The Prince of Wales Who Would NOT Be King Quiz

Answer: Would NOT Be King

The son of the future King George II and Queen Caroline, Prince Frederick was born in 1707 in Hanover, Germany. His parents moved to England without him when George I became King; Prince Frederick was seven years old at the time, and did not see them again for fourteen years. This created a rift within the family that was never resolved. By the time of George II's coronation and Prince Frederick's move to England in 1727, he had been accustomed to being his father's representative in Hanover and was even in change of some affairs because his parents were not available.

Prince Frederick became the Prince of Wales in 1729 in spite of the fact that he was constantly taking sides with people who opposed his father. He passed his time as a patron of the arts, spendthrift, womanizer, and cricket fanatic. When Prince Frederick died in 1751, the cause of death was said to be a lung abscess caused by an injury that he had sustained from playing cricket, however, historians today believe his death was due to a pulmonary embolism.

Apparently his marriage to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha improved Prince Frederick's reputation as a womanizer; together they had nine children, including George William Frederick, the future George III. He became the Prince of Wales, the heir apparent of his grandfather, George II, upon his father's death.

Answer: Would NOT Be King

Henry Frederick, who was born in Scotland in 1495, was the son of James VI of Scotland and his wife, Anne of Denmark. The young child was sequestered at Stirling Castle away from his mother most of the time, supposedly because James was afraid that she would raise him as a Catholic. There it appears that he lived a charmed life, where he played sports, enjoyed hunting, attended riding school, and learned music and dance. He was also well versed in literature and other studies.

When James I was crowned King of England in 1603, the family eventually moved to London, with the Prince riding in the Royal Entry procession with his father the following year. It appears, though, that eventually Prince Henry became so popular with the people that his father grew a bit jealous; the two didn't always get along the best. Nevertheless, the Prince became his father's heir apparent in 1610 when he was sixteen years old. In 1612, Prince Henry took ill while celebrating the upcoming wedding of his sister, and died of typhoid fever. Four weeks of public mourning took place. Prince Henry's younger brother, the future Charles I, eventually was invested as the new Prince of Wales.

Answer: Would NOT Be King

Arthur Tudor, the oldest son of Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, was born in 1486. His birth was a widely anticipated event. People believed that it showed the unity between the House of Lancaster and House of York, and had great expectations for the young prince. Three years later he became the Prince of Wales.

From a very young age, his parents had also hoped that Prince Arthur would be the key to an alliance with Spain against Scotland and France. At the age of eleven he was betrothed to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the famous Ferdinand I and Isabella II, and the two were married in 1501. Shortly after Prince Arthur became sick and died of what, at the time, was called sweating sickness. His brother, the future Henry VIII, became the next Prince of Wales in 1504.

Henry VII, unwilling to let a possible alliance with Spain fall apart, arranged the marriage of his second oldest son to Catherine, who had denied that her marriage to Prince Arthur had been consummated. After gaining approval from the Pope, the couple married in 1509, less than two months after Henry VIII's coronation as King.

Answer: Would NOT Be King

Edward of Westminster, born in 1453, was the son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. He became Prince of Wales a year later. It was a troubled time in England toward the end of the War of the Roses. Henry VI suffered from mental illness and his throne was threatened by Richard of York. The King was captured by Richard in 1460, and Parliament subsequently passed the Act of Accord, which bypassed Edward and put Richard on the throne after Henry VI died.

Richard of York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460, fighting against an army that had been raised by the efforts of Margaret and Edward. The two of them, however, were forced to live in exile in France after King Henry was once again held captive. Edward IV, the son of Richard, deposed King Henry, held him in the Tower of London, and ruled as King of England from 1461-1470. He was ousted for a short time in 1470 before resuming his reign from 1471-1483.

Although there are differing stories about exactly how Prince Edward died, it is known that he died in 1471 at the Battle of Tewkesbury, one of the most important battles in the War of the Roses. King Henry VI was found dead in the Tower of London shortly after, and Edward IV was once again able to take the throne.

Answer: Would NOT Be King

Edward of Woodstock, commonly called the Black Prince, was the son and heir apparent of King Edward III. His father created the Dukedom of Cornwall for him when he was just seven years old, making him the first to hold the title Duke of Cornwall. By the time he was sixteen, Edward became known as an able military leader, gaining that recognition during the Hundred Years War. Some sources compliment his acts of chivalry, and indicate that he was one of the greatest knights of his time.

It has been estimated that while waiting in Spain for the payment of debts for services rendered in 1367 to Peter of Castile that about 20% of Edward's army was lost to dysentery and disease. Edward also contracted some sort of illness - modern historians hypothesize either dysentery, malaria, or perhaps even poisoning - and never fully recovered. In 1376, at the age of forty-five, Edward of Woodstock succumbed to the illness, and his son, Richard of Bordeaux (Richard II), became the next Prince of Wales.

Answer: WOULD Be King

Henry of Monmouth, the son of Henry IV and Mary de Bohun, was called Henry of Monmouth because he was born at Monmouth Castle in Wales. He became the Prince of Wales at his father's coronation in 1399, and, upon the death of his father, became Henry V of England, ruling from 1413-1422.

As his father was in poor health, Henry V played a large role in politics before becoming King. After his coronation, he decided to renew the Hundred Years War with France. The result was the signing of the Treaty of Troyes in 1420, which recognized Henry as heir apparent to the ailing French King Charles VII, and provided for marriage to his daughter, Catherine of Valois. It was a brilliant victory for King Henry, but it didn't pay off in the end. He died in 1422 of some type of disease, such as dysentery or smallpox, leaving an infant son to become Henry VI. England subsequently lost the majority of its French lands, and failed to gain the coveted foothold they were seeking on the European continent.

Answer: WOULD Be King

Edward Tudor, born in 1537, was the highly anticipated son of King Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. He was invested as Prince of Wales the same year. His mother died just twelve days after he was born, and his father died when he was nine years old, making the boy King Edward VI.

Unfortunately, Edward and his advisors had a lot to handle in the aftermath of his father's reform of the Church in England. There was a lot of social unrest in the country, and economic issues as well. While Henry VIII had replaced the pope as the head of the Church of England with himself, he really hadn't made much other progress with religious reform. Much of Edward's reign was spent making England more Protestant. His illness, which manifested itself in January 1553, left him with little time to work out the complicated succession issues, and succession became the foremost issue after he died in July that same year. It would take several years before a resolution would be achieved.

Answer: WOULD Be King

Charles Stuart, the son of King James I and his wife, Anne of Denmark, was born in 1600 in Scotland. Charles was taken to England in 1603, where he was given many honors - he became the Duke of York, as was typical with second sons, and became a Knight of the Bath and a Knight of the Garter by the time he was eleven years old. Long said to be his father's favorite, Prince Charles became the heir apparent when his brother, Prince Henry died in 1612. He was invested as Prince of Wales in 1616.

Of course, the Prince became the infamous Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1625. He struggled to win the support of his people - they disliked his belief in the divine right of kings, and didn't like that he levied taxes without Parliament's approval. His religious views also caused concern, as he not only married a Catholic princess, seemed to embrace the religion himself, and didn't appear to be very helpful in backing Protestant forces during the Thirty Years' War.

His refusal to embrace the idea of constitutional monarchy, however, is what sealed his fate. He was found guilty of high treason in 1649 and beheaded; his family fled into exile. His son, the other Charles Stuart, Prince of Wales, would return to England in 1660 during the Restoration as Charles II.

Answer: WOULD Be King

George William Frederick, born in 1738, was the son of Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta. He became the heir apparent to King George II, his grandfather, when his father died in 1751, and the Prince of Wales the same year. George III became King in 1760.

George III is quite well known in history for several reasons. He was the first Hanover monarch who spoke English as a first language; he was also the King of Great Britain and Ireland at the time of the American Revolution. Buckingham House, which became the famous Buckingham Palace, was purchased as a family home during his reign. Even though he held his title for fifty-nine years and ninety-six days, he had recurring problems with mental illness. His son, the Prince Wales and future George IV, ruled as his regent for the last nine years of his life.

Answer: WOULD Be King

The oldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, born in 1841, Albert Edward became the Prince of Wales the same year, making him one of the longest-serving Princes of Wales in British history. He had parents who were reportedly extremely hard to please, and "Bertie", as he was called, was more successful in a representative of the government/diplomatic role than he was as a student or politician later in life. After his father's death in 1861, Victoria was very reluctant to give him any political responsibilities, choosing not to do so until 1898, just three years before she died.

In spite of the fact that it was difficult to dispel his playboy image, Edward VII ruled as an able monarch after his mother's death. He is credited with the renovation of the British Home Fleet, and the reform of the British Army after the Second Boer War. Known as the "Peacemaker", he also improved British relationships with other European countries.