Caught in the Reign Trivia Quiz

Answer: Caught in the Reign

William III was born William, Prince of Orange, in 1650; his mother was Mary, daughter of Charles I, but he was barely in line for the British throne. His wife was Mary, daughter of James II. When James appeared to be too Catholic for the Protestant English, and when he gave birth to a son who would most likely also become a Catholic king, seven officials sent an invitation to William and Mary to become rulers of England.

The Glorious Revolution, as William and Mary's takeover is called, occurred in 1688. He and Mary were crowned as William III and Mary II, co-rulers, in 1689. He lived until 1702, when he was succeeded by Queen Anne.

Answer: Caught in the Reign

George unexpectedly became king of England after his second cousin, Anne, died in 1714. She had had 17 pregnancies, but all were either stillborn or lived just hours or days after birth. The exception to this was her son Prince William, who died at age 11 in 1700. The crisis that this caused meant that the throne of England had to be rerouted to the Hanovers.

Since he was still king of Germany, George made several visits there while also king of England, but he spent about four fifths of his reign in England. When he died in 1727, the throne succeeded to his son, George II.

Answer: Born to Rule

Edward VII, born as Albert Edward on November 9, 1841, was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and thus was the heir apparent to the throne at his birth. His wife was Princess Alexandra of Denmark, with whom he had 6 children, including the future King George V.

Known as Bertie, Edward was Prince of Wales for 60 years before his mother died, making him King. He was known for his leisure pastimes and for his involvement in the British military and its modernization. He died in 1910, after a rule of 9 years.

Answer: Born to Rule

George III was not born as the heir; in fact, his father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, was supposed to have been George II's successor, but he died in 1751, nine years before George II. Thus, George William Frederick, born in 1738, became George III in 1760. Still, he was born in the direct line to the throne, and was expected at birth to become king someday.

Although he is mostly known today as the king who was mad, George's sane periods were longer than not and he was the longest-reigning and living British monarch until Queen Victoria, ruling for almost 60 years. He was a dutiful king who supported the abolishing of slavery and actively took part in state affairs. He and his wife, Queen Charlotte, had 15 children, the eldest of whom was Prince George of Wales, who became his father's Regent in 1811 just before George III became permanently insane. He died in 1820, deaf, blind, lame, and mad.

Answer: Born to Rule

George IV was born as George Augustus Frederick in 1762, and was the heir apparent from birth. He spent most of his life as the Prince of Wales, and became the Prince Regent in 1811 due to his father's insanity. He finally became king in 1820, ruling until 1830, when he died at the age of 67.

Often known as Prinny, George was known for his dissolute life and exuberant tastes and spending. In 1785, he scandalously married Maria Fitzherbert, a marriage that was later declared void since it was made without the King's permission. He had a disastrous marriage with Caroline of Brunswick in 1795, with whom he had his only legitimate child, Princess Charlotte of Wales. Since she died in 1817, the throne then reverted back to George's brother, William IV.

Answer: Born to Rule

Edward was directly in the line of succession when he was born Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David in 1894. When his father became king in 1910, he became Prince of Wales. His reign was to be short-lived, however: he became infatuated with a currently-married American, Wallis Simpson, who had already divorced her first husband. When he succeeded to the throne in 1936, and intended to marry Mrs. Simpson after her second divorce was finalized, his empire's refusal to accept her as queen caused a crisis.

Edward abdicated his duties and title as King in favor of his next brother, Albert, who became George VI. George made Edward Duke of Windsor, and Edward married Mrs. Simpson in 1937. She was not granted the style "Her Royal Highness", despite the couple's insistence for her to be thus known. He was known for his interest in German affairs, and visited Nazi Germany prior to World War II. He was one of Great Britain's shortest-reigning monarchs.

Answer: Caught in the Reign

Henry VIII, born in 1491, was not expected to be king. He was actually the second son of Henry VII; his elder brother was Arthur, Prince of Wales. Arthur died in 1502, however, at the age of 16, from a mysterious disease, so Henry then became the heir.

Henry later married his brother's wife, Catherine of Aragon, and she became his first of 6 wives. They were married for over 20 years, and with her he had the future Queen Mary I. He died in 1547, and was succeeded by his son by Jane Seymour, Edward VI.

Answer: Caught in the Reign

George V wasn't supposed to be king after Edward VII--his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, was. However, Albert Victor died in 1892 at the age of 28, from influenza and ensuing pneumonia. George, born George Frederick Ernest Albert, then became his father's heir.

George V ruled from 1910 to 1936, and is known for being the royal who changed the family's name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor, in order to sound less German during World War I. He also married his brother's fiancee, Mary of Teck. Together, they had 6 children, including the future kings Edward VIII and George VI.

Answer: Born to Rule

Although Charles II had an elder brother, that brother died on the day of his birth, so when Charles II was born in 1630, he was the heir to the throne, since his father, Charles I, was king. Although Charles spent much of his early life simply as king of Scotland, since the Civil Wars had placed Oliver Cromwell as head of England, he became King of England in 1660 when the monarchy was restored.

He became an absolute monarch in his later years, quickly dissolving parliament when he thought an unfavorable bill would be passed. He died in 1685, leaving the throne to his brother James II, since he himself had had no legitimate offspring.

Answer: Caught in the Reign

George VI was never expected to be king when he was born December 14, 1895, and christened Albert Frederick Arthur George. At that point, he was the second of the then-Prince, later King George V's sons; his brother, Prince Edward, was the elder by a year. While Prince Edward's behavior as he grew up worried their father, Edward was always the heir apparent to the throne.

Upon George V's death, Edward became King Edward VIII. However, when Edward refused to give up a scandalous with the then-married American two-time divorcee, Wallis Simpson, unless she became Queen, Edward abdicated, making his younger brother King George VI. George VI never wanted to be king; with a hatred of publicity and a stammer, he hated being in the limelight; but he strove to see England through World War II and after. He died in 1952, at the age of 56, leaving the throne to his eldest daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.