5 Births, 2 Deaths, 1 Marriage and a Coronation

November is a busy month for anniversaries of the Royal Family of England/Great Britain. So what happened this month?

The year is 1035 and Canute is King after leading a Viking force in 1015 against the English and defeating King Edmund Ironsides forces. Edmund had died soon after and so Canute was King. He reigned until the 12th November 1035 when he died and the crown passed to Harold Harefoot, Canute’s second son. He acted as regent for his younger half-brother Harthacnut but decided to keep the throne for himself.

King Canute

1321 saw the birth of a little baby boy named Edward occurred at Windsor Castle on the 13th November. He was born to King Edward III and Isabella of France. His grandparents were King Edward I of England, King Philip IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre.  Young Edward would become King Edward III of England in 1327. He married Philippa of Hainault in 1328 and had 14 children by her, including Edward the Black Prince and John of Gaunt (who attempted to populate the world single handily with 14 children by 4 women). 2 of his grandsons would become King, Richard II and Henry IV.

In 1429 King Henry VI was crowned King of England on 6th November aged 8 months and 27 days. Henry was the son of King Henry V of England and Catherine of Valois and the grandson of King Henry VI of England and King Charles VI of France. Henry inherited the throne of France on the 21st October 1422 when he was 11 months and 16 days old through his mother. He was just 8 years old when he was crowned in England and 10 years old when he was crowned in France. Henry was King of England for around 39 years over 2 periods during the Wars of the Roses until his murder in 1471 and around 31 years in France although many did not acknowledge his rule in France and favoured his maternal uncle Charles VII. Henry was half-brother to Edmund and Jasper Tudor and their siblings and the uncle of Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII.

On the 17th November 1558 aged 42 of probably cancer Queen Mary died. She was childless and so the crown passed to her half-sister Elizabeth. Mary was the daughter of King Henry VIII of England and Katherine of Aragon, this made her the granddaughter of King Henry VII, King Ferdinand III of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile. Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn and the granddaughter of King Henry VII.

Queen Mary I & Queen Elizabeth I

It’s the 19^th November 1600 and in Dunfermline Palace in Fife, Scotland a little boy named Charles took his first breaths. He was born to King James VI of Scotland and his wife Anne of Denmark and was the grandson of Mary Queen of Scots and King Frederick II of Denmark. In 1625 Charles became King Charles I of England and Scotland and would rule until his execution for treason in 1649.

In the Hague on the 4^th November William Prince of Orange was born to William II, Prince of Orange and Mary, Princess Royal of England and Scotland. This made young William the grandson of King Charles I. William married his maternal cousin Mary, the daughter of his mother’s brother’s King James VII. William ruled jointly with his wife as King William III and Queen Mary II of England and Scotland.

Now November was fairly quiet until 1841 when another boy was born, this time to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Albert Edward was born on the 9^th November in Buckingham Palace. He was go on to become King Edward VII of Great Britain from 1901 until his death in 1910.

On the 20^th November 1947 King Edward VII great granddaughter Princess Elizabeth married her distant cousin Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. They were second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark and third cousins through Queen Victoria. They were married at Westminster Abbey. The following November on the 14^th Elizabeth and Philip’s first child was born, a son named Charles who would later become Charles, Prince of Wales after his mother’s accession to the throne in 1952.

So as you can see November has been an extremely busy month for the Royal Family with lots of events to remember.