Game of Thrones
What would you endure for a chance at possessing a throne and commanding a monarchy of your very own? Would you endure multi generational trauma? How many of your past and future descendants would you sacrifice? Can you play a decades or maybe even centuries long game? What would you be willing to wager to inherit the Earth, or at least a vast portion of it? The path to a throne is arduous, laced with traps and danger of certain death.
There are occasions where you need something to mindlessly watch, something that doesn’t require you to pay very close attention. A simple plot line, something you’ve seen before. While traveling a few weeks ago, scrolling YouTube for something to passively watch; I came across The Duchess. The Duchess is a 2008 movie starring Kiera Knightly as Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire also known as Georgiana Spencer the remarkable great-great-great-great aunt of Diana, Princess of Wales. I have seen this movie before, I decided to watch as I am familiar with the plot and comfortable in the assurance that I could dwindle while watching. The movie, itself is fair and gives a succinct spin on the infamously tragic marriage and personal life of Georgiana Spencer, a life not unlike her also ill fated niece, Diana.
There is a short chronicling of the affair Georgiana Spencer has with Charles Grey with whom she has an illegitimate daughter, Eliza Courtney. There’s a very moving scene in the movie where Georgiana, in exile in France hands over her precious infant to be adopted and raised by her lovers parents. I wondered what ever happened to Eliza Courtney? Which led me into an inquiry about the affiliation and intrigue that’s long been a part of the relationship between the Spencer’s and the Windsor’s.
In looking into what became of Eliza Courtney I stumbled upon the curious fact that her direct descendants include Sarah, Duchess of York, and her daughters the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, who are ninth and tenth in line to the British throne. It struck me that the line to the British throne is now stacked with Spencer’s. Is this happenstance or purposeful?
The current monarch Queen Elizabeth II has the throne due to Queen Anne of the House of Stuart who died in 1714, the British Parliament skipped over 50 nearest relatives of Queen Anne’s, all Catholics. They gave the British throne to her far-distant Protestant cousin, Georg of Hanover, who became King George I of the House of Hanover. Georg was a great-grandson of King James I of England. The House of Windsor is descended from the House of Tudor and the House of Plantagenet through one of Henry VII's daughters, who married a Scottish king and whose great-grandson was King James I of England. But to be precise the current British royal family is more German than its ever been British. Queen Victoria of the House of Hanover married a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and thus became a Saxe-Coburg-Gotha herself, as did their children and grandchildren. It was not until anti German sentiment during World War 1 that the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha changed their name to Windsor.
The Spencer family is a British aristocratic family, founded in the 15th century. There have been 19 generations of Spencer’s at their 13,000 acre family estate Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England. One of the Spencer’s ancestors was knighted by King Henry VIII. The Spencer’s are descended from two illegitimate children of King Charles II of England: Henry Fitzroy and Charles Lennox, via two of their great-grandmothers, Adelaide Seymour and Rosalind Bingham. The Spencer’s are direct descendants of The Stuarts that ruled both Britain and Scotland. Had the lines of descent been legitimate several of The Spencer’s would have been senior in line of succession over the Hanover/Saxe-Coburg-Gotha/Windsor’s. Illegitimacy has long been used to prohibit claims to royal succession. If and when Prince William inherits the throne, he will be the first King ever descended from Charles II and the first descendant of Charles I to rule Britain since 1714. Also, via his mother and “some” from his father William and also Harry are descended from every monarch of England and Scotland. Diana, brought back into the British royal family reconnections to its own history.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War also a Spencer descendant via Charles Spencer. In January 1936, Edward VIII succeeded his father, George V, as the British monarch. His desire to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, caused the abdication crisis. Interestingly, Churchill supported Edward in abdication and thusly became the de facto leader of the British Empire, it would seem he was the one wielding the power and making decisions as the empires preeminent leader. Churchill had a long and illustrious career as the foremost of the British statesman in their history, which I am no expert in, I just found it interesting that via a series of personal events and political machinations events, a Spencer found themselves in rulership.
Camilla Parker Bowles the ignominious gargoyle under Princess Diana marital bed, was an ex girlfriend of Charles, Prince of Wales. I am not going to fully examine their relationship and the havoc it caused on Diana as it has been on public display for decades and quite frankly it is not very interesting or romantic. What is curious is that Camilla’s ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles dated Princess Ann, the sister of Charles, Prince of Wales for several years. Also, Andrew Parker Bowles father, Derek, was a good friend to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who was sort of a godmother to Andrew. Andrew Parker Bowles and Princess Anne remained friends even after his rather quick marriage to Camilla after their breakup. Andrew Parker Bowles was a rampant adulterer having countless affairs while married to Camilla. Compellingly, he was completely aware and supportive of the affair between Charles and Camilla. I cannot help but wonder if both parties were in marriages of convenience. Charles to Diana for the legal and birth right of his future heirs to the British throne via her impressive aristocratic family tree thusly ensuring the Windsor family cannot be debarred or illegitimatized in the future. Camilla to Andrew so that she could remain in proximity to Charles, likely at the request of his ex-girlfriend and close family friendship with the Windsor’s. He was more than willing to step aside when the time came without a protest.
One could circumspect that the British throne actually belongs to The Spencer’s. It seems it has been a long, dangerous and humiliating road to the throne for The Spencer’s. Diana and The Duchess of York are the most recent sacrificial lambs in the quest. I suppose The Windsor’s begrudgingly were also in need of The Spencer’s as their union and offspring ensure established legal and birthright for the continuation of their line on the British throne. I guess, if you can’t beat them join them? Behind all of the sensationalized tabloid fodder about the British royal family it would seem there may be a far more riveting story of intrigue and battling interests….