[QUOTE=alphaboi867]
Also both Mary I and Elizabeth I were bastards when they ascended to the throne. Each had laws passed retroactively legitimating them.
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Although, to clarify, each was officially considered legitimate at the time of her birth, and Elizabeth was legitimate until the law was passed legitimizing Mary … :dubious:
[QUOTE=Polycarp]
For the record, the next-to-last king of Portugal before abolition of the monarchy reigned for only 20 minutes, and spent his entire reign bleeding to death.
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Geez. Talk about your ‘good news/bad news’ situation.
[QUOTE=SCSimmons]
Although, to clarify, each was officially considered legitimate at the time of her birth, and Elizabeth was legitimate until the law was passed legitimizing Mary … :dubious:…
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Elizabeth was only considered legitimate until Anne Boleyn’s marriage to Henry VIII was annuled. After that she was considered a bastard (as was her sister).
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried]
I’ll have to rent that movie again - I seem to remember a scene where Jane Grey (Helena Bonham Carter) didn’t want to touch the official crown but then I’m sure there were other scenes where she was wearing it or some other crown. I would be shocked to find out that the movie was inaccurate!
How would you like to be the guy that could tell his friends afterwards: “Lady Jane couldn’t find the chopping block with her blindfold on so I helped her out”!?!
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If it’s any consolation, I do recall the execution scene in the movie, and the scene did have her blindfolded and fumbling for the block. Bonham Carter may have even said what was attributed to Lady Jane in the eyewitness account. So unless I am totally misremembering, they got that part of the movie right. It was quite affecting.
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried]
How would you like to be the guy that could tell his friends afterwards: “Lady Jane couldn’t find the chopping block with her blindfold on so I helped her out”!?!
[/QUOTE]
The Wiki site includes the famous (but somewhat inaccurate) painting of this moment: link
[QUOTE=alphaboi867]
Henry VIII didn’t have the authority (he wasn’t an absolute monarch) to alter the succession on his own. An act of parliament was needed to give him the power to alter the order of succession. No such act was passed for Edward VI. And Edward was a minor (and thus unable to even legally write a will) and he didn’t actually rule (a council of regents did, per Henry VIII’s will).
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Thank you. That makes sense.
I still feel sorry for Queen Jane, she was pushed around by people more powerful than her and ended up dead because of the ambitions of others. Not fair.
For the record, the next-to-last king of Portugal before abolition of the monarchy reigned for only 20 minutes, and spent his entire reign bleeding to death. He and his father, the incumbent king, were assassinated together, the king-until-that-point dying immediately and the son, becoming king automatically on the death of his father, fatally wounded but not yet dead. His own infant son, fortunately not along on the fatal trip, succeeded him.
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According to Wikipedia, he didn’t actually become king – some additional formality would be required, unlike the British system – but they’re a little woolly as to why.
