Anne Neville, the odd queen out

Anne Neville (Faye Marsay) and Richard III (Aneurin Barnard) save money by being crowned at the same time in The White Queen

To catch a king - the romance and politics behind a royal marriage have long fascinated historians and novelists alike. What is it about the women who wear a consort's crown that makes them marriage material for monarchs?  The hint of a love story is enough to send hearts racing and pens pounding paper while the heartbreak of young women left in miserable marriages because it suited the ambitions of their husbands, fathers and brothers has a poignancy all of its own.  In England, monarchs have ascended the throne with a spare consort's seat to their left with astounding regularity.  Kings complete with queens on the day they took the throne were a rarity and from 1377 until the rise of the House of Stuart in 1603, just one queen was already wed to her king on the day of his accession.  And that was Anne Neville.

Maria, the unwilling queenmaker

History is full of ifs and buts.  If, if, if....the nagging wonder of what might have happened if just one thing had been slightly different.  But, but, but...but for a tiny moment, what might have been?  So how about this if?  If one woman, born in 1491, had been slightly more interested in song, dance and storytelling might the whole history of England have been different?

Royal Travel: finding the women of the Wars of the Roses

The White Queen and her rivals are rare in English history - a group of women at the heart of the action and all from the British Isles.  Finding the birthplace of most queen consorts of England involves a ferry or plane trip to the continent and while there tracking down their burial place as many are interred abroad.  But the women of the Wars of the Roses spent most of their lives in the country they helped fight over so visiting the places they frequented is a bit easier if all you have is a spare Saturday afternoon and a roadmap. OK, you can't do it right now as we all stay inside to save lives but one day we will be able to venture out again. So either use this to make plans or just read and let your mind wander. Here's a wander in the footsteps of the women of the Wars of the Roses.

The actress who could never be queen

Mrs Jordan was one of the best known actresses of her day but her fame increased greatly when she became the lover of Prince William, Duke of Clarence...third son of King George III
(portrait by Hoppner via Wiki Commons)

For twenty years the woman at the side of one of the most popular dukes of his day was an actress, among the best known of her day.  They shared a home and a family while her fame and fortune sometimes eclipsed his. Dorothea Bland, better known as Mrs Jordan, never expected her prince to marry her.  But soon after they separated, his prospects changed entirely.  Dorothea's former lover went on to be King William IV.  

Queens married to a psychopath

Guess who might have had a hubby fitting that bill?

Today, I'm revisiting one of the stories I've found most interesting in all the time I've had this blog and it's one from the very early days. It's all about royal psychopaths. The research, from 2013, probably wouldn't hold too many surprises for Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Catherine Howard.  The two cousins who lost their heads after stealing Henry VIII's heart would most likely agree with the modern expert who believes their shared royal husband to have been a psychopath.