Category Archives: Current Monarchies

Mary Boleyn, Mistress of King Henry VIII of England

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Mary Boleyn was the elder sister of Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, King Henry VIII’s ill-fated, second wife. The date and place of Mary’s birth are uncertain. She was born sometime between 1499-1500, either at Blickling Hall in Norfolk, England or Hever Castle in Kent, England. Anne’s father was Thomas Boleyn (later 1st Earl of Wiltshire, 1st Earl of Ormond, 1st Viscount Rochford), a diplomat for King Henry VII and King Henry VIII. He was descended from Eustace II, Count of Boulogne who fought for William the Conqueror during the Battle of Hastings. “Boulogne” eventually was anglicized to “Boleyn.” Mary’s mother was Lady Elizabeth Howard, the eldest daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Elizabeth’s eldest brother was Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, a prominent Tudor politician, and one of her other brothers was Lord Edmund Howard, the father of Catherine Howard, King Henry VIII’s fifth wife. Through her mother, Mary was a descendant of King Edward I of England.

Mary had four siblings but only two survived childhood:

Hever Castle where Mary grew up with her siblings; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary was most likely educated with her brother George and her sister Anne at Hever Castle in Kent. In 1514, when Mary Tudor, King Henry VIII’s 18-year-old younger sister, left for France to become the third wife of the 52-year-old King Louis XII of France, Mary Boleyn accompanied her as a maid-of-honor. Within a few weeks, most of Mary Tudor’s English ladies were ordered to return home. However, Mary Boleyn was allowed to stay most likely due to her father’s diplomatic influence.

King François I of France; Credit – Wikipedia

King Louis XII of France died on January 1, 1515, just three months after his wedding to Mary Tudor. As he had no son, he was succeeded by the next in line of succession, his son-in-law François d’Angoulême from the House of Valois-Angoulême as King François I of France. Shortly after King Louis XII’s death, Mary Tudor secretly married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, the best friend of Mary Tudor’s brother King Henry VIII. When Mary Tudor and Brandon returned to England to face the wrath of her brother, Thomas Boleyn removed his daughter Mary from the service of Mary Tudor and placed her in the household of Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany, Queen of France, the wife of the new king, François I. During Mary’s time at the French court, there were rumors that she was having an affair with King François I. Some historians believe the rumors were exaggerated, however, there is documentation that François referred to Mary as “the English mare” and “a very great whore, the most infamous of all.”

Sir William Carey, Mary’s first husband; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1519, Mary was sent back to England where her father arranged for her to be a maid-of-honor to Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII’s first wife. On February 4, 1520, in the Chapel Royal at Greenwich Palace, Mary married Sir William Carey (circa 1500 – 1528), who served King Henry VIII as a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber. King Henry VIII attended the wedding ceremony and gave the couple a monetary gift.

King Henry VIII of England in 1520; Credit – Wikipedia

At some point, perhaps even before her marriage, Mary became Henry VIII’s mistress, supplanting Elizabeth Blount, but the starting date and length of the relationship are unknown. Wiliam Carey profited from his wife’s affair as he was granted manors and estates by King Henry VIII. Two children were born during the marriage of Mary and William. Because of Mary’s affair with King Henry VIII, it has been suggested that one or both of the children may have been Henry VIII’s biological children and although there is no proof, this claim has been the continued subject of debate. On June 22, 1528, at the age of 28, William Carey died of the sweating sickness. By the time of William’s death, Mary’s sister Anne had already caught the attention of King Henry VIII.

Mary’s daughter Catherine Carey, circa 1562; Credit – Wikipedia

Mary’s son, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, circa 1561-1563; Credit – Wikipedia

Children born during the marriage of Mary Boleyn and William Carey:

Although Anne Boleyn refused to be Henry VIII’s mistress, she still wielded some power. William Carey had left Mary with considerable debts and so Anne decided to help out. Henry VIII granted Anne Boleyn the wardship of her nephew Henry Carey and Anne then arranged for him to be educated at a Cistercian monastery. Anne also interceded to secure her Mary an annual pension of £100.

In 1532, Mary was in the party of the 200 people who accompanied King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn to France to meet with King François I of France so that the French king might show his public support and approval for the annulment of Henry’s first marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Also among the party was William Stafford, a soldier and the younger son of Sir Humphrey Stafford, an Essex landowner.

With her connections to King Henry VIII’s court and being the eldest daughter of Thomas Boleyn, who was by then 1st Earl Wiltshire, 1st Earl of Ormonde, and 1st Viscount Rochford, Mary had excellent prospects for a second marriage. However, in 1534, Mary and William Stafford secretly married. When Mary became pregnant, the marriage was discovered. Mary’s sister, now Queen Anne, was furious, the Boleyn family disowned Mary, and the couple was banished from court. It is thought that Mary gave birth to a son sometime in 1535 and that he died in 1545. There may also have been a daughter named Anne.

Because Mary’s financial situation was so poor after she and her husband had been banished from court, she begged Thomas Cromwell, then Henry VIII’s principal secretary, to speak to Henry VIII and her sister Anne on her behalf. After Henry VIII showed no interest in her situation, Mary asked Cromwell to speak with her family but they remained steadfast in their prior decision to disown Mary. It was Anne who finally relented and provided her sister with some financial support but she refused to reinstate Mary to her position at court. It is thought Mary and Anne never met again.

Mary’s sister Anne Boleyn, Queen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

The situation of Queen Anne herself quickly declined. When Anne gave birth in 1533 to her first child, a daughter Elizabeth, Henry VIII was greatly disappointed. By late 1535, Anne was pregnant again. However, during a tournament in January 1536, Henry fell from his horse and was unconscious for hours. The stress resulted in premature labor, and Anne miscarried a son. The loss of this son sealed Anne’s fate. Henry was determined to be rid of her, and her fall and execution were engineered by Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s chief minister. Many historians believe that the case charging Anne with adultery with her brother George Boleyn and four other men (Francis Weston, Henry Norris, William Brereton, and Mark Smeaton) was completely fabricated. Her trial, presided over by her uncle Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, occurred at the Tower of London on May 15, 1536, and she was found guilty of adultery, incest, and high treason. On May 18, 1536, Anne’s brother and the four other men were executed and Anne was executed the following day.

Very little is known about Mary’s life between 1534, when she was banished from court, and the executions of her brother George and sister Anne in May 1536. There is no record of Mary visiting or writing to her parents. She did not visit her sister or brother while they were imprisoned in the Tower of London and there is no evidence that she wrote to them. Like her uncle, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Mary must have thought it wise to avoid any connection with her disgraced relatives.

Rochford Hall, now the clubhouse of the Rochford Hundred Golf Club; Credit – Wikipedia

After the death of her parents (mother in 1538 and father in 1539), Mary inherited some of the family’s estates in Essex, England including Rochford Hall. She lived there for the rest of her life, in better financial circumstances, with her husband William Stafford, who survived her and married again. Mary died of unknown causes, on July 19, 1543, in her early forties and her burial place is unknown.

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. Mary Boleyn. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Boleyn> [Accessed 2 August 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. William Stafford (Courtier). [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stafford_(courtier)> [Accessed 2 August 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. William Carey (Courtier). [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carey_(courtier)> [Accessed 2 August 2020].
  • Erickson, Carolly, 2004. Great Harry. London: Robson.
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. Anne Boleyn, Queen Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/anne-boleyn-queen-of-england/> [Accessed 2 August 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2015. King Henry VIII Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-viii-of-england/> [Accessed 2 August 2020].
  • No.wikipedia.org. 2020. Mary Boleyn. [online] Available at: <https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Boleyn> [Accessed 2 August 2020].
  • Weir, Alison, 2001. Henry VIII – The King And His Court. New York: Ballantine Books.
  • Weir, Alison, 2012. The Six Wives Of Henry VIII. [United States]: Paw Prints.

Dorothea Jordan, Mistress of King William IV of the United Kingdom

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Dorothea Jordan was the mistress of the future King William IV of the United Kingdom from 1790 until 1811. William was the Duke of Clarence at the time.

Dorothea Jordan; Credit – Wikipedia

Dorothea Bland was born on November 21, 1761, in County Waterford, Ireland, the daughter of Francis Bland, a stagehand, and his mistress Grace Phillips, an actress. She had five siblings:

  • George Bland (c.1758-1807) – married Maria Theresa Romanzini, had issue
  • Hester Bland (1760-1848) – unmarried
  • Lucy Bland (c.1763-1778) – unmarried
  • Francis Bland (c.1765 – ?) – unmarried
  • Nathaniel Phillips Bland (c.1766-1830) – married Phoebe James, no issue

In 1774, Dorothea’s father abandoned his family to marry someone else. He continued to support the family, on the condition that they didn’t use his surname, so Dorothea took her mother’s name, becoming known as Dorothea Phillips. Around this time, her mother encouraged Dorothea to enter the theater, and within just a few years, she began to draw large crowds for her performances. She left Ireland in 1782 while pregnant with her first child, and moved to Leeds. It was at this point that she took the name Jordan. She performed for three years with the York Company, before being lured away in 1785 to move to the Royal Theatre, Drury Lane in London. By then, Dorothea was becoming a very popular performer and could be counted on to bring large crowds every night. It was at Drury Lane that her life would come to the attention of The Duke of Clarence several years later.

During her stage career, and before meeting the Duke of Clarence, Dorothea had several relationships, resulting in at least four children. In the early 1780s, she became involved with Richard Daly, the married manager of the Theatre Royal in Cork, and had a daughter:

  • Frances Daly (1782-1821) – married Thomas Alsop, no issue

Other lovers included an Army Lieutenant, Charles Doyne, who proposed to her but she declined. She went to work for a theater company run by Tate Wilkinson, with whom she also had a brief affair. It was then that she took on the stage name ‘Mrs. Jordan’. After that relationship ended, she fell in love with another actor, George Inchbald, but that relationship also ended in heartbreak.

In 1786, after leaving Inchbald, Dorothea began an affair with Sir Richard Ford, a magistrate and lawyer who promised that he would marry her. This relationship resulted in three children:

  • Dorothea Maria Ford (1787) – married Frederick March
  • unnamed son (1788) – died at birth
  • Lucy Hester Ford (1789) – married General Sir Samuel Hawker, had issue

Dorothea realized that Ford would not marry her, and she ended their affair in 1790.  Soon after that, she began her relationship with The Duke of Clarence, the son of King George III. Her children moved in with her sister Hester, and Dorothea transferred much of her savings to provide for the children’s upbringing and education, in addition to providing them with an annual allowance.

The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV); source: Wikipedia

In 1790, Dorothea was first noticed by The Duke of Clarence (later King William IV) while performing at Drury Lane. They quickly began an affair that would last for the next 21 years. Dorothea moved in with the Duke at his home, Clarence Lodge in Roehampton, and later they moved to Bushy House in Bushy Park, Richmond upon Thames.

King William IV and Dorothea Jordan had ten children. Nine of the ten children were named after nine of William’s fourteen siblings. The tenth child was given William’s middle name Henry. The children were given the surname FitzClarence.

The children of King William IV and Dorothea had an elder half-brother, William Henry Courtney, born around 1788 to an unknown mother, and named after his father whose given names were William Henry. Dorothea cared for William, and she was fond of him and he was fond of her. William served in the Royal Navy from 1803 until 1807 when his ship HMS Blenheim was lost in a gale off Madagascar. Despite an extensive search, no trace of the ship was ever found. 590 men were lost aboard HMS Blenheim, including King William IV’s eldest illegitimate son nineteen-year-old William Henry Courtney.

William ensured Dorothea was well taken care of, providing her with an annual allowance of £1,200 and allowing her to continue performing on the stage in London and around England. Aside from her career, Dorothea was very content to enjoy the family life she had always wanted and kept out of political matters completely.

William and Dorothea’s children married into the British aristocracy and their many descendants include these notable people:

By 1811, William was pressured by his family to find a suitable wife. At the time he was fourth in line for the throne following his elder brother, the future King George IV, George’s daughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales, and his next oldest brother, The Duke of York. William gave in to the pressure and ended his relationship with Dorothea, but again made sure she was very well provided for. He gave her an annual allowance of £4,400 (half of which was designated for the welfare of their children), and she kept custody of their daughters while he retained custody of their sons. The one condition he insisted upon was that to receive that money annually, she could not return to the theatre. This arrangement lasted just three years before Dorothea returned to the stage in 1814, to earn money to help settle the extensive debts of her son-in-law Thomas Alsop. Hearing this, William took back custody of their daughter and canceled her annual stipend.

Dorothea performed for just a year before retiring in 1815. Still in debt, she sold her house and moved to France to escape her creditors, settling in Saint-Cloud, just outside Paris. After losing much of her savings when her eldest daughter and her husband ran up large debts in Dorothea’s name, her health quickly began to decline. Virtually penniless, Dorothea Jordan died in Saint-Cloud, France on July 5, 1816, at the age of 54. She is buried in the local cemetery in Saint-Cloud.

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.

Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount, Mistress of Henry VIII, King of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

The only mistress of King Henry VIII of England who had a child acknowledged by him, Elizabeth Blount, also known as Bessie Blount, was born circa 1498 at Kinlet Hall in Kinlet, Shropshire, England. She was one of the eight children of Sir John Blount of Kinlet Hall (circa 1471 – 1531) and his wife Katherine Peshall. Elizabeth’s siblings were George, William, Henry, Anne, Rose, Isabel, and Albora but their birth order is unknown. Little is known about Elizabeth’s childhood but she was probably educated by her mother and other female members of the household.

Effigies of Elizabeth’s parents on their tomb at St John the Baptist Church in Kinlet, Shropshire, England; Credit – By Mike Searle, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80988191

Elizabeth’s family had close connections with the Tudor family. Elizabeth’s maternal grandfather fought on the side of Henry Tudor (the future King Henry VII and the father of Henry VIII) at the Battle of Bosworth Field where King Richard III of the House of York was defeated and killed. Elizabeth’s great-grandfather Sir Richard Croft was the steward of the household of Arthur, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King Henry VII, at Ludlow Castle, and one of Arthur’s most important advisors. Elizabeth’s uncle, Sir Humphrey Blount, was a Knight of the Body (personal attendant) to King Henry VIII. Elizabeth’s father was one of Henry VIII’s King’s Spears at the time of his coronation. The King’s Spears were fifty men of noble birth who served as mounted bodyguards for King Henry VIII. It is most likely through her father’s influence that Elizabeth found a place at court.

Henry VIII, circa 1520; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1513, Elizabeth, around 15-years-old, came to Henry VIII’s court as a maid-of-honor to his first wife Catherine of Aragon and she quickly became one of the court’s beauties. She could sing and dance well and became a favorite of Henry VIII’s courtiers. In October 1514, she was mentioned in a letter to Henry VIII from his good friend and brother-in-law Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. The letter infers that Henry and Brandon were partners in “flirtations” with Elizabeth and so it is probable that she became Henry’s mistress in 1514 or 1515. Their affair lasted for about five years.

On June 15, 1519, Elizabeth gave birth to Henry VIII’s child, a son named Henry Fitzroy, with FitzRoy, a Norman-French surname meaning “son of the king”. FitzRoy had been conceived when Catherine of Aragon was approaching what would be her last confinement and resulted in a stillborn daughter in November 1518. To avoid scandal, Elizabeth was taken to the Augustinian Priory of St. Lawrence in Blackmore, Essex, England for her confinement.

Fitzroy’s birth came at a crucial time in his father’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon as a few months before Catherine had given birth to the last of her six children, a stillborn daughter. The future Mary I, Queen of England, born in 1516, was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Fitzroy’s birth proved to Henry that he could father a healthy male child and convinced him that Catherine was at fault for the lack of male heirs.  There was talk in the early 1530s that Henry VIII, who then had no male heir, would legitimize Fitzroy so he could succeed his father.

A miniature of Elizabeth and Henry VIII’s son, Henry Fitzroy, at the age of 15; Credit – Wikipedia

Fitzroy is thought to have been cared for in the royal nursery with his half-sister Mary. He was given his own London residence in 1525, the same year he was created the Duke of Richmond and Somerset. Fitzroy was also given numerous titles such as Lord High Admiral of England, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Lord President of the Council.

Henry VIII likely asked Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to arrange a marriage for Elizabeth, and sometime before June 1522, Elizabeth married Gilbert Tailboys. Elizabeth’s second child, a daughter named Elizabeth, had been born sometime between July 1519 and June 1520, before she married Gilbert. This child’s father possibly was Henry VIII. However, Gilbert Tailboys recognized little Elizabeth as his child, and therefore, biological or not, she was considered to be Gilbert’s by the law.

After Gilbert’s marriage to Elizabeth, his financial situation dramatically changed. Gilbert was given grants of land in Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, and Yorkshire. Over the next several years, he was a gentleman of the king’s bedchamber, High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, a member of Parliament for Lincolnshire, and was created 1st Baron Tailboys of Kyme. Elizabeth’s marriage to Gilbert lasted until April 15, 1530, when he died, aged 33. All of Gilbert’s children succeeded to his title but as none of them had any children, the title became extinct upon the death of his daughter Elizabeth.

Elizabeth and Gilbert had one daughter and two sons:

Elizabeth’s second husband Edward Clinton, 9th Baron Clinton; Credit – Wikipedia

Shortly after her first husband’s death, Elizabeth married Edward Clinton, 9th Baron Clinton, who was fourteen years younger than Elizabeth and owned land that adjoined Elizabeth’s land. Edward was in the service of Henry VIII and his three children during their reigns and was created 1st Earl of Lincoln in 1572.

Elizabeth and Edward had three daughters:

  • Lady Bridget Clinton (circa 1536 – ?), married Robert Dymoke of Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire, had ten children
  • Lady Katherine Clinton (circa 1538 – 1621), married William Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh of Gainsborough, had two children
  • Lady Margaret Clinton (circa 1539 – ?), married Charles Willoughby, 2nd Baron Willoughby of Parham, had five children.

In 1533, Elizabeth’s son Henry Fitzroy married Lady Mary Howard, a daughter of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, the uncle of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of Henry VIII’s wives. Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn arranged the marriage. Fitzroy died on July 23, 1536, at the age of seventeen, likely of tuberculosis. He was buried at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Framlingham, Suffolk, England, the burial site of the Howard family.

Elizabeth outlived her eldest son by three or four years. Very little is known of her life after the death of her son but it appears that Elizabeth died in childbirth, or shortly after giving birth, sometime between February 6, 1539 and January 2, 1540, at the age of only forty or forty-one. Her burial site burial is unknown.

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

  • Bryson, Sarah, 2016. Elizabeth (Bessie) Blount By Sarah Bryson – The Tudor Society. [online] The Tudor Society. Available at: <https://www.tudorsociety.com/elizabeth-bessie-blount-by-sarah-bryson/> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Elizabeth Blount. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Blount> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Henry Fitzroy, Duke Of Richmond And Somerset. [online] Available at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_FitzRoy,_1st_Duke_of_Richmond_and_Somerset> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
  • Erickson, Carolly, 2004. Great Harry. London: Robson.
  • McMahon, Emily, 2013. Henry Fitzroy, Duke Of Richmond And Somerset. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/june-15-daily-featured-royal-date/> [Accessed 31 July 2020].
  • Weir, Alison, 2001. Henry VIII – The King And His Court. New York: Ballantine Books.
  • Weir, Alison, 2012. The Six Wives Of Henry VIII. [United States]: Paw Prints.

Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham, Mistress of King George IV of The United Kingdom

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham was the last mistress of King George IV of the United Kingdom, from 1820 until the King died in 1830.

Elizabeth Conyngham, Marchioness Conyngham – source: Wikipedia

Elizabeth Denison was born on July 31, 1769, the eldest child of Joseph Denison, a wealthy banker, and his wife Elizabeth Butler. She had two younger siblings:

On July 5, 1794 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Covent Garden, London, Elizabeth married Henry Burton Conyngham, Viscount Conyngham (later the 1st Marquess Conyngham). Viscount Conyngham was created Earl Conyngham and Viscount Mount Charles in the Irish peerage in 1797. In 1800, he was one of the original Irish representative peers to sit in the British House of Lords and was installed in the Order of St. Patrick in 1801. He served as Governor of County Donegal from 1803 until 1831, and in 1816 was created Marquess of Conyngham, Earl of Mount Charles, and Viscount Slane in the Irish peerage. In 1821, he was created Baron Minster of Minster Abbey in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, became a member of the Privy Council and was appointed Lord Steward. In 1829, he was named Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle and served until he died in 1832. Elizabeth and her husband had five children:

According to the Duke of Wellington (to whom Elizabeth had become mistress in 1817), Elizabeth had expressed the desire to become the mistress of the Prince of Wales as early as 1806. Through the Duke of Wellington, she was introduced to the British court and caught the attention of the future King. By 1820, she had become his primary mistress, having replaced her friend, the Marchioness of Hertford. The aging king was besotted with Elizabeth, going so far as to ensure she was nearby at his coronation, reportedly winking and smiling at her during most of the ceremony. Quickly Elizabeth began to hold great influence over the new King, however, she avoided political matters, instead, she focused on the personal and financial gain of herself and her family. Her husband benefited greatly from the relationship – he was elevated to Marquess and received several positions within the royal household. One of her sons was made a Groom of the Bedchamber and Master of the Robes to the King, and of course, Elizabeth herself received lavish and expensive gifts as well, including some priceless jewelry from the royal vaults.

King George IV. source: Wikipedia

King George IV provided housing for Elizabeth and her family at Windsor Castle and the Brighton Pavilion. He ensured they traveled with him when he moved from one residence to another. Elisabeth was given full use of the King’s horses and carriages, and most of the large dinners held at her London townhouse were prepared in the kitchens of St. James’s Palace. To King George IV, nothing was ‘off limits’ for his beloved Elizabeth. Such was the King’s devotion to her that he bequeathed her all his plate and jewels although she refused them when he died.

However, it would all end on the morning of June 26, 1830, when King George IV died at Windsor Castle. By the following day, Elizabeth had packed her belongings and left Windsor for her brother’s home before traveling to Paris, reportedly expelled from the country by the new King William IV.

St. Mary’s Church, Patrixbourne. photo: By John Salmon, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2747370

Widowed in 1832, Elizabeth remained in Paris until the death of William IV in 1837. She returned to the family’s Bifrons estate in the village of Patrixbourne, near Canterbury, where she lived the remainder of her life. The Dowager Marchioness Conyngham died at Bifrons on October 11, 1861, at the age of 92, having survived all but one of her children. She is buried alongside her husband at St. Mary’s Church in Patrixbourne.

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.

Jane Shore, Mistress of Edward IV, King of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Unknown woman engraved as Jane Shore by Francesco Bartolozzi, published by Edward Harding, after Silvester (Sylvester) Harding, stipple engraving, published 1 May 1790 NPG D24103 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Edward IV, King of England had numerous mistresses but the most famous was Jane Shore. Born in London, England circa 1445 as Elizabeth Lambert, she was the daughter of John Lambert, a wealthy merchant, and his wife Amy Marshall. Some sources say she later took the name Jane for unknown reasons. Other sources say she was never called Jane during her lifetime and that the name was an invention of Thomas Heywood, 17th-century playwright and author because her real first name was omitted and then forgotten by authors. Regardless of the truth, she has come to be known as Jane Shore, Shore being her married name. Sir Thomas More, lawyer, social philosopher, author, and statesman, wrote about Jane in his History of Richard III. According to More, Jane had been fair of body though not tall. She was attractive to men more through her personality than her physical beauty, being intelligent, literate, merry, and playful.

As a young girl, Jane attracted many admirers, both for her beauty and intellect. Jane married William Shore (died 1494), a goldsmith and banker, who had been a frequent visitor to Jane’s home. Shore was fifteen years older than Jane, and although he was handsome and successful in business, he never could fully claim Jane’s affections. In 1476,  Jane received an annulment of her marriage due to Shore’s impotence which had prevented the couple from having children.

King Edward IV, the first monarch of the House of York, by Unknown English artist, oil on panel, circa 1540, NPG 3542 © National Portrait Gallery, London

According to the Patent Rolls for December 4, 1476, Jane and King Edward IV began their relationship in 1476. Edward was particularly devoted to Jane and Jane had a great influence on Edward. Jane did not use her relationship with the king for her personal gain and official documents show that Edward IV  did not bestow gifts upon her. In his History of Richard III, Sir Thomas More wrote of Jane, “Where the king took displeasure, she would mitigate and appease his mind; where men were out of favour, she would bring them in his grace; for many that highly offended, she obtained pardon.” Their relationship lasted until King Edward IV’s early death on April 9, 1483, a few weeks before his 41st birthday. His cause of death is not known for certain. Pneumonia, typhoid fever, malaria, poison, and an unhealthy lifestyle are some possibilities.

It appears that Jane was also the mistress of William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, a close friend of King Edward IV, whom he served as Lord Chamberlain, and Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville, wife of King Edward IV, and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby.

Richard III, King of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Jane played a role in creating an alliance between William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings and Elizabeth Woodville’s family during the time Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the future King Richard III), King Edward IV’s brother, served as Lord Protector of his young nephew King Edward V, the son of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville. The Duke of Gloucester moved to keep the Woodville family from exercising any power. Jane Shore was accused of carrying messages between Hastings and Edward IV’s widow Elizabeth Woodville. It was because of her role in this alliance that Jane was charged with conspiracy, along with Hastings and the Woodvilles, against the Lord Protector’s government. William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings eventually lost his head as did Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, Elizabeth Woodville’s brother, and Sir Richard Grey, Elizabeth Woodville’s son from her first marriage.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester had his young nephews, King Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, taken to the Tower of London, declared illegitimate, and then, he succeeded to the throne as King Richard III. At the end of the summer of 1483, the two boys, known as The Princes in the Tower, disappeared from public view altogether. Their fate is unknown and remains one of history’s greatest mysteries.

Jane’s punishment for her conspiracy included a public penance at Paul’s Cross, a preaching cross and open-air pulpit on the grounds of Old St Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. Jane proceeded through the streets of London with a candle in her hand, dressed only in her kirtle, a one-piece undergarment similar to a slip, attracting a lot of male attention along the way. Jane’s public penance is widely believed to be the inspiration behind Queen Cersei’s walk of atonement in the novel series and television series Game of Thrones.

The Penance of Jane Shore in St Paul’s Church, c.1793 by William Blake; Credit – Wikipedia

After her public penance, Jane was sent to Ludgate Prison in London, England. While at Ludgate Prison, Jane captivated Thomas Lynom, Solicitor-General of England. Lynom decided to marry, Jane believing that he would be able to free her from prison and Richard III did pardon Jane at the request of Lynom. The two married and had a daughter. In August 1485, when Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and succeeded to the throne as King Henry VII, Lynom lost his position as Solicitor-General of England. However, under King Henry VII, Lynom served on the Council of Wales and the Marches and was the controller of the household of Henry VII’s eldest son Arthur, Prince of Wales at Ludlow Castle.

Church of St. Nicholas in Hinxworth, Hertfordshire, England; Credit – By Rodney Burton, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9165187

Jane and Thomas Lynom lived the rest of their lives in comfort and Jane even became friends with Sir Thomas More who admired her wit.  Jane died, aged around 82, in 1527, during the reign of King Henry VIII. She was buried in the churchyard at the Church of St. Nicholas in Hinxworth, Hertfordshire, England.

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. Jane Shore. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Shore> [Accessed 24 July 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2016. King Edward IV Of England. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-edward-iv-of-england/> [Accessed 24 July 2020].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Шор, Джейн. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D0%BE%D1%80,_%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BD> [Accessed 24 July 2020].
  • Sparkes, Abagail, n.d. Jane Shore – Historic UK. [online] Historic UK. Available at: <https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Jane-Shore/> [Accessed 24 July 2020].

Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford, Mistress of King George IV of The United Kingdom

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford was the mistress of the future King George IV of the United Kingdom from 1807-1819.

Isabella Ingram-Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford source: Wikipedia

Isabella Anne Ingram was born in London on July 7, 1759, the eldest of five daughters of Charles Ingram, 9th Viscount of Irvine and Frances Shepherd. Charles Ingram was a prominent landowner and politician and served as a Groom of the Bedchamber to King George III from 1756 until 1763. Isabella had four younger sisters:

On May 20, 1776, she married Francis Seymour-Conway, Viscount Beauchamp, the eldest son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, and Lady Isabella Fitzroy, a daughter of the 2nd Duke of Grafton. Beauchamp would later succeed his father as 2nd Marquess of Hertford in 1794.

Francis spent much of his life in politics and public service. He served in the Irish House of Commons from 1761-1776 and held the position of Chief Secretary for Ireland under his father, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1765-1766. He was a Lord of the Treasury from 1774-1780, and then Cofferer of the Household until 1782. A member of the Privy Council, he was appointed Master of the Horse in 1804, and Lord Chamberlain of the Household from 1812-1821.

Isabella and her husband had one son:

Ragley Hall. photo: By DeFacto – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57719761

The Seymour-Conways were one of the wealthiest families in Britain, with an extensive portfolio of land and properties throughout England, Ireland and Wales. Future generations would amass an extensive art collection that would later be left to the nation. Known as the Wallace Collection, it is housed at the former Hertford House, the family’s townhouse in London. In addition to their London home, Isabella and her husband also inherited Ragley Hall in Warwickshire, which would later become one of the first stately homes in Britain to be opened to the public, and Sudbourne Hall in Suffolk.

It was around 1806 when The Prince of Wales began to notice and pursue Isabella. At the time, the Prince was engaged in a legal battle over the guardianship of Minney Seymour, a ward of his mistress (and wife) Maria Fitzherbert. Using his influence, he had Isabella and her husband named as guardians to the young girl, with the assurance that Maria Fitzherbert would continue to raise her. It was then that he began to notice Lady Hertford. Despite her initial refusal, she soon replaced Mrs. Fitzherbert as the Prince’s mistress. Their relationship lasted for 12 years, during which time the Prince often visited Isabella at Ragley Hall and Hertford House. He had also visited her at Temple Newsam, in Leeds, where he gifted Isabella with some Chinese wallpaper and some tapestries.

Temple Newsam. source: Wikipedia

Temple Newsam had been the ancestral home of the Viscounts of Irvine. Following her father’s death, the property went to Isabella’s mother, and then passed to Isabella in 1807 upon her mother’s death. It was at that point that Isabella and her husband added ‘Ingram’ to their surname, becoming Ingram-Seymour-Conway. Temple Newsam had a rich history of royal connections. Perhaps the most widely known is that it was the birthplace of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and father of King James IV of Scotland/James I of England.

In 1819, Isabella’s relationship with the Prince ended, as she was replaced by the Marchioness of Conyngham, who would become his last official mistress. Following her husband’s death in 1822, Isabella retreated to the family’s homes, spending much of her time at Temple Newsam and Ragley Hall, and living a relatively quiet life. She died at Ragley Hall on April 12, 1834, having lived through the entire reign of her former lover as King George IV and the succession of his younger brother, King William IV. She is buried at the Holy Trinity Church in Arrow, Warwickshire, near Ragley Hall.

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.

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 is 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, Geoge 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 that “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].