25. In the Scottish Highlands the not-so-sweet-smelling common ragwort is known as the stinking billy. May I have the Billy for whom it is named, please?
From Quiz May I Have the Bill, Please?
Answer:
William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland
William Augustus was the second of the two sons born to George II and his queen, Caroline of Ansbach (the fifth of their seven children ). He was born in 1721 and died at the age of 44 following a massive heart attack. A brilliant military strategist, William Augustus proved his mettle in various battles on the continent and was hailed as the hero of the battle of Dettingen. In 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart (aka Bonnie Prince Charlie to the Scots or The Young Pretender to the English) came to Scotland in an attempt to succeed where his father had failed in 1715. The object was to oust George II and restore the Stuart monarchy in the UK. George II was having none of this, so he appointed his "martial boy" to put down the rebellion. William Augustus more than exceeded dad's expectations by routing the Jacobites in the week between April 8 and 16.
The final battle at Culloden pitted Charles Edward Stuart's army of ill-nourished, ill-equipped, and ill-trained Highlanders, along with French soldiers, against a disciplined, well-trained and well-equipped English army in one of the bloodiest and most brutal battles ever fought on British soil. Charles Edward escaped, via Skye, back to the Continent, the French who had fought under his banner were sent home with their tails between their legs, and the Scottish Jacobites were ruthlessly hunted down and killed. The Lowland Scots, the English, and the residents of British colonies all hailed William Augustus as a great hero, and the University of Glasgow conferred an honorary degree on him. Despite his orders to hunt down and kill any Jacobites left standing, William Augustus was known to exercise clemency if special cases were brought to his notice, but the humiliation of Culloden still rankles and he will be forever known in the Highlands as Butcher Cumberland, and the little common ragwort (also known as cankerweed, staggerwort and tansy ragwort) is still called stinking billy.
The Highlanders seem to have very long memories, and William Wallace is still regarded as a hero in Scotland. King William III is not well-liked by Highlanders either because the Massacre of the Macdonalds at Glencoe happened on his watch and he did nothing to punish the Campbells who perpetrated this shameful act, but nobody ever named a flower for him. I doubt if any memory of William the Conqueror lingers in the Highlands since he never wandered up that way, being too busy keeping the Saxons in line after he became King of England.