Transgender & Non-Binary Royals & Nobles

[Music] transgender and non-binary royals and nobles thank you to one dream for sponsoring this video throughout history across cultures and in every walk of life there have always been people whose identity went beyond the two gender mold and those who do not fit the gender assigned to them at birth though people in the past did not often have the concepts terminology or freedom we do today there are many notable historic figures whom historians speculate were likely transgender or non-binary as with any of my lgbtq plus videos i am sensitive about misgendering or outing people posthumously as with any other figures in history these people are no longer able to tell us their own stories and we must therefore rely on journals letters and reports from others which can never give us a complete picture but despite the gaps in our knowledge these people deserve to have their stories told and several of them made pretty indisputable statements about how they saw themselves in terms of gender i hear from many lgbtq plus people that they find great value and affirmation in knowing that people throughout history have gone through similar experiences and that they are not alone in the world or in time i hope that this video will do the same so today let's meet six royals and nobles from history who were likely transgender or non-binary in cases where the subject made clear statements about their gender identity i will use pronouns for their stated gender in cases where they were more ambiguous i will use gender-neutral pronouns ile gabalus emperor of rome eli cabalos became emperor at the age of 14 after her grandmother julia meisa incited a revolt against the previous men in power at such a young age and with no experience in politics iligabalus did not make a great leader she made poor choices when appointing ministers and enacting policies she shocked roman society with her disregard for religious traditions and sexual taboos ili kabalus replaced the chief god jupiter with a deity named ili gabalus whom she had been named after and forced prominent romans to participate in religious rights over which she presided she married five times in four years her second wife was a vestal virgin whose chastity was considered sacred sex with a vestal virgin meant execution by live burial for those who weren't the emperor eli cabalos's most stable relationship was with a chariot driver eerocleese whom she referred to as her husband ili kabalus lavished favors on her male lovers and even married one of them in a public ceremony where the emperor dressed and played the part of the bride eli cabalos enjoyed painting her eyes plucking her body hair and wearing wigs she frequented taverns and brothels to meet men eventually this became inconvenient so she set up a room in the imperial palace where she would solicit men for sex the emperor would stand nude at the door and entice passers-by who were of course specifically instructed to play their part she bragged to sex workers about how many lovers she had and the high prices she commanded eli cabalos preferred to be called lady mistress wife and queen she offered half the empire to any surgeon who could give her female sexual organs after four years on the throne popular support shifted away from the emperor towards her cousin alexander at a public event soldiers cheered for alexander and ignored erica balos outraged she ordered the execution of anyone who had taken part in the insubordination in response the soldiers attacked the emperor her mother clung tightly to her and both were murdered by the crowd following erica balos's death her chariot driver eroclis was executed and records of her rule were expunged statues of emperor eli gabalos were re-carved with the face of her successor severus alexander nsinga of nodongo and matamba nsinga was the child of prince colombo of the undonggo tribe in modern-day angola as they were assigned female at birth they were not seen as a potential heir nonetheless nzinga trained as a warrior alongside their brothers kilombo saw great potential in he sent them to be taught how to read and write by missionaries they were nearly always by their father's side as he dealt with the portuguese colonists who were enslaving the local people and exporting them to brazil when unsinga was 34 colombo died and his son bandi became king he had long been jealous of unzinga so he ordered their only son to be murdered and nzinga to be forcibly sterilized ombandi was a poor leader and his kingdom was soon overrun by the portuguese he begged unsenga to go as his ambassador when zynga arrived to meet the governor all the portuguese men were seated in chairs however there was no chair for nzinga only a mat on the floor on which she was expected to kneel in unsinka ordered a servant to get on all fours on the mat and act as a throne onsinga was a fierce negotiator and in exchange for being baptized as a christian got the governor to agree to recognize undongo's sovereignty and stop capturing its people nzinga returned home in triumph and publicly berated bandi for his weakness he committed suicide by drinking poison his son kaza was now the rightful ruler but nzinga seized him stabbed him to death and screamed that they had finally avenged their own son's murder unsinga was now ruler of undongo they preferred the title um gola meaning king and began presenting as a man the angola took multiple husbands known as ciabatto the ciabatto existed as a third sex in their culture they dressed as women and were able to marry men or women without taboo they were an honored group of shaman who served as spiritual arbiters and performed burial rites europeans spread rumors that nzinga's harem of husbands would fight to the death over who was allowed to spend the night with the queen before long the portuguese began capturing and enslaving again nzinga met with other chiefs in the area and they banded together with the dutch to fight the portuguese nzinga personally led the army in battle wielding an axe they overtook the portuguese city of luanda the ondongo fought the portuguese for decades primarily using guerilla tactics eventually unsanga reached out to catholic missionaries claiming that the tribe wanted to convert to christianity with the might of the church on nzinga's side the portuguese governor had little choice but to officially recognize insinga as leader of nadongo and matamba 75 year old unsinga entered into a monogamous christian marriage with a handsome young warrior nzinga dressed fabulously sporting the finest materials and jewels of europe while maintaining the style of africa unzinga died peacefully in sleep in 1663 at the age of 82. the kingdom fell to civil war over which male heir would reign next unsinga is considered a hero in modern day angola i find insingga and our next fascinating royal christina of sweden especially inspiring and relatable because just like me they had a curiosity and love of learning that continued throughout their lives i've been feeding my brain with the great courses plus for years and now they've expanded to deliver even more mind-blowing educational content as one dream one dream is the place to find out anything you've ever wondered about you'll find thousands of engrossing binge-worthy courses and intriguing single-sitting documentaries plus easy-to-follow tutorials on everything from history science philosophy and literature to cooking photography and playing an instrument lately i've been having my mind blown by the amazing and unsung contributions women have made in american history with 12 women who shaped america 1619-1920 and unwinding at home with ignite your yoga practice right now one dream is offering my viewers a free 14-day trial just go to onedrive.com history teatime or click the link in the description and let your mind wonder and now back to history queen christina of sweden christina was the only legitimate child of king gustavus adolphus and inherited the throne at six when he died in battle dowager queen maria elenora kept her husband's corpse unburied for 18 months so that she could visit him the young queen was educated as a prince and thrived in learning christina had interest in religion philosophy mathematics and alchemy and spoke eight languages in a time when women were seen as intellectually inferior one of christina's tutors said that she is not at all like a female with a bright intelligence christina's passion for study was such that they only slept three to four hours a night and took to wearing masculine clothes for convenience they had no interest in spending hours dressing in fine gowns christina's tangled unkempt hair became a trademark at 18 the queen's minority ended and they began ruling the swedish empire they pushed for the peace treaty of westphalia which ended the thirty years war between protestant and catholic nations the queen's closest friend and lover was eva sparrey known as labelle comtess the beautiful countess the pair shared a bed and christina bragged that ava's intellect is as striking as her body christina showed little interest in the other ladies in waiting considering them vain and vapid the queen mentions them only in writing to compare themselves as far more masculine than they christina was under pressure to marry and produce an heir but had read a biography of queen elizabeth the first of england and was impressed with the virgin queen's resistance to matrimony at 23 christina announced that they would never marry and named her cousin charles ayer queen christina was patron to artists theaters mathematicians scientists and many other great thinkers of the day they sought to make stockholm the athens of the north and spent extravagantly on these pursuits nearly bankrupting the country the queen decided to convert to catholicism which was not welcomed by protestant swedes at 28 christina abdicated in favor of their cousin christina then moved to rome to become an integral part of the theatrical and musical culture the pope described them as a queen without a realm a christian without faith and a woman without shame they continued to write passionate love letters to eva espares but aba's family prevented the lovers from ever meeting again while in rome christina enjoyed relationships with french aristocrat gabrielle de montmartre and singer angelina giorgino christina died at the age of 62 and was buried in the vatican grotto edward hyde third earl of clarendon edward was the only child of henry earl of clarendon whose sister anne hyde was king james ii of england's first wife at 12 they inherited the title vi count cornberry at 24 edward eloped with catherine o'brien and the pair had four children after graduating from oxford university edward joined the elite royal regiment of dragoons as a lieutenant colonel the dragoons defended vienna from the ottoman empire then returned to england to defend king james ii from the invasion of his eldest daughter mary and her husband william prince of orange king james had shocked protestant britain by converting to catholicism edward was the first english officer to defect from his uncle and side with his cousin mary many more brits followed and before long james was forced to give up the throne and flee to france now joint king and queen william and mary were grateful to edward so they appointed them governor of the american colony of new york edward arrived there in 1702 mary and william died and mary's younger sister anne assumed the throne she appointed edward governor of new jersey as well and captain general of the northern colonial army edward defended the colonies during queen and war also known as the french and indian wars but was accused of embezzling funds meant to build fortifications edward grew notorious for corruption and became a caricature for the injustice of british colonial rule the governor sold thousands of acres of government land to his friends he supported trinity church in manhattan and granted land which they used to found king's college later columbia university edward's wife catherine died at 33 and was buried in trinity churchyard she rests near founding father alexander hamilton after her death edward was more often seen in public presenting as female the governor opened the 1702 new york assembly wearing a hooped gown and elaborate headdress and carrying a fan much in the style of the fashionable queen anne historians continue to debate if edward was transgender and if he actually presented as female at all some claim stories of edward appearing in drag were invented by his political enemies but there are numerous accounts of their attire a revolutionary patriot said that the governor was seen prominating daily in women's clothes a future governor of new jersey wrote that lord cornberry rarely failed of being dressed in women's clothes every day and this is not privately but in face of the sun and the sight of the town a prominent merchant noticed my lord cornberry dresses himself in women's clothes exposes himself in that garb upon the ramparts to the view of the public in that dress he draws worlds of spectators about him the new york historic society holds two portraits which purportedly depict edward presenting as female in 1708 edward was placed under arrest for outstanding deaths but their father died a year later passing on the title earl of clarendon and a seat in the house of lords as a member of parliament edward enjoyed legal immunity which kept him out of debtor's prison and allowed him to return to britain queen anne granted her cousin a pension and lodging at somerset house she sent edward as an emissary to hanover where the earl met and dined with anne's heir the soon-to-be king george the first edward died in 1723 age 61. chovalier dion dion was born in 1728 into an impoverished french noble family and baptized charles she excelled in school graduated with a law degree at 21 and became a political writer she joined a network of spies called the sukrete du roi or king's secret employed by king louis xv she was sent on a mission to russia to meet empress elizabeth and conspire against the habsburg monarchy diel later claimed that it was necessary for her to dress as a woman in order to travel safely to russia and that while there she served as a lady in waiting to the empress after four years in russia she returned to france and became a captain of the dragoons she fought in the seven years war and was wounded she was next sent to london to negotiate the treaty which ended the war in thanks she was awarded the title chevalier french for night she remained in london and served as interim ambassador and continued to spy for king louis in aid of an invasion of england the king was considering but never went ahead with dion charmed the british aristocracy by gifting them bottles of wine from her vineyard in france eventually a new ambassador was appointed and dion was demoted and humiliated she was summoned back to france but refused to go the brits who had grown fond of the chevalier refused to extradite her and in order to stay on their side she published much of her secret diplomatic correspondence but kept back documents pertaining to the king's invasion for insurance she accused the new french ambassador of attempting to poison her at a dinner party the british public sympathized with dion and stones were thrown at the french ambassador's home during this time dion presented as hyper masculine perpetually wore a dragoon uniform and frequently challenged mint duels but she had a slim build and was considered to be a beautiful man rumors circled that dion was a woman a betting pool was started on the london stock exchange but despite being offered a great deal of money dion refused to undergo a physical examination to settle the bet louis xv died in 1774. and dion saw the opportunity to return home she came up with an incredible story true but not in the way that everyone assumed she said that she had been born female but that her father had raised her as male as he could only claim an inheritance if he had a son dion said that she continued to dress as a man in order to serve her country allah joan of arc the french ate it up and she was recast as a national hero king louis xvi allowed dion to return home but only if she would agree to dress appropriately in women's clothing the king offered her an allowance for a new wardrobe and dion agreed she was able to present openly as a woman for the rest of her life she participated in fencing tournaments and wrote an autobiography decades later the french revolution hit her hard her royal pension ended her property was seized and she was impoverished she proposed to the french national assembly that she lead a division of female soldiers against the habsburgs but was rebuffed she moved back to london where she lived with a widow mrs cole dione suffered a fall and became paralyzed she spent her final four years bedridden and in poverty she died in 1810 age 81. sir ewan forbes 11th baronet of craig vere ewan was born in 1912 and baptized elizabeth he was the fourth child of sir john forbes simpel scion of a scottish family which held a barony and a baronet sea though the titles were minor the family held a large estate including historic cragavir castle had a great deal of money and had been well connected with the royal family since the 1600s ewan's mother quindalin recognized that her youngest child was male from a young age she called him bingy and allowed him to dress as a boy and play with his male cousins he later selected the name ewin for himself he dreaded social occasions where he would have to dress and present as female and went to great lengths to avoid them when it was time for him to attend girls boarding school with his older sisters his mother decided to keep him home and tutor him herself as he grew gwinslien became anxious about the onset of puberty so she pulled in favors with her royal connections and got her son into dr magnus hirschfeld institute for sexual sciences in germany there un underwent breakthrough hormone treatments which allowed him to go through male puberty while growing facial and chest hair he was required by his family to be presented at buckingham palace as a debutant he returned to europe to continue treatments study medicine attend lectures at the sorbonne and study the harp at the paris opera he witnessed the rise of the nazi party and the election of adolf hitler he left germany shortly before nazis raided dr hirschfeld's clinic destroyed years of research and assaulted staff and patients back in the uk euan won prizes for public speaking and formed a troupe of scottish dancers euan danced male roles and reveled in the opportunity to don a masculine kilt and jacket in public he fell in love with a fellow dancer isabella mitchell in 1934 ewan's father died and his brother inherited the title ewin was bequeathed an estate at brock's castle aberdeenshire and joyfully settled into the life of a country laird speaking in a doric accent and wearing kilts the last time he wore a dress was in 1935 when he escorted his mother to a royal garden party he earned a medical degree from the university of aberdeen and became a country doctor he was known to be strong and gentle and was well loved by his patients especially children he often traveled long and treacherous distances to visit his patients on remote farms using skis snowshoes or a converted universal carrier in 1952 he legally changed his sex to mail by the simple process of requesting a warrant for birth re-registration a notice went out in the paper stating dr e forbes simple henceforth wishes to be known as dr ewan forbes simple a month later he married isabella who had been living with him for five years as his housekeeper they lived a happy quiet life together for over a decade in 1965 ewan's older brother william died william had only daughters and as the barony was allowed to be inherited by a woman it went to his eldest but the baronetsi and the valuable land and historic castle that came with it could only be inherited by a man the family assumed it would go to ewin but at the funeral a distant cousin john came forward and said that he intended to claim the title because euan wasn't a real man ewin was terrified for himself and for isabella in the past gender was considered a private matter trans people simply presented as they chose re-registered their sex and got on with their lives but doctors in the united states had recently classified being transgender as a mental illness people were being forced into aversion therapy sterilization and stripped of their civil liberties if the wrong people caught wind that ewen was trans he and isabella could face jail time for perjurous marriage the inheritance case was heard in the utmost secrecy it was kicked up to the home secretary and was likely discussed by the prime minister and queen elizabeth at their weekly meetings the case had big implications for the primogeniture law by which the british throne was inherited ruling in ewan's favor meant that a trans man born into the royal family could claim the throne or a trans woman could lose it after intrusive medical examinations and inquiries into his personal life and mental health the ruling came back that euan was intersex not true but he was legally allowed to keep the baron at sea he returned to his quiet life with isabella but suffered ptsd from the traumatic experience he published an autobiography called the old days ewin died in 1991 leaving the baronessy to john the cousin who had tried to take it from him many years earlier details of the landmark case on trans rights were finally released in 1991 and 1994. zoe platon's 2021 book the hidden case of ewan forbes and the unwritten history of the trans experience is set to be adapted into a miniseries 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: 394,227

Keywords: trans history, tans gender, LGBTQ+, lgbtq, history, royal family, nobility, royalty, the crown, british history, queen, queens of the world, european royalty, lgbtq history, lgbtq history documentary, queer history, lgbtq royals, queen christina of sweden, trans royals, non binary, non binary royals, trans history documentaries, Elagabalus, Nzinga of Ndongo, Chevalier d’Éon, Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, Sir Ewan Forbes, lgbt, non binary history, lgbt royals, queer queens

Id: GYE5enYylmc

Length: 28min 42sec (1722 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 29 2022