Britain/Scotland's worst monarchs

[Pain_Man]

Here's something for the historically--minded, a BBC News story on a Britains worst Kings and Queens:

 

Monstrous Monarchs

 

As a student of history and an Anglophile and being largely of English, Scots, Scots-Irish descent, this is tough one. There've been so many idiot monarchs (and they are hardly confined to the UK). I'm trying to pick a few that the article doesn't mention. I realize (most) of these be arguable.

 

Edward the Confessor - more saint than King, he failed to clearly designate a sucessor, leading to two wars and the imposition of William I's bestial tyranny. William the Bastard tore up Northern England so badly (for rebelling against him) that it didn't recover until for seven hundred years [!].

 

Stephen - (usually known as Stephen of Blois), seized the crown from Matilda (his cousin), who would have been England's first regnant Queen. His illegal, precarious position depending upon the great magnates. He was a crappy king who was defeated by the future Henry II (one of England's greatest Kings and the most succesful European warrior since Charlemagne), who forced the childless Stephen to make him heir to the throne (this was before the heir was known as the "Prince of Wales").

 

James II - a full-on idiot and fanatical Catholic. He was such a fanatic that even Louis XIV (who destroyed France's protestant--Huguenot--minority with despicable brutality) cautioned him to move slowly.

 

As the Durants put it,James was "suicidally immune to advice." To be fair, however, he was not a tool of France. Whereas his predecessor (and brother) Charles II was content to take huge subsidies from Louis to follow France's line in European politics; James II refused and Louis turned off the cash.

 

As Lord Macauley put it (might have the name wrong), "If James had been a Protestant or even a moderate Catholic, he probably would have had a decent reign" and the Stuart dynasty would have probably lasted a lot longer and, perhaps, the present Royal family would not be German (the "Windors" real name is Saxe-Coburg-Gotha--from Prince Albert's family name--changed by George V during WWI because of the understandable anti-German feeling at the time).

 

Charles II - his reign was a mixed bag. Some good, some bad. He sold his country to France in the secret Treaty of Dover in which he promised, for a huge pile of cash--to convert to Catholicism and bring England along by force; he persuaded Louis to agree to send thousands of French troops to support him. Charles never followed through. Realizing, I'm sure, that had he done so, he would have certainly suffered his brother's fate and perhaps his father's.

 

Georges I & II - German louts who got the throne because of a sliver of Stuart blood and their rock-solid Protestantism. But their obsession with Hanover, skewed British foreign policy and pounds in order to protect the Electorate. Their family tradition of hatred between father and eldest son, contributed to the bitterness of faction in British politics.

 

And consider a what if: had George IV had a son (even had his daughter live, she couldn't have inherited the throne of Hanover), then Britain might very well have been drawn into the Franco-Prussian War in order to protect Hanover. Since Victoria was on the throne, World War I was post-poned for 40 years. This is important because US intervention in 1870--just five years after the end of our Civil War--would have been politically impossible and, more importantly, logistically impossible. Britain and France would have been on their own and Prussia-Germany would have dominated Europe for who knows how long.

[dontasciime]

William the Bastard tore up Northern England so badly (for rebelling against him) that it didn't recover until for seven hundred years [!].

 

It recovered ?

[lfcrule1972]

Donta is still fighting William the bastard to this day !!!!

 

Here is donta on his way back from Tesco's and his weekly shop.....

 

[blutach]

Hey donta. You could be an actor with those rugged good looks mate.

 

Regards

[dontasciime]

Hey donta. You could be an actor with those rugged good looks mate.

 

Unfortunately no as I look more like the guitar.

[lfcrule1972]

What guitar ?

[Altercuno]

Its a sword...

[dontasciime]

What guitar ?

 

Gibson

 

 

http://www.gibson.com/

[LOCOENG]

So you look like Slash?

[dontasciime]

No : lol

 

wish I had his money though.

[LOCOENG]

If you could get close enough to his nose you might be able to pull some out.

[dontasciime]

[lfcrule1972]

I didn't know that about Mad Max Gibson indeed !!!

[dontasciime]

I didn't know that about Mad Max Gibson indeed !!!

 

Was Loco not referring to Slash

[lfcrule1972]

Ah yeah that would explain it !!! lol

[LOCOENG]

Derrrrr!

[lfcrule1972]

'k off !!!

[blutach]

I guess poor pain man's political crap didn't really get our attention. Perhaps as the yanks' election hots up, we'll be more inclined to comment.

 

 

Regards

[LOCOENG]

I guess poor pain man's political crap didn't really get our attention. Perhaps as the yanks' election hots up, we'll be more inclined to comment.

 

 

Regards

 

Not from me

[lfcrule1972]

Is there an election happening this year then ??

 

Bwahahahahaha

[blutach]

Somthing about some woman whose gunna give birth to a (literal) bastard gunna run for president, I heard. Crikey!

 

Regards

[LOCOENG]

Actually Vice Prez and she's already alledgedly had the baby, now her daughter is knocked up. Most suspect the moms baby as actually being the daughters as she missed 5 months of school due to mononucleosis the same time the baby was born, with mental illness to boot. Sara Palin has brought a whole new meaning to the term political scandal as the list goes on and on. She is also currently under investigation by the state of Alaska (where she is gov) for firing the State Police chief because he wouldn't fire one of his officers who is/was married to her sister and was unfaithful.

[Altercuno]

Lipstick on pigs, lipstick on pitbulls....