"Sex With the Queen" by Eleanor Herman Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. When Princess Sophia Dorothea of Celle (1666-1726) heard whom she would be marrying she cried; "I will not marry the pig snout!" Who was this man, the Elector of Hanover, who wasn't that happy with his choice of bride either, although she was considered a wealthy beauty?

Answer: George Louis

The moniker "pig snount" was commonly applied to George Louis of Hanover (1660-1727), later King George I of England from 1714-27. The marriage was a deeply unhappy one, even though she bore him two children. Swedish mercenary Philip von Konigsmarck proved to be her one true love and their clandestine trysts kept Sophia happy until they were discovered. It is believed Konigsmarck was killed by George's men, and George kept Sophia prisoner in Ahlden Castle the rest of her life. He divorced her, so she never became queen of England.

After her death, George I refused for some time to bury her, but finally laid her to rest in the family crypt in Celle. Not long after, he died himself.

Bernstoff was Sophia's father's prime minister; von Platen was a minor court official.

2. When this future queen first entered her new home city she was met with rousing cheers, thunderous applause and was told by a city official: "Madame, you have here one hundred thousand lovers." Who was this beautiful future queen?

Answer: Marie Antoinette

Funny how times and opinions change. Of course Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), suffered an ignoble end at the guillotine after serving as wife to a sexually inept dauphin (later King Louis XVI).

The people of London loved Henry VIII's (1491-1547) first wife Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) and hated her 'usurper' Anne Boleyn (c.1500-36). Katharine of Braganza (1638-1705) was the long-suffering queen of the over-sexed 'Merry Monarch", Charles II.

3. Although many of her purported sexual exploits are apocryphal (many of the rumors she laughed at herself), Russia's Catherine the Great (1729-96) did have a voracious sexual appetite and took many lovers. But only one was the true love of her life. Who was he?

Answer: Gregory Potemkin

Definitely the shining star in a string of (mostly) young lovers, Prince Gregory Potemkin (1739-91) rose from a fairly low station to the most powerful man in Russia. He added greatly to the Russian empire, founding cities such as Sevastapol and Odessa. As Catherine aged, he grew tired of her and 'threw' new, young lovers in her direction, such as Ivan Korsakov and Peter Zavadovsky.

Gregory Orlov (1734-1783), an early lover of Catherine supplanted by Potemkin, probably killed her hated, repulsive husband Tsar Peter III, thus making Catherine Empress.

Interestingly, Catherine remained monogamous with each lover, never taking more than one at a time.

4. The author of "Sex With the Queen", Eleanor Herman, says she is named after her grandmother 28 times removed, another famous Eleanor. But which one?

Answer: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), one of medieval Europe's most famous women for many reasons, was both Queen of France and of England. She was the mother of two additional Kings, King Richard I and King John of England. Her 10 total (9 living into adulthood) children easily made her 'the Grandmother of Europe' long before Queen Victoria.

Eleanor of Provence (c.1233-1291), married England's Henry III (1207-1272) at age 12. They had five children, including the future King Edward I (1239-1307).

King Edward I, in turn, married Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290). Contrary to most arranged marriages, Edward was devoted to Eleanor and fathered no known children out of wedlock. Following her death in 1291, Edward ordered the construction of 12 stone crosses marking spots where her funeral cortege stopped between Lincoln and London. Known as the "Eleanor Crosses", only three survive).

The daughter of King Peter IV of Aragon (1319-1387), Eleanor of Aragon (1358-1382) became Queen of Castile by marrying King John I (1358-1390) in 1375.

5. Alexandra (1872-1918), consort of Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) of Russia, had what most thought was an overly-ardent devotion to the scruffy, lascivious Gregori Rasputin. Oddly, Rasputin seemed to help her son, the Tsarvetch Alexei's hemophilia. Of the following, which one was NOT a rumor spread about Rasputin and his relationship with the royal family?

Answer: He was Nicholas' illigitimate brother

Grigori Rafimovich Rasputin (1872-1916), a peasant and self-styled holy man, was a major contributor to the decline in respect for the Romanov royal family and certainly contributed to the Russian Revolution.

6. Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales and wife of George, England's Prince Regent, was despised by her husband (and vice versa) but supported by the English people, although she openly toured Europe with her lover, Bartolomeo Pergami. Known to dress, shall we say, in a unique fashion, what did the Duke of Baden see her wearing on her head one hot day?

Answer: Half a hollowed-out pumpkin shell

She said "It kept her cool."

The marriage of George (later George IV, 1762-1830) and Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821) wasn't one fairy tales are made of, but maybe horror stories. George, fat, rude and profligate, married Caroline, (chubby and a bit coarse in her own right) so Parliament would pay his gambling debts. They hated each other on sight, but did manage to produce one child, Charlotte (1796-1817), who died in childbirth. Her death paved the way for the ascension of Alexandrina Victoria (Queen Victoria) 20 years later.

7. Catherine I (1684-1727), despite having started life as the daughter of an illiterate Livonian gravedigger, and who worked as a laundress, became the second wife of Peter the Great (1672-1725). Peter later executed her lover, William Mons. What was Catherine's birth name?

Answer: Martha Skavronskaya

Martha Savronskaya changed her name to Catherine after accepting the Russian Orthodox faith. According to Herman's book: "The soldiers passed her around until the Tsar claimed her for himself and eventually married her." The cruel, often emotionally unstable, Tsar not only married her, he proclaimed her Empress. She outlived him and ruled, mostly as a figurehead, for two years.

Peter sent his first, aristocratic, wife, Eudoxia, mother of his son (whom he later killed), to a convent. The other two names are made up.

8. King George III (1738-1820) and Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) of Britain fiercely guarded the chastity of their daughters and never wanted them to marry. Still, one of them, Sophie, gave birth to a baby boy. How was this crisis resolved?

Answer: He was given to the wife of a tailor who had just had a baby

Not a well thought-out plan. Sophie's baby came to the tailor's wrapped in a blanket emblazoned with the royal seal. Word got out and crowds began bringing in their tailoring to "see the boy and his regal blanket." When crowds grew too large, the baby's supposed father, General Thomas Garth, took him and raised the child as his own.

Is it any wonder the pretty 25-year-old Sophie and her sisters, kept under constant heavy guard, chose General Garth as her lover even though he was much older than Sophie and disfigured by a large red birthmark over half his face?

9. "Idiot. Whoremonger. Alcoholic." All these were descriptions of Christian VII of Denmark (1749-1808). No wonder Caroline Matilda of Britain (1751-1775) was unhappy enough to eventually take her husband's doctor as her lover. After their affair was discovered, where was Caroline at first imprisoned?

Answer: Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Castle is more famous as "Elsinore" in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Hirschholm Palace is where Caroline, Christian and his doctor (and later Prime Minister) Count Struensee (1737-1772) spent many, mostly happy times, until Christian's insanity worsened and the affair was brought to light. Fredriksborg and Fredensborg Castles are near Copenhagen.

Queen Juliana (1720-1796), Christian's stepmother, was largely behind the strife that surrounded first the marriage, then the Queen's trial for treason and the divorce (about which the King never knew). Struensee, who had actually brought many needed reforms to Denmark, was executed. Caroline, having never received assistance or encouragement from her brother, England's George III, spent her remaining days in Celle.

10. Enrique (1425-1474), heir to the throne of Castile, was impotent or homosexual, or possibly both. His first marriage to Princess Blanca of Navarre was annulled on the grounds of nonconsummation (after 13 years!). However, his second wife, Juana of Portugal, became pregnant. How, at first, did Enrique believe this miracle had occurred?

Answer: Through "the golden turkey baster"

Without going into details, the use of 'the golden turkey baster' was "horribly humiliating" for both the princess and the doctor who 'did the deed'. Courtiers at the time--and eventually Enrique--knew the child belonged to a handsome courtier, Beltran de la Cueva.

Enrique did actually try the broth to alleviate his 'problem'.

Enrique divorced Juana for adultery. He named his half-sister Isabella as his heir, who later married Ferdinand of Aragon and the rest, as they say, is history.

Source: Author woboogie

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

This quiz is based on the book by Eleanor Herman recounting the sometimes unfortunate, sometimes lusty, sometimes outrageous lives of European queens, their spouses and lovers. Simply choose the correct answer from the clues in the questions.

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