by Alex David
George VI
Date of death: 5 or 6 Feb 1952
Age at death: 56
Cause: Severe arteriosclerosis and lung disease caused by excessive smoking and stress. George’s direct cause of death was a coronary thrombosis heart attack, likely during his sleep. His exact time of death during the night of 5/6 February 1952 is not known as he died alone.
211
Burial Places of Monarchs
Listed below are the burial locations of each monarch since William the Conqueror’s death in 1087. Except where noted, these are current burial locations.
William I
Burial: Abbaye aux Homes, Caen, Normandy, France.
Note: William I’s original tomb and remains were destroyed in 1562 during the French Wars of Religion. A new grave today only contains a thighbone said to have survived destruction.
William II
Burial: Winchester Cathedral.
Note: During the English Civil War the remains of William II were desecrated and mixed with those of older Anglo-Saxon kings who were also buried in the cathedral. They remain mixed today and are kept in mortuary chests in the sanctuary.
212
Henry I
Burial: Reading Abbey, Berkshire
Note: Reading Abbey was destroyed during the English Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. The fate of Henry I’s remains is not known.
Stephen
Burial: Faversham Abbey, Kent Note: Faversham Abbey was destroyed during the English Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. The fate of Stephen’s remains is not known.
Henry II
Burial: Fontevrault Abbey, Loire Valley, France.
Note: The remains are lost, likely destroyed during the French Revolution. Only the sculpted tomb survives.
Richard I
Burial: Fontevrault Abbey, Loire Valley, France.
Note: The remains are lost, likely destroyed during the French Revolution. Only the sculpted tomb survives.
John
Burial: Worcester Cathedral, Worcestershire
Henry III
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
213
Edward I
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Edward II
Burial: Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire
Edward III
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Richard II
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Note: Originally buried in All Saints Church, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire.
Henry IV
Burial: Canterbury Cathedral, Kent
Henry V
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Henry VI
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
Note: Originally buried in Chertsey Abbey, Surrey.
Edward IV
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
214
Edward V
Burial: Unknown, perhaps Westminster Abbey, London
Richard III
Burial: Leicester Cathedral, Leicestershire.
Note: Originally buried in Greyfriars Priory, Leicester.
Henry VII
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Henry VIII
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
Edward VI
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Mary I
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Elizabeth I
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
James I
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Charles I
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
215
Charles II
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
James II
Burial: Church of St Germain en Laye, near Paris, France Note: After he died in exile James II’s body was laid to rest in the Church of the English Benedictines in Paris in 1701.
His remains there were destroyed in 1793 during the French Revolution. His current funerary monument in St Germain en Laye only contains a small part of his chest entrails that had been set apart for separate burial, as per French royal custom.
Mary II
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
William III
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
Anne
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
George I
Burial: Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover, Germany Note: George I was originally buried in Leine Castle, Hanover. After the castle was destroyed in the Second World War his remains, which had miraculously survived, 216
were moved to a chapel in the grounds of Herrenhausen Palace.
George II
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London
George III
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
George IV
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
William IV
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
Victoria
Burial: Frogmore Royal Mausoleum, Windsor Home Park, Berkshire
Edward VII
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
George V
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
217
Edward VIII
Burial: Frogmore Royal Burial Grounds, Windsor Home Park, Berkshire
George VI
Burial: St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, Berkshire
218
Family
219
Queens and Royal Consorts
Since 1066
Listed on the following pages are all the English/British royal consorts who reigned since the Norman Conquest of 1066. Each entry includes basic biographical data and notable facts from each consort’s life, plus their burial places. Note that, following the practice followed
elsewhere in this book, Guilford Dudley, the husband of Lady Jane Grey, is not included. George I’s wife, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, is also not included on the list as she never reigned as Queen of Great Britain because of her divorce from George in 1694, prior to his accession as king.
220
Matilda of Flanders
(c.1031 – 2 Nov 1083)
Spouse: William I
Tenure as Queen: 25 Dec 1066 – 2 Nov 1083
Marriage: c.1050-52 to 2 Nov 1083.
Parents: Count Baldwin V of Flanders and Adele of France.
Notable Facts:
• Granddaughter of the King of France and a descendant of Charlemagne.
• Legend says she was unwilling to marry William
because of his illegitimate birth and that he convinced her by rough wooing her.
• Their marriage was a happy one with no evidence of William keeping mistresses.
• She was often a peacemaker in the family between
William and his sons.
• She acted as regent for the Duchy of Normandy when her husband was in England.
• At about 4-5 feet, she is reputed to have been the shortest queen in English history.
Burial: Abbaye aux Dames church, Caen, Normandy, France.
221
Matilda of Scotland
(c.1080 – 1 May 1118)
Spouse: Henry I
Tenure as Queen / Marriage: 11 Nov 1100 – 1 May 1118
Parents: King Malcolm III of Scotland and Margaret of Wessex
Notable Facts:
• Before her marriage she spent time in a convent and had to obtain a church dispensation to marry Henry.
• Originally named Edith, she changed it to the Norman name Matilda upon marriage.
• A descendant of the royal House of Wessex, her
marriage united the Norman and Anglo-Saxon royal
dynasties.
• She was a full pol
itical partner to Henry, often advising him and chairing council meetings in his absence.
• Known for her piety and religious works, she founded two leper hospitals.
• She was also a patron of the arts, commissioning
literary works and architectural projects.
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London.
222
Adeliza of Louvain
(c.1103 – 23 Apr 1151)
Spouse: Henry I
Tenure as Queen / Marriage: 24 Jan 1121 – 1 Dec 1135
Parents: Count Godfrey I of Louvain and Ide of Namur
Notable Facts:
• Thirty-five years younger than her husband, she was married to Henry to produce more heirs to the throne, however their 14-year marriage was barren.
• After Henry died she remarried to one of his Norman vassal earls and eventually produced seven children.
• Later in life she entered a convent in her native Flanders.
Burial: Presumed to be at Affligem Abbey, Belgium, where she retired before dying.
223
Matilda of Boulogne
(c.1105 – 3 May 1152)
Spouse: Stephen
Tenure as Queen: 22 Dec 1135 – 3 May 1152
Marriage: c.1125 – 3 May 1152
Parents: Count Eustace III of Boulogne and Mary of Scotland
Notable Facts:
• One of the richest heiresses of her time, she was Countess of Boulogne in her own right. Her marriage to Stephen was arranged by King Henry I.
• A niece of Queen Matilda of Scotland (see above), like her she was also descended from the Anglo-Saxon House of Wessex.
• She supported her husband’s seizure of the crown and gained allies for him in England and abroad.
• She personally led armies during the Anarchy, capturing Dover Castle and winning the Battle of Winchester.
• Said to be wiser and more politically astute than her husband, her death finally crippled his cause.
Burial: Faversham Abbey, Kent, which was destroyed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. Her remains are lost.
224
Eleanor of Aquitaine
(c.1122/24 – 1 Apr 1204)
Spouse: Henry II
Tenure as Queen: 25 Oct 1154 – 6 Jul 1189
Marriage: 18 May 1152 – 6 Jul 1189
Parents: Duke William X of Aquitaine and Aenor of Chatellerault
Notable Facts:
• One of the most remarkable women of the Middle
Ages, Eleanor was the only woman to have been
separately both Queen of France and Queen of England.
• The richest heiress in Europe, she was ruler of the vast Duchy of Aquitaine, France, in her own right.
• While Queen of France she travelled to the Holy Land on Crusade leading an ‘army of ladies’.
• She was a patroness of poets and troubadours, many of whom congregated at her court in Poitiers.
• Her marriage to Henry was passionate and stormy, and often damaged by his philandering.
• She encouraged her sons to rebel against Henry and as a punishment she was kept prisoner by her husband for 15 years until his death.
• Freed from her imprisonment when she was in her 60s, she acted as an energetic regent of England during her 225
son Richard I’s absences, and travelled widely around Europe.
• She lived into her 80s to advise her son John at the beginning of his reign.
Burial: Fontevraud Abbey, Loire Valley, France. Her remains are lost, only the effigy remains.
226
Berengaria of Navarre
(c.1163/65 – 23 Dec 1230)
Spouse: Richard I
Tenure as Queen / Marriage: 12 May 1191 – 6 Apr 1199
Parents: King Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile
Notable Facts:
• She married Richard in Cyprus whilst he was travelling on Crusade and accompanied him to the Holy Land.
• The marriage was arranged for political reasons. She was neglected by Richard and failed to produce heirs.
• She was overshadowed in her role as queen by her
mother-in-law Eleanor of Aquitaine who acted as
Richard’s regent in England during his reign.
• Said to have never visited England when she was
Queen, she may however have visited the country
afterwards.
• After Richard’s death she spent the rest of her life as a widow in France doing charitable works.
Burial: L’Epau Abbey, Le Mans, France.
227
Isabella of Angouleme
(c.1187 – 31 May 1246)
Spouse: John
Tenure as Queen / Marriage: 24 Aug 1200 – 19 Oct 1216
Parents: Count Aymer of Angouleme and Alice of Courtenay
Notable Facts:
• Twenty years younger than her husband, she was only 12 years of age when John stole her from her intended husband, Count Hugh of Lusignan in France.
• Said to be vain and fickle, she did not play a part in government.
• After John died she arranged the crowning of their 9-year-old son, Henry, but then went back to France leaving most of her children behind.
• She later married the son of her first intended husband and had at least 10 more children from him.
Burial: Fontevraud Abbey, Loire Valley, France. Her remains are lost, only the effigy remains.
228
Eleanor of Provence
(c.1223 – 24 Jun 1291)
Spouse: Henry III
Tenure as Queen / Marriage: 14 Jan 1236 – 16 Nov 1272
Parents: Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy
Notable Facts:
• She was one of four sisters, each of whom married a European king.
• Known to be cultured, intelligent, and skilled in poetry.
• She enjoyed a close, loving marriage with Henry, but was unpopular in the country because of her favouritism to foreign relatives.
• She supported Henry during the Second Barons’ War by raising funds abroad.
• After Henry died she became a nun but continued to exercise influence in the family as Queen Mother.
Burial: Amesbury Abbey, now the parish church of St Mary and St Melor, Amesbury, Wiltshire.
229
Eleanor of Castile
(1241 – 28 Nov 1290)
Spouse: Edward I
Tenure as Queen: 16 Nov 1272 – 28 Nov 1290
Marriage: 1 Nov 1254 – 28 Nov 1290
Parents: King Ferdinand III of Castile and Joan of Dammartin
Notable Facts:
• Her marriage to Edward started as a diplomatic
arrangement but developed into a true love match.
• She accompanied Edward on Crusade to the Holy Land and on military campaigns in Wales.
• A patron of literature and architecture, she introduced water gardens and Spanish carpets to England.
• She was not however popular with the English people who resented her for the wealth she amassed and
thought her greedy.
• After 36 years of marriage she predeceased Edward.
Her death greatly affected him and he built a series of
‘Eleanor Crosses’ in England to commemorate her
passing.
Burial: Westminster Abbey, London.
230
Margaret of France
(c.1279 – 14 Feb 1317)
Spouse: Edward I
Tenure as Queen / Marriage: 10 Sep 1299 – 7 Jul 1307
Parents: King Philip III of France and Marie of Brabant
Notable Facts:
• Forty years younger than her husband, like Edward’s first marriage they were married for diplomatic reasons but developed a true loving relationship.
• She often accompanied Edward on military campaigns.
• She acted as a peacemaker b
etween her husband and his wayward son Prince Edward.
• After her husband died she never remarried.
Burial: Greyfriars Church, London, now destroyed. Her remains are lost.
231
Isabella of France
(c.1295 – 22 Aug 1358)
Spouse: Edward II
Tenure as Queen: 25 Jan 1308 – 20 Jan 1327
Marriage: 25 Jan 1308 – 21 Sep 1327
Parents: King Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre
Notable Facts:
• Famous for her great beauty and intelligence, she also was one of the most controversial royal consorts in British history.