexpectedly became king and queen her sudden elevation to royalty ruffled many English feathers and enjoyed the throne for less than 2 years before she died of tuberculosis at 28 widowed King Richard considered marrying his niece Elizabeth of York the daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville but the former Queen was having none of it she secretly allied with Margaret bord and supported her son Henry tutor's claim to the throne the ladies plotted to improve their claims by uniting their houses Elizabeth of York now with no living Brothers was the ays of the House of York she was betrothed to Margaret's son Henry thus uniting the houses of York and Lancaster once and for all in 1485 Henry tutor defeated and killed Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth he was named King Henry iith Elizabeth Woodville restored to her title of dowager Queen was present at the birth of her grandson the Future King Henry VII she died at 55 Henry VII inherited the throne from his father at 18 he fulfilled his Royal Duty with a powerful dynastic marriage to Catherine of Aragon daughter of the monarchs of Spain but after 15 years of marriage Catherine had given birth to only one surviving child a daughter Mary being only the second tutor King Henry was obsessed with fathering a son to secure his dynasty when Catherine entered menopause Henry decided to replace her Henry M Ed a 7year legal battle arguing that as Catherine had previously been wed to his older brother Arthur their Union was incestuous and should be an olded but Catherine swore that her first marriage had never been consummated Henry grew fed up with appealing to the pope so he used the Protestant movement to make himself head of the new church of England and granted himself an analment considering the Diplomatic Minefield the Royal Feud had created and the questionable legality of Henry's next marriage while his first wife was still alive negotiating for the hand of a foreign princess would have been nearly impossible but Henry wasn't interested in women for their treaties his wandering eye had caught on a lady much closer to home an bin was the daughter of the English ambassador to France she wasn't consider Ed especially beautiful but she had grown up on the continent and possessed an abundance of style and sophistication her Charming and dazzling personality Enchanted the king she and Henry shared a love of hunting dancing and playing music At first she resisted Henry's advances she hoped to marry a gentleman of her own status rather than become yet another Mistress of the king as so many ladies including her own sister had but her rejection only fueled the king's ardor and eventually she relented and agreed to sleep with him if he would marry her first Henry created an Marquis of pimbrook elevating her from a commoner to a noble it was the first and only time a page was granted on a commoner Queen in her own right rather than to one of her male family members when Henry had finally secured his analment to Catherine of Aragon he and Anne wed in a secret ceremony now Queen Anne bore a child but to Henry's disappointment it was another daughter Elizabeth an miscarried her second child increasing Strife in the marriage partly due to Anne's refusal to ignore the king's fering caused Henry to resent her her enemies accused her of adultery and incest with her brother crimes of which she was certainly Innocent but nonetheless she was beheaded at the Tower of London 11 days after an's execution Henry married Jane Seymour who like an was an English lady in waiting who had rebuffed the king's invitation to his bed but it seemed Henry couldn't take no for an answer Jane's father Sir John SE Mo had been knighted by Henry viith and held several positions at court but no peage title the family owned a manor house called Wolf Hall in wilcher Jane was far less educated and sophisticated than Henry's previous wives but her mother Margaret had given birth to 10 children so the King was optimistic that she would provide him with a brood of healthy Sons but just in case he put off her cour ortion until after their first child was born and it was a boy the long- awaited Prince Edward Jane never got her coronation however as she died of childbed fever 12 days after the delivery having a queen in the family and an air to the throne with their blood was an incredible windfall for the seamores they reaped the benefits of Jane's sacrifice long after her death her eldest brother Edward was created Duke of Somerset and was his nephew King Edward v 6 Regent when he inherited the throne at the age of nine younger brother Thomas Baron sley tried to usurp his older brother's power and lost his head for his troubles Catherine of Aragon died of cancer at 50 making Henry legally eligible to remarry in the eyes of the church so his counselors advised him to to once again use his marriage as a political playing card a treaty was made for the hand of an of cleaves sister of a German elector but Henry didn't do well forcing his lust to follow politics when he met an days before their scheduled wedding he didn't find her attractive he complained that she was ugly and unhygienic and thus he was unable to consummate the marriage though the Aging King was most likely impotent by this time an was happy to accept a divorce a generous settlement and Estates and to escape with her head 50-year-old Henry went back to chasing English ladies and soon married 16-year-old Catherine Howard a cousin of Anin her uncle Thomas Duke of Norfolk was a scheming social climber he saw what having a queen in the family had done for the the binds and the seymor so he groomed Catherine and put her in Henry's line of sight while Henry was boted Catherine was being blackmailed by a former Confidant who knew that she was not a virgin having been molested by her music teacher years earlier worse she was actively carrying out a love affair with the King's favorite CER which she may have been coerced into when news of the Queen's adultery reached the king he was devastated and refused to see her she was even more devastated when she was sentenced to death and beheaded in the Tower of London at just 19 several members of the Howard family were imprisoned as accomplice but the Duke of norfol who had forced Catherine to marry the murderous Monarch got off scott free h Henry's Sixth and final wife was Catherine Parr the par family hailed from Northampton they had many nights but no peage titles at 17 Katherine married sir Edward burra who was her age but was sickly and died her second husband John Neville Baron ladimer was twice her age she raised his children and nursed him in his final years now a wealthy Widow Catherine moved to court to serve as a lady in waiting to Princess Mary she fell in love with Thomas Seymour the brother of Queen Jane Seymour and the pair planed to Wed but when the king set his sights on Catherine she had little choice but to accept his proposal she took advantage and had her brother created Marquis of Northampton and her sister married to the Earl of pimbrook she was a companion and nurse to the ailing old King as well as a published author a remarkable feat for a woman of the time Henry's failing Health finally gave out at 55 after three marriages to ailing old men Catherine finally wed the man of her dreams Thomas Seymour but he turned out to be a scoundrel and tried to seduce her stepdaughter princess Elizabeth Catherine died at 36 giving birth to her only child after Henry's son Edward v 6 died at 15 a faction of nobles managed to take over the country and declare his cousin Jane gray Queen her husband Lord Guilford Dudley was the son of one of the main conspirators the Duke of Northumberland Guilford declared himself King consort and tried to control his strong willed wife but after just 9 days on the throne Henry the8's daughter Mary captured the couple and took back the throne Jane and Guilford were both executed in the Tower of London and their n-day reign remains disputed Queen Mary the did her Duty by wedding a foreign Royal King Philip II of Spain her sister Elizabeth the refused to marry at all thus passing the English Throne to her Scottish cousin King James the and 6th all the m members of the Stewart Dynasty wed foreign Royals these alliances variously helped and hurt Britain in the numerous Wars over land and religion which dominated the 17th century when the steart dynasty ended with childless Queen an the throne passed to her nearest Protestant relative George the elector of Hanover the monarchs of the hanovarian dynasty were very fond of riding home for spouses five hanovarian consorts hailed from one of the various German states making for a thoroughly German British royal family two of King George III's Sons married commoners before they inherited the throne the Future King George IV wed Catholic Maria Fitz Herbert and William ivth wed Irish actress dorthia Bland their father was outraged and blackmailed both princes to leave their wives and marry foreign princesses instead in 1772 George III passed a law requiring all members of the royal family to seek the Monarch's permission before getting married while it was never actually illegal for an English or British monarch to marry a commoner from that point on it may just as well have been as subsequent monarchs would never allow their children to marry anyone less than a foreign Royal but but all that changed when World War I broke out in 1914 Britain and her allies went to war against Germany and Austria and suddenly the Royal Family's German Heritage became a serious liability King George V himself married to Mary of tech a German and British royal decided to Rebrand the dynasty from sck cerg and gotha to the much more English Windsor the name of his favorite castle after Germany was defeated and a massive war debt sent their economy into a tail spin the German people rose up against the royal families who had ruled over them for centuries and abolished all the monarchies now there were no more German Royals for the British Royals to marry additionally public perception of royalty was changing the British no longer wanted to be reigned over by foreigners with ties to messy Wars on the continent and with the discovery of genetic science the idea that Royal Blood gave one a divine right to rule had come crashing down King George V allowed his children much more freedom in who they married opening the door for the kingdom to get its first non-royal Queen in nearly 400 years Elizabeth Bose's lion was the daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn in Scotland her mother was an English commoner she was born a lady and while not strictly speaking a commoner after so many generations of foreign princesses having the daughter of a Scottish Earl as Queen was refreshingly down to earth Elizabeth grew up at glam's Castle and was fond of dogs and horses at 8 she attended School in London and impressed her teachers but as was customary for upper class girls at the time her education ended at 13 glams was a convalescent home for wounded soldiers and teenage Elizabeth helped run it after the war she was a debutant in London High Society she was charming and cheerful and broke many hearts one of her suitors was equiry to King George V's Second Son Prince Albert when the prince met her he fell head over heels and asked her to marry him though she cared for him she initially turned him down not wanting the pressure of being a royal but eventually she agreed and they wed in 1923 the lighthearted Elizabeth was a breath of fresh air to the formal Windsor Family she was also a great support to shy birdie who suffered a stammer her Charisma made up for for his uneasiness during their many public engagements the couple had two daughters Elizabeth and Margaret when George V died Bird's elder brother became King Edward VII but he abdicated within a year to marry his divorced mistress leaving birdie a throne he didn't want birdie was crowned King George V 6 with Elizabeth by his side throughout World War II The King and especially the Queen visited troops hospitals and factories around Britain to boost public morale Elizabeth became a symbol of British pride and Adolf Hitler called her the most dangerous woman in Europe the couple refused to leave London even when Buckingham Palace was bombed though they did send their daughters to live at nearby Windsor Castle where they would be safe when the Allies won the royal family was as popular as they had ever been but the stress of the conflict impacted the king's Health he died at 56 of lung cancer Elizabeth now the Queen mom threw her support behind her 24-year-old daughter the new Queen Elizabeth II she was a loving grandparent and was especially close to Prince Charles she also enjoyed traveling Europe with friends collecting art and race horses and renovating the dilapidated Castle May in Scotland she remained a popular fixture of the royal family always dressed in fabulously colorful outfits until her death in 2002 at the age of 101 Elizabeth second was among the last generation of European Royals to Wed another Royal her husband Phillip hailed from the Greek and danish royal family their son is now King Charles III third his wife Camila is the first English and commoner Queen consort in 475 years Camila Shand was born in London to an upper class family her father Bruce was an army officer and her mother Rosalyn was the daughter of the third Baron ashcom her mother's grandmother was Alice kepple one of king Edward I 7's Mistresses though the family were well off and had Noble connections they were not Noble themselves she had a happy childhood was an Avid Reader and equestrian she attended finishing school in Switzerland studied French in Paris and then moved to London to work as a secretary in The Swinging 60s she had an onoff relationship with Andrew Parker BS for several years they broke up in 1970 Andrew began dating princess an and Camila Prince Charles they were very well suited and met each other's families but in 1973 Charles was sent overseas with the Navy and his relationship with Camila ended abruptly it has long been speculated that they were broken up by members of the royal family who didn't feel Camila was a suitable future Queen Charles's Uncle pushed the prince towards his own granddaughter Amanda notcho while the Queen mom favored the Spencer girls granddaughters of her lady in waiting Camila married Andrew Parker BS and they had two children Tom and Laura Charles bowed to family pressure and married Lady Diana Spencer she was English but was the daughter of the Earl of Spencer so not a commoner Charles has denied that he spent the night before his wedding with Camila but they picked up their Affair shortly after he returned from his disastrous honeymoon Camila became notorious as the other woman in the Royal marriage and was widely vilified in the Press she and Andrew divorced in 1994 and Charles and Diana in 1996 Prince Charles declared his relationship with Camila non-negotiable and hired an adviser to rehab their public images slowly she began to be seen with him at public events in 2005 Charles finally wed the woman he should have been with in the first place for years there was speculation about what Camila's title would be when Charles came to the throne considering how unpopular she was do but over the years she has become more accepted as a member of the royal family that question was answered on September 8th 2022 when Queen Elizabeth died and Charles became king Camila is now officially Queen consort of the UK when Charles's eldest son Prince William was a baby it was rumored that a few members of the royal family thought it would be swell if he were to someday we read princess meline of Sweden second daughter of King KL the 16th Gustav she was born just 11 days before William and as she would also grow up in a royal family there would be no awkward adjustment period as she learned what was expected of a princess but this revival of centuries old Royal marriage tradition never came to pass both William and meline have married commoners as have all of the young Royal members of Europe's 10 remaining royal families William's wife Katherine Middleton hails from a wealthy family with some Royal connections but no peage title Camila and Catherine will likely usher in a new era of commoner Queens want even more tea on History check out the history Tea Time Podcast available on Spotify Apple podcasts and gole Google podcasts if you enjoyed this video please like subscribe comment your thoughts and check out my other Royal history videos if you really want to help please consider supporting me on patreon a link is in the description thank you for watching

Channel: History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday

Views: 153,247

Keywords: history, royal family, royalty, the crown, british history, queen, Royal history, Lindsay Holiday, History tea time, History tea time with Lindsay Holiday, commoner queens, commoners who married royalty, elizabeth woodvile, anne boleyn, jane seymour, catherine howard, catherine parr, queen mum, elizabeth bowes lyon, catherine middleton, camilla, camilla queen consort, queen camilla, camilla shand, camilla parker bowles, queen consort, is camilla a commoner, british royalty

Id: 8LEoH6SSCwM

Length: 29min 19sec (1759 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 16 2024