If you always thought history was dull - read on! When history books record the reigns of Kings and Queens of England we are presented with the dry bones - facts and dates of their various reigns and very little else.
Now you can find out just what made these Kings and Queens of England tick and also learn about the odd and bizarre things they got up to.
George II - the king who took his temper out on his wig!
When George II was cross or angry - which was fairly often - his face would turn crimson, his eyes would bulge and he would snatch off his wig, stamp on it and then kick it around the room. He was a short, stout, vain, pernickety and very irascible man who was not very attractive at all.
Queen Caroline (wife of George II) - not a very loving mother!
Queen Caroline said of her eldest son - Frederick Louis - "my dear firstborn is the greatest ass, and the greatest liar...and the greatest beast in the whole world and I heartily wish he was out of it."
Tudor Mummy - the Queen who lay indecently exposed for 200 years!
Queen Catherine de Valois - King Henry V's wife, died in January 1437. She was buried with much pomp and circumstance in Westminster Abbey, where according to the custom of the time, her wooden effigy was carried before her coffin.
When Henry VII was buiding his great chapel her coffin was found decayed and Catherine’s body was put in a wooden box and placed near her Henry's tomb, where its ‘badly apparelled’ state was left open to the curious gaze. She remained indecently exposed for 200 years and it was a favourite game for the boys of Westminster School to steal bits of her skin and bone.
She was reburied in 1776, but it wasn’t until 1878 that she got a final resting place in the Chapel of Henry V.
Samual Pepys recorded in his famous diary that on his 36th birthday in 1669, when Catherine had been dead 200 years, he had knelt down and kissed Queen Catherine's lips.
The Essex Ring
Elizabeth I is known to have had many favourites but it is Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, whose name still lives with hers even though she was 33 years his senior. It is said that she gave him a ring that contained a cameo portrait of herself, as a token of her gratitude for defeating the Spanish at Cádiz. She told him, if ever he was in peril or if he ever fell out of favour with her, to send it to her as a reminder of her debt to him. Elizabeth signed his death warrant, hoping against hope (it is believed) that the ring would be returned. The captive Essex sent the ring from his cell in the Tower of London, but it is said that a jealous enemy stopped its delivery and the Queen never received it.
He was executed on 25 February 1601, on Tower Green at the Tower of London. Elizabeth was said to have wept for days, and became upset at the mere mention of his name for the rest of her life.
The "Essex Ring" was returned to Elizabeth, three centuries too late and was placed under glass and let into the side of her tomb. It was later removed and can be seen in the museum at Westminster Abbey.
The Spitting Queen!
In temper Elizabeth I was arbitrary, fickle, and passionate. When her blood was up, she would swear like a trooper, spit on a courtier's new velvet suit, beat her maids of honor, and box Essex's ears. She wrote abusive and even profane letters to high Church dignitaries, and she openly insulted the wife of Archbishop Parker, because she did not believe in a married clergy.
Jane of Castille - Crazy Jane
After Henry VII was widowed, he toyed with the idea of marrying Jane of Castille - Europe's richest woman, (known as Crazy Jane) but he abandoned the plan after discovering that the embalmed body of her first husband, Phillip, went everywhere with her.
Destruction of the Armada, 1588 - Speech of Elizabeth I.
When all danger was past, Elizabeth went to Tilbury, on the Thames below London, to review the troops collected there to defend the capital. "I know," said she, "that I have but the feeble body of a woman, but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England too." Unfortunately, the Queen's brave sailors were half starved and many of them came home only to die.
This feature only highlights just a few of the Kings and Queens of England and their strange habits and behaviour. There is the king who had his jawbone stolen, the queen who suffered from indigestion, gout and bowel problems who gave birth to 16 children - all of whom died at birth.... and many, many more weird and wonderful tales for another time.
This article is by the webmistress of Spend Time in London: A free guide to help you plan time in London
To find out more about London times, history, portraits of Englands Kings and Queens and much, much more - see: London Highlights and Attractions