started in 1971 when the BBC put out "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0066714). I was four, and, as I recall, had a murderous cold. I sat on my mother's lap and was enraptured by the pageantry and followed it as much as any four year might. I did know there were such things as kings and queens, and was pretty certain I wanted to be one when I grew up. I progressed from there to filching my mother's copy of Lady Antonia Fraser's "Mary, Queen of Scots" as well as reading about the Tudors.
Like many children, I suppose, I was fascinated/horrified by the idea of a Queen being executed, like Mary Stuart and Anne Boleyn before her. My parents encouraged me to read and I adored collecting and pouring over non-fictional books about the Royalty of times past. As it turned out, my destiny was not to become a Queen Regnant, and the older I became, the more I realized that I was better suited to becoming exactly what I became: a historian and a writer.
I have received many e-mails and letters over the years that have greatly flattered me by saying I have "brought History to Life.” It is my hope to "spread the wealth." In my opinion, it doesn't take much to be able to vomit up dry names, dates and places. What makes History interesting are the stories of the very real people who "made History happen."
And History is not without humour. The personalities of historical personages, with all their virtues and vices, are what made the events possible. Some had better senses of humour than others, and like all human beings throughout History, had their vices as well as virtues. For example, King George IV of England, loathed his wife, the former Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel. Upon meeting his intended for the first time, the Prince famously said his equerry, "Pray, Harris, get me a brandy, for I am not well..." The Princess, for her part, though touchingly eager to fall madly in love with her future husband, was also less than charmed.
As can be imagined, from such an inauspicious beginning, things declined steadily from there. The Princess went off to live on the Continent, where she scandalized society with her wild behaviour and decidedly off-beat tastes, such as appearing at a party sporting a half a watermelon on her noggin. Her estranged husband, meanwhile, consoled himself with his parade of mistresses (it didn't help that he had been married, albeit illegally, to another woman when he married Caroline) and affecting great shock at his wife's behaviour, while having a none-too-tidy personal life of his own. His divorce action failed, and though Caroline attempted to attend George's coronation in 1821, she was refused admittance to Westminster Abbey. She died soon after, choosing "the Injured Queen of England" as her epitaph.
That this is but one small part, much condensed, of the many fascinating stories about Royalty. Sex, drugs, adultery, even murder, all play their part in History.
So, feel free to ask away. Ever wonder if Elizabeth I, the famous "Virgin Queen" was really all that virginal? Or why "Bloody Mary" was called so? Ask! I hope to provide entertaining, as well as informative, answers. I would love to share my love of History, especially Royal History, with you.
– Candace
ABOUT WHY BACKGROUND ARTICLES FUTURE LINKS CONTACT
© 2003 C.E. Metz-Longinette-Gahring | Web site: Marcella Creative, Inc.
