February may be the shortest month of the year but for the
history of the Monarchy it was quite busy.
1st February 1327 was the coronation of King
Edward III. He came to the throne following the death of his father Edward II.
He came to the throne aged 14 on the 25th January 1327 and was
crowned at Westminster Abbey.
King Edward III. Image courtesy of ancestryimages.com |
2nd February 1626 was the date of the coronation
of King Charles I. His reign began on the 27th March 1625 when his
father James VI (under the new convention) died. He was crowned at Westminster
Abbey but his wife Henrietta Maria of France was not crowned alongside him as
she was of the Catholic faith and as such could not be crowned in a Church of
England ceremony.
6th February 1685 saw the death of King Charles
II at Whitehall Palace several days after he suffered a seizure. Charles and
his wife Catherine of Braganza didn’t have any children, although Charles was
rumoured to have had as many as 14 illegitimate children, so he was succeeded
by his brother James as King James VII (under the new convention) whose reign
began on this day. It was also the date of the birth of the future Queen Anne
in 1665. She was born at St James Palace to the future King James VII and his
first wife Anne Hyde.
7th February 1102 was the date of birth of
Matilda, the daughter of King Henry 1. She would later become the Empress
Consort of the Holy Roman Empire and then Lady of the English during the
Medieval Anarchy. She was also the mother of the Plantagenet dynasty in England
through her marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet and their descendants. The 7th
of February also saw the marriage of King Henry IV to Joanna of Navarre, the
daughter of the King of Navarre, at Winchester Cathedral. It was the Kings
second marriage and produced no issues.
9th February 1649 was the burial date of King
Charles I following his execution for treason on the 30th January
1649. Charles was not allowed to be buried at Westminster Abbey so he was
buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
12th February 1554 was a black day. It was the
date that Queen Jane was executed at the Tower of London and then buried within
the Tower at St Peter ad Vincular. She was executed on the orders of her cousin
Queen Mary as she feared Jane would be a focal point for a Protestant uprising.
Jane’s husband Guildford Dudley was also executed on the same day.
14th February 1400 is the date when it was
believed that King Richard II died at Pontefract Castle. He may have starved to
death, although no one is really sure. Richard had been force to abdicate the
year before in favour of his cousin King Henry IV. This date was also the date
of the burial of King Charles II in 1685 at Westminster Abbey.
15th February 1516 saw the future Queen Mary
enter the world at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, London. She was the
only surviving child of King Henry VIII and his first wife Queen Catherine of
Aragon and would become Queen after the death of her half-brother King Edward
VI in 1553.
Queen Mary I. Image courtesy of ancestryimages.com |
16th February 1547 was the burial day of King
Henry VIII. Henry had died on the 28th January at Whitehall Palace
in London. His body was transferred to St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle
where he was buried alongside his third wife Queen Jane Seymour.
20th February 1547 was the day King Edward VI was
crowned King at Westminster Abbey. He ascended the throne aged 9 after the
death of his father King Henry VIII. He would reign until his death in 1553.
25th February 1308 saw another coronation in
Westminster Abbey. It was on this day that King Edward II was crowned. He
became King after the death of his father King Edward I on the 8th
July 1307. Edward was crowned alongside his new bride Isabella of France.
So lots happen in the monarchy in February. Why not try
coming up with a similar list for your own family.