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Just finished watching The King's Speech with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for sis's birthday. Really enjoyed it. Brought up my old curiosities about English monarchy and the whole system and things "...tits." And it was weird because I'm so used to seeing a lot of the major players in other types of roles and they all looked so different in this movie!! Helena Bonham-Carter looked normal! And Geoffrey Rush...and Guy Pierce...what'shisface who plays Wormtail...and Michael Gambon ugh he needs to go away... Colin Firth is like the only one who looked normal but omg he gave a helluva performance. Fabulous job with the role. Makes me really want to research King George VI. My mother-in-law enjoys this movie far too much I learned a lot of trivia about the royal family of that time period than I really needed to know, half of which I can't remember anymore. But yeah. Really good movie. Glad I got the opportunity to watch it because it's not a movie John would want to sit down and watch with me.
George VI's wife is Elizabeth I. Yes? Dunno why but that seems weird to me. We were talking about how kings had rules about which names they used in conjunction with their titles. George VI was actually an Albert, his brother David was King Edward ?? before he abdicated... Kings have to change their names depending on certain rules and things. There's Henry, Edward, George, William? Do the women have to do it too? Interesting question...
George VI's wife is Elizabeth I. Yes? Dunno why but that seems weird to me. We were talking about how kings had rules about which names they used in conjunction with their titles. George VI was actually an Albert, his brother David was King Edward ?? before he abdicated... Kings have to change their names depending on certain rules and things. There's Henry, Edward, George, William? Do the women have to do it too? Interesting question...
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Date: 2011-03-26 03:08 pm (UTC)From:George VI's daughter is Elizabeth II. His wife was Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who died just a few years ago.
No monarchs have to change their names. Only a few monarchs of England/Great Britain have taken regnal names different from their Christian names. Victoria was christened Alexandrina Victoria, but was known as Victoria her whole life, as a Princess and as Queen. Victoria's eldest son Albert reigned as Edward partially in defiance of his dead mother's wishes (she wanted all her descendants to reign as Albert-Whatever's, but, as the new King had not enjoyed a good relationship with his father, he wasn't thrilled about this prospect), and partially because people thought Albert sounded too German. So he became Edward VII, Edward being a good solid English name going way back. Edward VIII's proper first Christian name really was Edward, David was actually the last of his seven names. George VI continued this tradition, and took a regnal name after his father (who was Edward VII's son). Elizabeth II was actually asked if she would take a different regnal name, leaving Elizabeth to belong to the famous Tudor queen alone, but she didn't see any reason not to rule in her own name, and I'd say she's done the appellation justice.
There's been some speculation that Prince Charles might take a different regnal name (possibly George VII), what with Charles I getting beheaded and Charles II being a famous philanderer and the father of sixteen (I think) bastards, but he says no, he's keeping his own name and will be Charles III. (Assuming he gets to rule. I maintain Elizbeth's going to hold out long enough to pass the crown straight to William V).
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Date: 2011-03-27 12:54 pm (UTC)From:Elizabeth the Queen Mother died just a few years ago...so she was like, 100+?? Damn.
Oooooh oooh, maybe you know the answer to this question. George VI's wife Elizabeth I was not crowned Queen alongside him (it didn't seem like it would happen in the movie and it didn't happen that my mother-in-law could think of) but she was referred to as a Queen, yes? How does that work? Because the MiL remembers that Liz I had to step aside for Elizabeth II to become Queen, or something...
And in a completely different movie reference, John and I just rented the recent Robin Hood to watch again (we saw it in theatres when it was released), and I had a thought... In this Robin Hood, Richard dies at the end of the crusade just as they were supposed to be returning to London or England or something. Does he actually die or does he return??? I could probably look this stuff up but it's funnererer to ask someone who knows! =)
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Date: 2011-03-27 01:38 pm (UTC)From:That's pretty much it.
George VI's wife Elizabeth I was not crowned Queen alongside him (it didn't seem like it would happen in the movie and it didn't happen that my mother-in-law could think of) but she was referred to as a Queen, yes? How does that work? Because the MiL remembers that Liz I had to step aside for Elizabeth II to become Queen, or something...
She was crowned Queen Consort, not Queen Regnant -- almost no spouses of monarchs are every crowned King or Queen Regnant, because then you get into some confusion over who actually has the power. The only monarchs to actually share regnal power in England were William III and Mary II -- because Parliament needed Mary's bloodline and William's army to come take the throne from James II. When it's a male consort and a female monarch, they generally get styled Prince Whoever, not King, for bizarre gender-related reasons. Female consorts to male rulers, however, still get styled Queen -- so Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became Queen Elizabeth as a courtesy title, not invested with any actual power.
So, no, she didn't have to step aside for Elizabeth II to become Queen, but she began to be styled "Elizabeth the Queen Mother" rather than "Queen Elizabeth" (and, informally, the Queen Mum) just so as to avoid confusion with her daughter, since Lilibet didn't take a different regnal name.
In this Robin Hood, Richard dies at the end of the crusade just as they were supposed to be returning to London or England or something. Does he actually die or does he return???
Richard did die outside of England -- in fact, for a man who was king of England for a decade, he somewhat shamefully spent only six months on the island. He spent most of his time crusading, imprisoned in Germany, or in England's French territories. His death was an accident -- archery practice gone wrong at some fortress in France. He got hit in the shoulder, it took gangrenous, and he died. This was a while after his crusade, though.