Author Archives: Susan

Alice Perrers, Mistress of Edward III, King of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Detail of Ford Madox Brown’s painting depicting Alice Perrers and King Edward III (see full painting below); Credit – Wikipedia

Alice Perrers is the most famous English royal mistress between King Henry II’s Rosamund de Clifford and King Edward IV’s Jane Shore. Biographical information about Alice Perrers is sketchy but recent research by historians Mark Ormrod and Laura Tompkins has revealed new details about her early life.

Alice Perrers was born around 1340 in London, England. Her family’s surname was Salisbury and they worked as goldsmiths. Janyn Perrers, who would become Alice’s first husband, became an apprentice to the Salisbury family in 1342. Goldsmiths would have been somewhat well-to-do and Alice most likely received an education at home and attended a local girls school.

Janyn Perrers eventually became a full member of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths of London. It appears that around 1359, he did some work for the royal court because in a royal writ he is described as “our beloved Janyn Perrers, our jeweler”. There is a possibility that he met King Edward III in his capacity as a goldsmith and jeweler and that Alice may have accompanied him. Around this same time, Alice and Janyn were married. The research shows that Janyn Perrers died sometime between May 19, 1361 and May 18, 1362.

Coronation of Philippa of Hainault; Credit – Wikipedia

Shortly after her husband’s death, Alice became a lady-in-waiting to Philippa of Hainault, the wife of King Edward III. Even if Alice had not previously met Edward III, they certainly became acquainted while she served as a lady-in-waiting. Alice, who was about 24-years-old, gave birth to the first of her three children by Edward III in 1364, when the king was 56-years old.

Alice and Edward III’s children:

Edward III’s relationship with Alice was kept mostly secret until the death of his wife in 1369. After Queen Philippa’s death, Edward III became increasingly dependent upon Alice. While the government was at Westminster Palace and his household was at Windsor Castle, Edward spent much of his time isolated at Havering Palace, Sheen Palace, and Eltham Palace. Alice became his chief advisor. She made sure she put in good words for her ambitious friends. Eventually, Alice and her relationship with the King of England caused much gossip at Westminster and Windsor.

Alice acquired numerous gifts from Edward III, including some of Queen Philippa’s jewelry, and she soon became an extremely wealthy woman. Her fortune was worth more than £20,000, equal to £6,000,000 in today’s money. On Edward’s command, Alice dressed in golden garments and was paraded around London as “The Lady of the Sun”. Courtiers were expected to behave respectfully toward her. This caused great criticism from those at court and eventually from the public. Alice was seen as an ambitious, grasping, calculating, and cold-hearted opportunist who manipulated the elderly, aging King Edward III.

Although Alice had received gifts from the king, her financial success cannot be totally attributed to that. Perhaps it was from having a father and a husband who were successful goldsmiths, but Alice did possess business acumen and did have useful business connections through the court. At the height of her power, Alice controlled 56 manors and castles in England and only fifteen were royal gifts.

Worried about Edward III’s advancing age and that after his death she would no longer have his protection, in November 1375, Alice made a secret marriage to Sir William Windsor, 1st Baron Windsor who was 26 years older than Alice. Because William was the Royal Lieutenant in Ireland, he was often away and this lessened the chance that Edward III would find out about the secret marriage. William and Alice had no children and remained married until William died in 1384.

King Edward III and his eldest son Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales; Credit – Wikipedia

Because the English court was perceived by much of the English population to be corrupt, the English Parliament met from April 28 to July 10, 1376, in an effort to reform the Royal Council. The Good Parliament was the name history has assigned to this meeting. Meanwhile, King Edward III’s eldest son and heir, Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, was dying. He summoned to his bedside, his father King Edward III and John of Gaunt, Edward III’s third but second surviving son, and made them swear to recognize his nine-year-old son, the future King Richard II, as Edward III’s successor. Both Edward III and John of Gaunt swore to recognize Richard, and soon after Parliament summoned Richard and acknowledged him as heir to the throne. Edward the Black Prince died on June 8, 1376.

As a result of the Good Parliament’s actions, Richard Lyons, Warden of the Mint, and William Latimer, 4th Baron Latimer, Chamberlain of the Household, who were believed to be robbing the treasury, were called before Parliament, impeached, and then imprisoned. Also, King Edward III’s mistress, Alice Perrers, was called to Parliament where she was tried for corruption, banished from England, and her lands were forfeited. Parliament then imposed a new set of councilors on King Edward III. However, by the autumn of 1376, John of Gaunt was working on undoing the Good Parliament’s work. He dismissed the new council and recalled Lyons and Latimer to the Royal Council and Alice Perrers was recalled to court and regained some of her lands.

King Edward III suffered a stroke in May 1377. He died at Sheen Palace in Richmond, England on June 21, 1377, at the age of 64 with his mistress Alice Perrers at his side.

Geoffrey Chaucer reading  at the court of Edward III by Ford Madox Brown, painted 1847–1851;  Alice and Edward III are in the upper right; Credit – Wikipedia

Alice had a great influence on the poet Geoffrey Chaucer and supported him financially. She is thought to be the model for the Wife of Bath in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Alice Perrers died in Gaynes Park, Upminster, England during the winter of 1400/1401 at around the age of 60. She was buried in either the church or the churchyard of the Church of St Laurence, Upminster but there is no memorial to mark her grave. Her property was left to her surviving children, her daughters Jane and Joan.

Church of St Laurence, Upminster; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Alice Perrers. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Perrers> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2015. King Edward III Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iii-of-england/> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. Alice Perrers. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Perrers> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Medievalists.net. 2016. Alice Perrers – The Story Of A King’s Mistress. [online] Available at: <https://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/the-medieval-magazine-no51.pdf> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Mortimer, Ian, 2014. Edward III: The Perfect King. New York: Rosetta Books LLC.

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Kuwait is located in western Asia on the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf. It shares borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Originally a sheikhdom ruled by local sheikhs, Kuwait became a British Protectorate in 1899. The sheikhs still had power during the British Protectorate. Kuwait was granted independence in 1961 and Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, 11th Ruler of Kuwait became the first Emir of Kuwait. The rulers of Kuwait belong to the House of Al-Sabah.

The Emir of Kuwait is nominated by a family council headed by prominent members of the family. The Crown Prince of Kuwait is also nominated by the family council and must be a senior member of the House of Al-Sabah. Both the Emir and the Crown Prince must be approved by the Kuwaiti parliament.

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait; Credit – Wikipedia

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait was born on September 27, 1940 in Kuwait. He is the son of Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 10th Ruler of Kuwait from 1944 – 1950, and Maryam Marit Al-Huwaila. Mishal’s father had ten wives and 24 children.

Mishal has two full sisters: Sheikha Mashael Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Sheikha Amthal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. His prominent half-siblings include:

Mishal grew up at Dasman Palace in Kuwait City with the sons and grandsons of his father. He was educated at the Al Mubarakiyya School which was established in 1911 as one of Kuwait’s first modern educational institutions. Afterward, he attended the Kuwait Police College in Kuwait City, Kuwait, and then the Hendon Police College in London, England, the principal training center for London’s Metropolitan Police Service, graduating in 1960.

Mishal married twice and has twelve children, five sons and seven daughters:

Wife 1: Sheikha Nuria bint Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, daughter of Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, 12th Ruler of Kuwait and 2nd Emir of the State of Kuwait and Munira Fahd Al-Adwani, had six daughters and one son:

  • Sheikha Mahasi bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Makarem bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Fiten bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Shekha bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Hala bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Nouf bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikh Ahmed bin Mishal Al-Sabah

Wife 2: Munira Badah Al-Mutairi, had four sons and one daughter:

  • Sheikh Talal bin Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikha Bibi bint Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikh Fahd bin Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikh Jaber bin Mishal Al-Sabah
  • Sheikh Ali bin Mishal Al-Sabah

Throughout his governmental career, Mishal had stayed out of the political scene and away from disputes within the royal family. He held the following government positions:

  • Head of State Security (1967 – 1980)
  • Ministry of Interior (1980 – 2004)
  • Deputy Chief of the National Guard with the rank of Minister (2004 – 2020)
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Kuwait’s National Assembly as Mishal takes the oath as Crown Prince

After the death of Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 15th Ruler and 5th Emir of Kuwait on September 29, 2020, his successor Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 16th Ruler and 6th Emir of Kuwait nominated his half-brother Mishal as Crown Prince of Kuwait on October 7, 2020. The next day, Kuwait’s National Assembly unanimously approved Mishal as the Crown Prince. He then took the constitutional oath of office and pledged his commitment to democracy and peace. Mishal was 80-years-old and the oldest Crown Prince in the world at that time.

Upon the death of his half-brother Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 16th Ruler and 6th Emir of Kuwait on November 16, 2023, Mishal succeeded as Emir of Kuwait.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • Ar.wikipedia.org. 2020. مشعل الأحمد الجابر الصباح. [online] Available at: <https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B9%D9%84_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AD> [Accessed 11 October 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishal_Al-Ahmad_Al-Jaber_Al-Sabah> [Accessed 11 October 2020].
  • Royalark.net. 2020. Genealogy Of Kuwait – Al-Sabah Dynasty. [online] Available at: <https://www.royalark.net/Kuwait/kuwait14.htm> [Accessed 11 October 2020].

King George Tupou V of Tonga

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Kingdom of Tonga: Tonga consists of 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, in the south Pacific Ocean, about 1,100 miles/1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Tonga has long been a monarchy and by the 12th century, Tonga and its Paramount Chiefs had a strong reputation throughout the central Pacific Ocean. Tonga became a kingdom in 1845 and has been ruled by the House of Tupou. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had a protected state status with the United Kingdom which looked after its foreign affairs under a Treaty of Friendship.

The order of succession to the throne of Tonga was established in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture – a female can succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants.

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King George Tupou V of Tonga; Credit – Wikipedia

The eldest of the four children of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga and Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, King George Tupou V of Tonga was born on May 4, 1948, in Tongatapu, Tonga. George Tupou’s father became King of Tonga upon the death of his mother, Queen Sālote Tupou III, in 1965, and George Tupou was appointed Crown Prince of Tonga on May 4, 1966, his 18th birthday.

George Tupou had three younger siblings:

  • Princess Royal Salote Mafileʻo Pilolevu Tuita (born 1951), married Siosaʻia Maʻulupekotofa, Lord Tuita of ʻUtungake, had four daughters
  • Prince Fatafehi ʻAlaivahamamaʻo Tukuʻaho (1953 – 2004), married (1) Heimataura Seiloni, a commoner, so he was stripped of his royal titles, his wife died in 1985 (2) Alaile’ula Poutasi Jungblut, had four children
  • King Tupou VI (born 1959), married Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho, daughter of Baron Vaea, a former Prime Minister of Tonga, had one daughter and two sons
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Studying in England in 1967

George Tupou attended King’s School, a primary school for boys in Auckland, New Zealand, and then King’s College, an independent secondary boarding and day school also in Auckland. He then attended The Leys School, a co-educational independent school in Cambridge, England, before beginning his studies at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. When George Tupou graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England in 1968, his parents attended his passing-out parade.

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King Taufa’Ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata’Aho ‘Ahome’E with their son Prince George Tupou at the prince’s passing-out parade from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, December 9, 1968

After he completed his education, George Tupou returned to Tonga and began a career in public service. In 1979, his father appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, a position he held until 1998. George Tupou never married, however, he had an illegitimate daughter ʻIlima Lei Fifita Tohi, born in 1974.

On September 10, 2006, 88-year-old King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga died, and his son George Tupou became the King of Tonga. King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV had been an absolute monarch and resisted ceding any power during his forty-one-year reign. After his death, rioters, unhappy with the lack of a path toward democracy, took to the streets and destroyed the center of the capital, Nuku’alofa. George Tupou’s coronation was postponed until mid-2008 to allow for the rebuilding of Nuku’alofa.

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Queen Elizabeth II greets King George Tupou V of Tonga during a private meeting at Buckingham Palace, December 18, 2007

King George Tupou V is known for introducing democracy to Tonga. During his accession to the throne and his coronation, George Tupou and his advisors put together a framework for sweeping political reforms. Three days before the coronation ceremony, King George Tupou V announced he was ceding most of his executive powers to a democratically elected parliament. The parliament would be responsible for much of the day-to-day running of the country, and the king would remain the head of state and retain the right to veto laws, decree martial law, and dissolve parliament. In November 2010, the citizens of Tonga voted for their first democratically elected parliament, making Tonga a constitutional monarchy. On the eve of the election, King George Tupou V said, “In the future, the sovereign shall act only on the advice of his prime minister.”

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The traditional Tongan ceremony held on July 30, 2008

After a traditional Tongan ceremony on July 30, 2008, a second, European-style coronation ceremony took place on August 1, 2008, in the Centennial Chapel in Nuku’alofa, Tonga’s capital, attended by 1,000 guests including the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester representing Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, Prince and Princess Hitachi of Japan, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindom of Thailand, Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

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The Anglican Archbishop of Polynesia Jabez Bryce invested George Tupou V with the Tongan regalia – the ring, scepter, and sword – and placed the Tongan Crown on the monarch’s head. Interestingly, one of the Coronation Anthems, George Friedrich Handel composed for the coronation of King George II of Great Britain, the rousing Zadok the Priest, which has been played at every British coronation ever since, was performed at King George Tupou V’s coronation by the Royal Maopa Choir in the Tongan language. The video below shows the performance and has some views of the king and the church.

On March 18, 2012, King George Tupou V, aged 63, died at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong. He was succeeded by his brother King Tupou VI. King George Tupou V had undergone surgery in September 2011 to remove a kidney following the discovery of a tumor, and it is believed his death was caused by cancer.

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The royal standard-draped casket of King George Tupou V is carried from the Royal Palace to Malaʻekula, the royal burial grounds

On March 27, 2012, the state funeral and burial were held at Malaʻekula, the royal burial grounds in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga. Guests at the funeral included the Duke of Gloucester representing Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Prince and Princess Hitachi of Japan representing Emperor Akihito, President of Fiji Epeli Nailatikau, Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, and the Governor-General of New Zealand, Jerry Mateparae.

The Kings Road from the Royal Palace to Malaʻekula, with the tombs in the background; Credit – By Tauʻolunga – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2088528

Works Cited

  • Bangkok Post. 2012. Tongans Bid Farewell To Their Visionary Late King. [online] https://www.bangkokpost.com. Available at: <https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/286191/elaborate-funeral-bids-farewell-to-late-tongan-king> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
  • BBC News. 2012. Tonga’s King Tupou V Dies At 63. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-17420114> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Tupou V. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tupou_V> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Tupou V. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tupou_V> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
  • Nytimes.com. 2012. King George Tupou V, Political Reformer Of Tonga, Dies At 63. [online] Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/world/asia/king-george-tupou-v-leader-of-tonga-dies-at-63.html?ref=oembed> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
  • The Guardian. 2012. King George Tupou V Of Tonga Obituary. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/26/king-george-tupou-v-of-tonga> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
  • The Independent. 2012. King George Tupou V: Reformer Who Brought Democracy To Tonga. [online] Available at: <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/king-george-tupou-v-reformer-who-brought-democracy-to-tonga-7582576.html> [Accessed 8 September 2020].

Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Kingdom of Tonga: Tonga consists of 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited, in the south Pacific Ocean, about 1,100 miles/1,800 kilometers northeast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Tonga has long been a monarchy and by the 12th century, Tonga and its Paramount Chiefs had a strong reputation throughout the central Pacific Ocean. Tonga became a kingdom in 1845 and has been ruled by the House of Tupou. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had a protected state status with the United Kingdom which looked after its foreign affairs under a Treaty of Friendship.

The order of succession to the throne of Tonga was established in the 1875 constitution. The crown descends according to male-preference cognatic primogeniture – a female can succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants.

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Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga; Credit – Wikipedia

Famed for her stature (6 feet 3 inches, 270 pounds) and her appearance at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga, the first Queen Regnant of the Kingdom of Tonga and its longest-reigning monarch, was born on March 13, 1900, at the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, the capital of Tonga. She was the only child of King George Tupou II of Tonga and his first wife Lavinia Veiongo. Sālote’s mother died from tuberculosis at the age of 23 on April 24, 1902.

Sālote ’s parents King George Tupou II of Tonga and his first wife Lavinia Veiongo; Credit – Wikipedia

Sālote had two half-sisters from her father’s second marriage to ‘Anaseini Takipō Afuha’amango:

  • Princess ʻOnelua (born and died 1911), died from convulsions at five months
  • Princess Fusipala (1912 – 1933), unmarried

As a child, Sālote was not popular in Tonga. Her unpopularity stemmed from her parents’ marriage. King George Tupou II was expected to marry Princess ʻOfakivavaʻu. However, the king wanted to marry Lavinia Veiongo who was not from the upper class, and he asked the Council of Chiefs to choose between the two women. When the majority of chiefs chose Princess ʻOfakivavaʻu, the king threatened to remain a bachelor unless he was allowed to marry Lavinia. The chiefs allowed the marriage to Lavinia to take place. However, the relationship between King George Tupou II and the rest of the country remained strained because of the rejection of Princess ʻOfakivavaʻu. Supporters of both women rioted in the streets of the capital of Nukuʻalofa, attacking each other with axes, clubs, and broken bottles. During her childhood, it was unsafe for Sālote to go outside the palace grounds.

Sālote in 1911; Credit – Wikipedia

In December 1909, Sālote was sent to Auckland, New Zealand, to start five years of education at the Diocesan High School for Girls, returning to Tonga every Christmas holiday. The month before Sālote left for New Zealand, her father married for a second time to ʻAnaseini Takipō Afuha’amango, a half-sister of the rejected Princess ʻOfakivava’u. The chiefs were jubilant and hoped for a son to displace Sālote from her place in the line of succession.

Sālote ’s half-sister Princess Fusipala; Credit – Wikipedia

After King George Tupou II’s second wife gave birth to a surviving daughter Princess Fusipala in 1912, a rival court centered around Princess Fusipala’s claim to the throne was set up by her maternal relatives against her half-sister Sālote, reviving the old rivalries between the family of Sālote’s mother Lavinia Veiongo and the family of Fusipala’s mother. After December 1914, the king ordered Sālote to stay home in Tonga as hopes for a male heir had diminished so that she could begin a course of instruction in Tongan history and customs in preparation for her future role as Queen of Tonga.

Sālote and her husband, circa 1917; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1916, King George Tupou II selected Viliami Tungī Mailefihi (known as Tungī), a Tongan high chieftain, as Sālote ’s husband. He was the son of Siaosi Tukuʻaho who had served as Prime Minister of Tonga from 1890 to 1893. On September 19, 1916, 16-year-old Sālote married 28-year-old Tungī in a Christian wedding ceremony. The traditional Tongan wedding ceremony, known as the Tu’uvala, was celebrated on September 21, 1916.

The royal family of Tonga. Front (L to R): Prince Uiliami Tukuʻaho, Prince Sione Ngū Manumataong;  Seated (L to R): Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi, Queen Sālote Tupou III; Back (L to R): Prince Siaosi Tāufaʻāhau Tupoulahi (later King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV), Princess Fusipala, circa 1930; Credit – By Unknown author – Wood-Ellem, Elizabeth (1999) Queen Sālote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900–1965, Auckland, N.Z: Auckland University Press, pp. 144–145 ISBN: 978-0-8248-2529-4. OCLC: 262293605., CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1211166

Sālote and Tungī had three sons:

  • King Tāufa‘āhau Tupou IV (1918 – 2006), married Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, had three sons and one daughter
  • Prince Uiliami Tuku‘aho (1920 – 1936), died as a teenager
  • Prince Sione Ngū Manumataongo (1922 – 1999), married Melenaite Tupoumoheofo Veikune, had four daughters and two sons

Coronation of Queen Sālote; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 5, 1918, King George Tupou II died at the age of 43 and his 18-year-old daughter Sālote became Queen of Tonga. Her coronation was held on October 11, 1918, in the Royal Chapel on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga.  In November 1918, after the death of ‘Anaseini Takipō Afuha’amango, King George Tupou II’s second wife, during the influenza pandemic, Sālote assumed the guardianship of her six-year-old half-sister Princess Fusipala. Princess Fusipala died in 1933 at the age of 20 from tubercular peritonitis, a type of tuberculosis located in a part of the body other than the lungs.

Queen Sālote faced political difficulties in the early years of her reign. First, there was an unsuccessful republican movement that threatened to unseat the young queen. Then there was a schism between the two branches of the Methodist Church that resulted in the formation of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, the largest Christian denomination in Tonga, often mistaken to be its state church. Sālote overcame these difficulties with the support of her husband Prince Tungī. During her reign, Sālote sought to improve the quality of life of the people of Tonga by the expansion of women’s rights and the construction of roads and health facilities. Prince Tungī served as his wife’s Prime Minister from 1923 until he died in 1941. His own experience helped him facilitate Sālote ’s role as Queen of Tonga. Tungī’s death in 1941 during World War II was a devastating blow to Queen Sālote.

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Queen Salote Tupou III of Tonga and Sultan Ibrahim IV of Kelantan riding a horse-drawn carriage during the coronation procession of Queen Elizabeth II

In 1953, Queen Sālote brought international attention to Tonga when she attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. During the coronation procession, it began to rain and coverings were placed on the carriages in the procession. Tongan custom dictates that one should not imitate the actions of the person one is honoring, and so Queen Sālote, dressed in traditional Tongan dress, a cocoanut fiber skirt and a satin rose-colored mantle, refused a covering for her carriage and rode through the rain in an open carriage with Sultan Ibrahim IV of Kelantan, endearing herself to crowds along the procession route. In December 1953, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip visited Queen Sālote in Tonga during their world tour of Commonwealth nations. Since then, the British royal family has remained close to the Tongan royal family.

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Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by Queen Sālote walks over a carpet of tapa cloth to the feast house as selected women seated on the ground form a guard of honor

On November 4, 1965, Queen Sālote flew to Auckland, New Zealand for treatment of diabetes and cancer. She was admitted to the hospital on December 12, 1965, with pleurisy and her condition steadily worsened. Queen Sālote of Tonga died on December 16, 1965, at the age of 65. Her funeral was held on December 23, 1965, and over 50,000 Tongans dressed in black mourning attended the impressive funeral (see highlights below). Queen Sālote was buried at Malaʻekula, the royal burial grounds in Nukuʻalofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga.

Tongan Royal Tombs, Queen Sālote’s tomb is the second from the right; Credit – Around the Globe with the Rosens

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. George Tupou II. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tupou_II> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Lavinia Veiongo. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavinia_Veiongo> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sālote Tupou III. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C4%81lote_Tupou_III> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Viliami Tungī Mailefihi. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viliami_Tung%C4%AB_Mailefihi> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
  • Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL). 2018. From The Archives: Queen Salote Of Tonga. [online] Available at: <https://www.rosl.org.uk/rosl_news/517-from-the-archives-queen-Salote -of-tonga> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1965. Salote, Queen Of Tonga, Is Dead At 65. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/16/95920444.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0> [Accessed 7 September 2020].
  • Timesmachine.nytimes.com. 1965. TONGANS PAY SALOTE THEIR LAST TRIBUTE. [online] Available at: <https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/12/24/96726736.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0> [Accessed 7 September 2020].

Rosamund de Clifford, Mistress of Henry II, King of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Fair Rosamund by John William Waterhouse, 1916; Credit – Wikipedia

Known as “The Fair Rosamund”, Rosamund de Clifford was probably born in Herefordshire, West Midlands, England as that was where her family home Clifford Castle was located. Her birth date is unknown but she was the youngest of her parents’ six children. Rosamund’s father was born Walter Fitz Richard (1113–1190) and he married Margaret de Tosny. Margaret’s father Ralph de Tosny was granted the castle by King William I (the Conquerer) of England in 1075 after it was forfeited by a traitor. After the marriage of Ralph’s daughter, Margaret de Tosny to Walter Fitz Richard, Walter became steward of the castle and later claimed it for himself via his marriage. In 1162, he changed his name to Walter de Clifford and the castle came to be known as Clifford Castle.

There is incomplete and conflicting genealogical information but Rosamund probably had five siblings:

  • Gilbert de Clifford
  • Richard de Clifford
  • Amicia de Clifford, married (1) Osbern Fitz Hugh of Richard’s Castle (2) Bartholomew de Mortimer
  • Lucy de Clifford, married Hugh de Say of Stokesay
  • Walter de Clifford (died 1221) married Agnes de Cuni, had four children

Ruins of Clifford Castle; Credit – By Humphrey Bolton, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4097700

Rosamund grew up at Clifford Castle before going to Godstow Abbey near Oxford, England to be educated by the nuns. Likely Rosamund first met King Henry II of England in 1163 when he was staying at Clifford Castle during the military campaign against the Welsh ruler Rhys ap Gruffudd. In 1166, Rosamund and Henry II began their affair. However, until 1174, almost no one knew about Rosamund’s relationship with Henry II.

Woodstock Palace; Credit – Wikipedia

Henry had Rosamund housed at Woodstock Palace, a royal residence near Oxford, England. Woodstock Palace was mostly destroyed during the English Civil War. In the early 1700s, Blenheim Palace, the principal residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, was built on the site, and stones from Woodstock Palace were used in its construction.

Henry II, King of England; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1174, the relationship between Henry II and Rosamund became public. Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen of England, Henry II’s wife had joined the uprising of their sons against her husband. Henry II eventually defeated the revolt and had Eleanor comfortably imprisoned for her part in inciting their sons. From that moment, Henry II began to live openly with Rosamund. Henry II had many mistresses and had treated earlier affairs discreetly, but he flaunted Rosamund. He may have done so to provoke Eleanor into seeking an annulment, but if so, Eleanor disappointed him as did the Pope who refused to consider a divorce. Nevertheless, rumors persisted, perhaps encouraged by Henry’s supporters, that Eleanor had Rosamund poisoned. In 1176, Rosamund became seriously ill and retired to Godstow Abbey near Oxford, where she died in the same year.

Godstow Abbey ruins; By Chris Gunns, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14569666

Rosamund was buried at Godstow Abbey. King Henry II paid for her tomb in the choir of the abbey church and gave an endowment for the tomb to be tended by the nuns. Rosamund’s tomb became a popular local shrine until 1191, two years after Henry II’s death. Hugh of Lincoln, Bishop of Lincoln, while visiting Godstow Abbey, noticed Rosamund’s tomb right in front of the high altar. The tomb was covered with flowers and candles, evidence that the local people were praying there. Calling Rosamund a harlot, the bishop ordered her remains removed from the church. Her tomb was moved to the cemetery next to the nuns’ chapter house. Local people still prayed at Rosamund’s tomb but it was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the reign of King Henry VIII.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Barber, Richard, 1964. Henry Plantagent 1133-1189. New York: Barnes and Noble.
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Godstow. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godstow#History_of_Godstow_Abbey> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Rosamund Clifford. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosamund_Clifford> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Walter De Clifford (Died 1190). [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_de_Clifford_(died_1190)> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Henry II Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-ii-of-england/> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Клиффорд, Розамунда. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%84%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B4,_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BC%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B0> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • Thepeerage.com. 2020. Walter Fitz Richard Fitz Pons. [online] Available at: <http://www.thepeerage.com/p10486.htm#i104860> [Accessed 22 July 2020].

Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand; Credit – https://thepattayanews.com/

Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand is the only child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and his third wife Srirasmi Suwadi. He was born on April 29, 2005, at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. The prince’s parents divorced in 2014.

Embed from Getty Images 
Prince Dipangkorn with his parents in 2007

Prince Dipangkorn is the only officially recognized son of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The prince has four much older half-brothers from his father’s second marriage, but they are not officially recognized as the king’s sons, since their mother fled the country with them. The 1924 Palace Law of Succession states that the king has the sole power and the prerogative to designate any descendant of the royal family as heir to the throne. The king also has absolute power to remove an heir apparent from the position. If he does so, his entire lineage is removed from any claim to the throne. The king can also exclude any member of the royalty from the line of succession. Prince Dipangkorn is eligible to be the heir to the throne of Thailand, but so are his much older half-sisters listed below. King Maha Vajiralongkorn has not yet named an heir.

Prince Dipangkorn has one half-sister from his father’s first marriage in 1977 to his maternal first cousin Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara. After her divorce in 1993, Princess Soamsavali Kitiyakara retained her title as princess and remained a member of the Thai royal family.

Prince Dipangkorn has four half-brothers and one half-sister from his father’s second marriage to Thai actress Yuvadhida Polpraserth. Maha Vajiralongkorn began living with Yuvadhida Polpraserth shortly after his first marriage. They eventually married in February 1994, and she took the name Sujarinee Mahidol na Ayudhaya. In 1996, she fled to the United Kingdom with her children. The Crown Prince accused her of adultery and managed to retrieve their daughter and bring her back to Thailand. Sujarinee and the couple’s sons were stripped of their royal titles, and the couple’s marriage was dissolved. Known as Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, she moved with her sons to the United States.

  • Juthavachara Vivacharawongse (born 1979)
  • Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse (born 1981)
  • Chakriwat Vivacharawongse (born 1983)
  • Vatcharawee Vivacharawongse (born 1985)
  • Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana (born 1987)
Embed from Getty Images
Princess Sirivannavari (left) takes a photo as she stands with her half-brother Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti (2nd left), half-sister Princess Bajrakitiyabha (center), father King Maha Vajiralongkorn (2nd right), and Queen Suthida (right) as they wave from the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall of the Grand Palace on the final day of the king’s royal coronation, May 6, 2019

Prince Dipangkorn started his education at Chitralada School in Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, initially founded in 1957 by King Bhumibol Adulyadej for the children of the royal family and palace staff. Today, the school accepts general students and has primary and secondary school programs. The prince now attends the Bavarian International School, located at the Schloss Haimhausen, a Rococo mansion located in Haimhausen, a short distance from Munich, Germany. Prince Dipangkorn lives in a villa with a pool in Tutzing, Bavaria, Germany, on Lake Starnberg with two dozen servants. There is speculation that Prince Dipangkorn has learning difficulties and that he is in a development program at the Bavarian International School. Further speculation suggests that after King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s death, Prince Dipangkorn will probably become King of Thailand, but his maternal aunt Princess Sirindhorn, or his eldest half-sibling Princess Bajrakitiyabha will rule.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Dipangkorn Rasmijoti. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipangkorn_Rasmijoti> [Accessed 5 September 2020].
  • Political Prisoners in Thailand. 2020. Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti – Political Prisoners In Thailand. [online] Available at: <https://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/tag/prince-dipangkorn-rasmijoti/> [Accessed 5 September 2020].
  • South China Morning Post. 2019. 5 Facts About Thailand’s Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti. [online] Available at: <https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3038884/5-things-know-about-prince-dipangkorn-rasmijoti-son-thai> [Accessed 5 September 2020].
  • Tanno, S., 2020. Thai King’s Son Lives A Life Of ‘Loneliness’ In German Villa. [online] Mail Online. Available at: <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8348229/Thai-King-Rama-Xs-son-lives-life-loneliness-rejection-German-villa.html> [Accessed 5 September 2020].

Queen Suthida of Thailand

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Queen Suthida of Thailand; Credit – By Tris_T7 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79159558

Queen Suthida of Thailand is the fourth wife of King Maha Vajiralongkorn who succeeded to the throne of the Kingdom of Thailand in 2016 after the 70-year reign of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The first three marriages of King Maha Vajiralongkorn all ended in divorce. Born Suthida Tidjai on June 3, 1978, in Hat Yai, Thailand, she is the daughter of Kham Tidjai and Jangheang Tidjai. She graduated from Hatyaiwittayalai School, a secondary school in Hat Yai, Thailand. Suthida then attended Assumption University, a private Catholic university with four campuses in Thailand, graduating in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts.

Suthida was a flight attendant for JALways Airlines, now part of Japan Airlines, and then for Thai Airways. She met her future husband, then Crown Prince of Thailand, in 2013, and joined the palace guard later that year. She was promoted to deputy commander of the Crown Prince’s bodyguard unit in 2014. Suthida was linked romantically to the Crown Prince following his divorce from his third wife Srirasmi Suwadee in 2014. In October 2016, international media reports labeled Suthida as the designated King’s Consort, despite the palace never officially declaring their relationship. On December 1, 2016, Suthida was appointed Commander of the Special Operations Unit of the King’s Guard and promoted to the rank of General in the Royal Thai Army.

Embed from Getty Images 
Marriage Ceremony

On May 1, 2019, just days before his coronation, King Vajiralongkorn surprisingly married Suthida at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, a mansion on the grounds of Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. During the ceremony, broadcast on Thai television, Suthida prostrated herself on the ground before the King while offering him incense and flowers, according to royal tradition. The King appointed her Queen and granted her royal powers in front of a gathering of senior politicians and members of the Thai royal family.

Suthida prostrating herself before the King; Credit – https://www.tellerreport.com/

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Suthida. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suthida> [Accessed 4 September 2020].
  • Global News. 2019. Flight Attendant, General, Royal: Meet Thailand’s New Queen. [online] Available at: <https://globalnews.ca/news/5230848/queen-suthida-thailand/> [Accessed 4 September 2020].
  • Los Angeles Times. 2019. King Vajiralongkorn Of Thailand Marries His Bodyguard, Now Queen Suthida. [online] Available at: <https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-thai-king-bodyguard-queen-20190502-story.html> [Accessed 4 September 2020].

Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait; Credit – By Cancillería Argentina – https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrecic-argentina/45363322135/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81110649

Originally a sheikhdom ruled by local sheikhs, Kuwait became a British Protectorate in 1899. The sheikhs still had power during the British Protectorate. Kuwait was granted independence in 1961 and Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, 11th Ruler of Kuwait became the first Emir of Kuwait. The rulers of Kuwait belong to the House of Al-Sabah.

The Emir of Kuwait is nominated by a family council headed by prominent members of the family. The Crown Prince of Kuwait is also nominated by the family council and must be a senior member of the House of Al-Sabah. Both the Emir and the Crown Prince must be approved by the Kuwaiti parliament.

Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait was born on June 25, 1937, in Kuwait City, Kuwait. He is the son of Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 10th Ruler of Kuwait from 1944 – 1950 and Al-Yamamah. Nawaf grew up at Dasman Palace in Kuwait City with the sons and grandsons of his father. He was educated at the Al Mubarakiyya School, established in 1911 as one of Kuwait’s first modern educational institutions. Afterward, he attended university in the United Kingdom.

Nawaf married Sharifah Suleiman Al-Jasem in the 1950s. They had four sons and one daughter:

  • Ahmed bin Nawaf Al-Sabah (born 1956), married Sheikha Basma bint Mubarak, had two sons and three daughters
  • Faisal bin Nawaf Al-Sabah (born 1957, married Hana‘an, née Al-Badr, had two sons and two daughters
  • Abdullah bin Nawaf Al-Sabah (born 1958), married ?, had four daughters
  • Salem bin Nawaf Al-Sabah (born 1960), married ?, had two sons and two daughters
  • Shekha bint Nawaf Al-Sabah, married Skeikh Jabir bin Duaij Al-Sabah, had three sons and one daughter
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Kuwaiti Interior Minister Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah attending a meeting of interior ministers from Gulf Cooperation Council states in October 2004

Before he became Emir, Nawaf was one of the most senior members of the House of Al-Sabah and served Kuwait in various capacities since 1962. Nawaf has played an important role in establishing programs that support national unity in the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – except Iraq.  In Kuwait, Nawaf worked to encourage Kuwaiti youth to serve in all levels of government including the Kuwait National Guard, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of the Interior.

Nawaf bin Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah served in the following positions in the government of Kuwait:

  • Governor of Hawali (1962-1978)
  • Minister for the Interior (1978-1988, 2003-2006)
  • Minister for Defense (1988-1991, 1992-1994)
  • Minister for Social Affairs and Labor (1991-1992)
  • Deputy Chief of the National Guard (1994-2003)
  • First Deputy Prime Minister (2003-2006)
  • Crown Prince (2006-2020)

Upon the death of his half-brother Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait on September 29, 2020, Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was named by the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers as his successor. During a special session of the National Assembly on September 30, 2020, Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 16th Ruler and 6th Emir of Kuwait, took the constitutional oath as Emir of Kuwait.

Funeral of Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait

In 2021, it was reported that Nawaf had received treatment in the United States for an unspecified medical condition. On November 29, 2023, Nawaf was admitted to the hospital following an emergency health issue. Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait died on December 16, 2023, aged 86. Nawaf’s half-brother Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, succeeded as Emir of Kuwait. After a funeral for family only at the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Nawaf was buried at Sulaibikhat Cemetery in Kuwait City.

Burial site of Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Ar.wikipedia.org. 2020. نواف الأحمد الجابر الصباح. [online] Available at: <https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%81_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AD> [Accessed 30 September 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nawaf_Al-Ahmad_Al-Jaber_Al-Sabah> [Accessed 30 September 2020].
  • Royalark.net. 2020. Genealogy Of Kuwait – Al-Sabah Dynasty. [online] Available at: <https://www.royalark.net/Kuwait/kuwait14.htm> [Accessed 30 September 2020].

Lady Margaret Erskine, Mistress of James V, King of Scots

By Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Lady Margaret Erskine; Credit – The Lives of My Ancestors

James V, King of Scots had several mistresses, but Lady Margaret Erskine was his favorite and the mother of the most important of his nine illegitimate children. Lady Margaret Erskine was born on October 8, 1515. She was the sixth of the nine children and the second of the four daughters of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine (1487 – 1555) and Lady Margaret Campbell, daughter of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. In 1522, John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine was appointed guardian of the ten-year-old James V, King of Scots and Constable of Stirling Castle. Margaret’s father was a claimant to the Earldom of Mar, and in 1565, Margaret’s elder brother John became Earl of Mar.

Margaret had eight siblings:

  • John Erskine, 6th Lord Erskine,18th Earl of Mar (died 1572), married Annabel Murray, daughter of Sir William Murray, 10th of Tullibardine, had two sons and one daughter
  • Robert Erskine, Master of Erskine (died 1547), married Lady Margaret Graham, daughter of William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose, had one son, killed in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
  • Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar (died 1592), married Margaret Home, daughter of George Home, 4th Lord Home, had seven sons and four daughters
  • Katherine Erskine, married Alexander Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Elphinstone, had five sons and four daughters
  • Thomas Erskine, Master of Erskine (died 1551), married Margaret Fleming, daughter of Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming, no children
  • Arthur Erskine of Blackgrange (died circa 1570-1571), married Magdalen Livingston, daughter of Alexander Livingston, 5th Lord Livingston, no children
  • Janet Erskine, married John Murray of Touchadam, had one son and one daughter
  • Elizabeth Erskine, married Sir Walter Seton, 4th of Touch, had one son and one daughter

On July 11, 1527, Margaret married Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven and was styled Lady Douglas of Lochleven.

Margaret and Robert had six children:

  • Euphemia Douglas, married Patrick Lindsay, 6th Lord Lindsay of the Byres, had one son and two daughters
  • Robert Douglas, 4th Earl of Buchan (died 1580), married Christina Stewart, 4th Countess of Buchan in her own right, had one son and three daughters
  • Sir George Douglas, married (1) Janet Lindsay, daughter of John Lindsay, 6th of Dowhill (2) Margaret Durie, had one daughter
  • Janet Douglas married Sir James Colville, had one son
  • Catherine Douglas married David Durie of that Ilk, had one son and one daughter (Note: “Of that Ilk” is a term used in the Scottish nobility to denote a clan chieftain in some Scottish clans.)
  • William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton (c. 1540 – 1606), married Lady Agnes Leslie, daughter of George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes, had eleven children

James V, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

Within a few years of her marriage, Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, became the mistress of James V, King of Scots. James V was born at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland on April 10, 1512. He was the only surviving child of James IV, King of Scots and Margaret Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VII of England and the sister of King Henry VIII of England. Therefore, James V was the nephew of King Henry VIII and the first cousin of his children, King Edward VI, Queen Mary I, and Queen Elizabeth I. 30-year-old James IV was killed by the English army at the Battle of Flodden, and his 17-month-old son succeeded him as James V, King of Scots.

Since Margaret’s father had been appointed guardian of the ten-year-old James V, King of Scots, Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, and James had been acquainted from an early age. James V had nine illegitimate children, at least three were fathered before James V was 20 years old. His son with Margaret, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, born circa 1531, appears to be one of the three.

There is evidence that James V considered arranging the divorce of Margaret and her husband and then marrying her. It appears that in 1536, James V or an advisor asked Pope Paul III for his advice on the divorce. On January 1, 1537, James married Madeleine of Valois, daughter of King François I of France, but the marriage lasted only six months as Madeleine died from tuberculosis. In 1538, James V married again to Marie of Guise, the eldest daughter of Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, and head of the House of Guise. James V and Marie of Guise had two sons who died in infancy and one daughter. When James V died on December 14, 1542, at the age of 30, his six-day-old daughter succeeded him as the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots.

The ruins of Loch Leven Castle; Credit – By Otter – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4169460

During their marriage, Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, and her husband, Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven lived at the family home, Loch Leven Castle, set on an island in Loch Leven in central Scotland. On September 10, 1547, Robert and Margaret’s brother Robert Erskine, Master of Erskine were both killed at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, a catastrophic defeat for Scotland. It was part of the conflict known as the Rough Wooing. In the last years of his reign, King Henry VIII of England tried to gain an alliance with Scotland by arranging a marriage between two children, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry VIII’s son, the future King Edward VI. When diplomacy failed, and Scotland was on the point of an alliance with France, Henry launched a war against Scotland.

Because of the English hostilities, Scotland abandoned the possibility of an English marriage. In July 1548, the Scottish Parliament approved Mary’s marriage to François, Dauphin of France, the son and heir of King Henri II of France. Five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots set sail for France, where she would be raised with her future husband. She would not return to Scotland for thirteen years after the death of her 16-year-old husband.

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray; Credit – Wikipedia

During Mary’s thirteen-year absence, the Protestant Reformation swept through Scotland, led by John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Therefore, Catholic Mary returned to a very different Scotland from the one she had left as a child. James Stewart, Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven’s son with James V, and Mary’s half-brother, had become Protestant, like most of Margaret’s family. Despite their religious differences, James Stewart became the chief advisor to his sister, and in September 1561, Mary created her half-brother the Earl of Moray. Eventually, Mary’s behavior angered even her half-brother James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, and he joined other Protestant lords in a rebellion.

Mary, Queen of Scots Escaping from Loch Leven Castle; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1567-1568, Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in Loch Leven Castle for ten months, where Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven, and her son William became her keepers. On July 24, 1567, at Loch Leven Castle, Mary was forced to abdicate in favor of her one-year-old son, who succeeded her as James VI, King of Scots.  James VI was Mary’s son by her second husband and first cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.  Mary and Darnley were both grandchildren of Margaret Tudor. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was made Regent for his nephew. In 1568, Mary escaped her imprisonment at Loch Leven Castle with the help of George Douglas, the son of Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven. Mary made it to England only to be imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I for nineteen years and ultimately beheaded in 1587.

James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh preparing to assassinate the Earl of Moray; Credit – Wikipedia

James Stewart, Earl of Moray, Margaret’s son by James V, also had an unhappy ending. On January 23, 1570, in Linlithgow, Scotland, while still serving as Regent for his nephew James VI, King of Scots, the 39-year-old Earl of Moray was assassinated by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots. It was the first assassination by a firearm in recorded history. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was buried at St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. Seven earls and lords carried his body into the church.  John Knox, the Scottish minister, a leader of Scotland’s Reformation, and the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, preached at the funeral. Margaret, Lady Douglas of Loch Leven survived her son by two years, dying on May 5, 1572, at the age of 57.

John Knox preaching the funeral sermon of the Earl of Moray, depicted in a stained-glass window at St. Gile’s Cathedral; Credit – By CPClegg – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82436877

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. James Stewart, 1St Earl Of Moray. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stewart,_1st_Earl_of_Moray> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. John Erskine, 5Th Lord Erskine. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Erskine,_5th_Lord_Erskine> [Accessed 22 July 2020].
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King Fahd of Saudi Arabia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia; Credit – Wikipedia

Arabic Naming Conventions

  • Al – family/clan of…
  • bin or ibn – son of…
  • bint – daughter of…

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia was born on March 21, 1921, in Riyadh, Sultanate of Nejd, now in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fahd was one of the twelve children of King Abdulaziz, the first King of Saudi Arabia, and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi (1900 – 1969), one of his many wives. Like Sarah Al Sudairi, the mother of King Abdulaziz, Hassa was a member of the influential Al Sudairi family. Abdulaziz married her twice. They first married in 1913, divorced after a few years, and then remarried in 1920. In the period between their first and second marriages, Hassa married Abdulaziz’s younger half-brother Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman, and had one son from this marriage. Abdulaziz remained in love with Hassa and forced his half-brother to divorce her so that he could remarry her.

Fahd and Salman, the two members of the Sudairi Seven who became kings; Credit – By Qrmoo3 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66343065

Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi and King Abdulaziz had seven sons and five daughters. No other wife of King Abdulaziz produced more sons than Hassa. In Arab culture, the most prominent wife is the one who gives birth to the largest number of sons and so Hassa became Abdulaziz’s most valued wife. Their sons are known as the Sudairi Seven.  The oldest son Fahd was King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005, the second and fourth oldest sons Sultan and Nayef both served as Crown Prince but predeceased their half-brother King Abdullah, and the sixth-oldest son Salman succeeded Abdullah as King of Saudi Arabia in 2015. The Sudairi Seven were the largest bloc of full brothers among Abdulaziz’s sons and wielded a substantial amount of coordinated influence and power.

King Fahd had eleven younger full siblings:

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Five sons of King Abdulaziz board a plane at Herne Airport in Hampshire, England on August 31, 1945: Left to Right: Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Nawaf, Abdullah, Fahd, Mohammed, Faisal

Abdulaziz had a polygamous household comprising several wives at a time and numerous concubines. It is thought he had a total of 22-24 wives. Abdulaziz was the father of almost a hundred children, including 45 sons of whom 36 survived to adulthood. Fahd had many half-siblings, too numerous to list here. See Wikipedia: Descendants of Ibn Saud (Abdulaziz). The six Kings of Saudi Arabia who followed King Abdulaziz were all his sons. Four of them were the half-brothers of Fahd, and one, Salman, was Fahd’s full-brother. King Fahd succeeded his half-brother King Khalid and was succeeded by his half-brother King Abdullah.

Fahd and his siblings were much younger than the previous Kings of Saudi Arabia and Abdulaziz’s other older children. By 1926, Abdulaziz had reached his goal of consolidating the Arabian peninsula and was then King of the dual Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd. In 1932, the two kingdoms of the Hejaz and Nejd were united as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, during the childhood of Fahd and his siblings, the situation was more settled and stable.

Abdulaziz’s older sons were educated by tutors. However, by the time Fahd and his brothers were ready to be educated, their father had established the Princes’ School on the second floor of Deera Palace in Riyadh. Following his education at the Princes’ School, Fahd attended the Religious Knowledge Institute in Mecca where he studied Wahhabi Islam.

King Fahd was married at least thirteen times but divorced eight of his wives. He had six sons and four daughters. Only five wives had children.

Princess Al-Anoud bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jalawi Al Saud (1923 – 1999), had five sons and one daughter

Al Jawhara bint Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, had one son, she divorced from her first husband to wed King Fahd

Princess Noura bint Turki bin Abdullah bin Saud bin Faisal Al Saud (died 2018), had one daughter, divorced

  • Princess Al Anoud bint Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Princess Tarfa bint Abdul Aziz bin Fahd bin Muammar, had one daughter, divorced

  • Princess Lulwa bint Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Princess Watfa bint Ubaid bin Ali Al-Jabr Al-Rasheed, had one daughter, divorced

  • Princess Al-Jawhara bint Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (died 2016)
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Crown Prince Fahd smiles as he poses for media prior to his talks at Elysee Palace in Paris with French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, July 21, 1975

In 1953, Fahd made his first official state visit, attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on behalf of his half-brother King Saud. He was the first Minister of Education, serving from 1954 – 1962. He then served as Minister of Interior from 1962 – 1975.

On March 25, 1975, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot and killed by his 30-year-old nephew Prince Faisal bin Musaid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Palace in Riyadh. (See Unofficial Royalty: Assassination of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.) Faisal was succeeded by his half-brother Khalid and Fahd was immediately appointed Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. King Khalid suffered from ill-health before and during his reign and Crown Prince Fahd was often in charge of ruling the country. Upon the death of King Khalid on June 13, 1982, Fahd became King of Saudi Arabia. His half-brother, the future King Abdullah, was appointed Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia on the same day. In 1986, King Fahd adopted the title Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques replacing His Majesty, to signify an Islamic rather than a secular authority.

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Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and Queen Elizabeth II attend a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on March 1, 1987

In 1990, Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, placing the Iraqi army on the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. King Fahd agreed to host American-led coalition troops in Saudi Arabia and later allowed American troops to be based there. This decision brought him considerable criticism and opposition from many Saudis and his full-brothers, the Sudairi Seven, who objected to the presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil.

King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke on November 29, 1995. He became noticeably frail and had to use a cane and then a wheelchair. Although he still attended meetings and received selected visitors, Crown Prince Abdullah took on much of King Fahd’s responsibilities and acted as the de facto regent of Saudi Arabia.

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Members of the Saudi royal family pray over the body of King Fahd at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh, August 2, 2005

On May 27, 2005, King Fahd was admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for unspecified medical tests. He died on August 1, 2005, and was succeeded by his half-brother Abdullah. King Fahd’s body was carried to the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh for the funeral prayers. Many foreign dignitaries attended the funeral on August 2, 2005, including American Vice President Dick Cheney, French President Jacques Chirac, King Juan Carlos of Spain, Prince Charles of the United Kingdom, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. King Fahd’s body was then carried the short distance to the Al Oud cemetery. Only Saudi royal family members and Saudi citizens were present as the body was lowered into the grave.

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The grave of King Fahd

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Works Cited

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