Royal Losers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Richard the Lion-Heart

While laying siege to a castle at Chalus in France, Richard approached the line without armor. A young boy fired his crossbow from the wall of the castle, which struck Richard in the neck. When the boy was captured and brought before him in his tent, Richard paid the boy 100 shillings and set him free. Richard died two weeks later of gangrene.

Answer: Edward II of England

He was the weak, inept son of Edward I aka Longshanks. His queen, Isabella of France and her lover Roger Mortimer, forced him to abdicate, then imprisoned him in Berkeley Castle. The actual cause of his death is unclear, but rumors circulated that he was assassinated with a red hot poker shoved up his rectum. Isabella and Mortimer then ran a regency government on behalf of her 15-year-old son and heir. Two years later, after having Mortimer executed and his mother placed under house arrest, the boy took over as King Edward III.

Answer: Richard II of England

He was crowned as the 10-year-old grandson of Edward III. Thirteen years later he was deposed and imprisoned by his Lancastrian cousin who, with the support of Parliament, took over as Henry IV. Richard died in prison, and the Plantagenet line of kings came to an end.

Answer: James II of Scotland

James II became king at the age of 6, when his father was assassinated. He was known as Fiery Face because of a sizeable red birthmark on his left cheek. As a modern artillery enthusiast, he was standing next to a cannon during the siege of the castle at Roxburgh, when it accidentally exploded and destroyed his legs. His death was immediate, causing the crown to go his 8-year-old son.

Answer: Henry VI of England

Arguably England's most inept monarch, he lost all of the land previously held in France, and abandoned the operations of his government to feuding Houses of Somerset and York. Finally captured by his cousin Edward of York, he was imprisoned and eventually murdered when his Lancastrian supporters attempted to restore him to power.

His cousin had already been recognized by Parliament as King Edward IV. The Wars of the Roses dragged on for another 14 years.

Answer: Edward IV of England

In 1461, as Duke of York, he seized the throne from his cousin Henry VI, with the help of the Earl of Warwick, and tried to mend the rift by marrying a Lancastrian heiress Elizabeth Woodville, but to no avail. The exact cause of his death is unknown, ranging from pneumonia to possible poisoning.

He left the throne to his 12-year-old son Edward, who was shortly thereafter imprisoned along with the latter's 9-year-old brother Richard in the Tower of London. The boys were never seen again.

Answer: Edward V of England

His reign lasted from April 9 to June 26, and he was never crowned. He and his brother were denounced by their Uncle Richard as illegitimate, and mysteriously vanished from the Tower while under Richard's care. Two hundred years later the skeletons of two young boys were found buried under a stairway, confirming rumors that Richard, their Protector, had had the boys smothered in their sleep in order to claim the throne as King Richard III.

Answer: Richard III of England

Riding into battle with a superior force against his distant cousin, Henry Tudor, Richard insisted of wearing the crown of England on top of his helmet. He was easily spotted and assailed by Henry's soldiers. The cause of death was a blow to the head, probably from behind, that punched a massive hole in his skull.

His death ended the Yorkist line of Kings. Henry then married Richard's niece, Elizabeth of York, finally bringing the Wars of the Roses to a close.

Answer: Mary Queen of Scots

She and Elizabeth were 1st cousins, though contrary to Schiller's play and many film versions the two never met. After being forced to abdicate in Scotland in 1568, Mary fled to England, where she spent 19 years under house arrest. She was implicated in numerous plots by Catholic conspirators to overthrow Elizabeth and place her on the English throne, for which she was next in line.

Her execution was a direct causal factor in the decision of Philip II of Spain to launch his armada the following year. That also failed.

Answer: Charles I of England

He was arrested, tried and executed after his forces were defeated by Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army in the English Civil War. He might have remained King had he been willing to rule as a constitutional monarch, but Charles would have no part of it.

His acts of treason included using Scottish forces to make war against Parliament and the people of England. After 11 years of Cromwell's Protectorate, the English were ready to put Charles's son, who had been living in exile, back on the throne.