What is a Robber Button? "Blackadder" Inaccuracies Quiz

Answer: Prince George was born after the publication of the dictionary

In 1746, Samuel Johnson was contracted by a group of booksellers from London to compile a new dictionary of the modern English language. Although dictionaries had existed for 200 years up to that point, Johnson's became the first to document comprehensively the language as it was used at the time, giving definitions and origins of many words.

The first edition included a list totalling more than 42,000 words. Unlike modern lexicographers, Johnson illustrated his definitions with humour, such as his definition of 'patron' being "One who countenances, supports, or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery."

Answer: Raleigh undertook his voyages when the queen was in middle age

Walter Raleigh was born in either 1552 or 1554 in Devon, some twenty years after the birth of Elizabeth I in 1533. Although Raleigh is often included as a contemporary of other Elizabethan privateers and mariners such as Francis Drake, Martin Frobisher and John Hawkins, he in fact undertook his first significant voyage to the New World in 1594 when he set out to find the fabled golden city of El Dorado.

This was thirty years after the first great exploratory voyages of the age. Nevertheless, Raleigh was a favourite of the queen for many years, but fell from favour under the reign of her successor James I.

Answer: The rank he holds was not used in the Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was founded in 1912, and was one of two military flying arms of the British military during the First World War, the other being the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). As the RFC was part of the army, its rank structure would have followed that of the army as well, with an officer appointed to command a squadron holding the rank of Major. Squadron Commander as a rank in itself was a derivation of the naval rank system used by the RNAS, with it being equivalent to the naval rank of Lieutenant-Commander.

Answer: Scotland was a separate country with its own monarchy

The Dukedom of Edinburgh was first created by King George I in 1726 for his eldest grandson Prince Frederick, who subsequently became Prince of Wales. Upon Frederick's death, the title was inherited by his son George, who became King George III, at which time the title 'merged with the crown' and ceased to exist until it was created by Queen Victoria for her second son Prince Alfred in 1866 and then for King George VI's son-in-law Philip Mountbatten on his marriage to the king's daughter Princess Elizabeth in 1947.

Answer: He was killed before the start of the Regency

Horatio Nelson was born in September 1758 in Norfolk, and joined the Royal Navy at the age of 12 in 1771, quickly beginning his training as an officer. He took his first ship command in 1778, and commanded a number of individual ships, the last of which was HMS "Agamemnon".

While in command of "Agamemnon", Nelson took part in the Siege of Calvi in 1794, at which he lost the sight in his right eye. In 1796, he was promoted to the rank of Commodore. At the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797, Nelson, while leading an amphibious assault, was shot in his right arm, with the injury sufficient to have it amputated.

He was killed on board his flagship, HMS "Victory", in October 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Answer: The king was not executed at the Tower of London

In 1649, King Charles I had lost the English Civil War to Parliament, and it was felt that he should be brought to justice for his role in the conflict. Parliament made the bold decision to place the king on trial, despite this being legally impossible, and Charles was forced to attend.

He refused to recognise the validity of the body trying him, and therefore failed to plead guilty or not-guilty. Eventually the Lord President of the High Court of Justice in charge of the trial interpreted this as a confession and sentenced the king to death by beheading.

The execution took place on 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall.

Answer: Elizabeth's sister died of natural causes

Elizabeth I's half-sister Mary reigned as Queen Mary I from 1553 to 1558. The eldest surviving child of King Henry VIII, Mary was raised as a devout Roman Catholic and sought to return England to the Church of Rome. The seal would have been put on this task had she given birth to a Catholic heir.

However, despite a phantom pregnancy in 1555, she gave birth to no children, and was forced to accept Elizabeth as her lawful heir. In 1558, despite believing herself pregnant again, she was in fact seriously ill, possibly with cancer, and died in November of that year, leaving the throne to her half-sister.

Another Queen Mary was beheaded, but she was Elizabeth's cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots.

Answer: The Crusades ended before 1487

The Crusades were a series of religious wars that took place in parts of Western Asia encompassing the Holy Land between the 11th and 13th centuries. These have been divided into fourteen separate expeditions, with various European nations of the period taking part at different times. England played roles in three major crusades: the Third Crusade, from 1189 to 1192, in which King Richard I was a significant figure; the Baron's Crusade of 1239-1241 saw Baron Simon de Montfort play a leading role; and the Ninth Crusade of 1271 to 1272, in which The Lord Edward, son of King Henry III, took an active part.

Answer: The Prince Regent was never on the Civil List

The Civil List was established in 1760, after George III surrendered the traditional revenues of the Crown Estate to the government in return for a fixed annual payment to cover the costs of his household. However, Prince George, as the heir apparent, did not receive payment from the Civil List as his personal income was provided by the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall.

This was set up in 1337 to provide an income to the heir apparent to the throne, an arrangement that continues to the present.

Answer: Britain entered the war during the university summer vacation

Britain entered the war on 4 August 1914, roughly halfway through the university's summer vacation, when students were likely to be at their family homes. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, there was a huge rush for men to join the forces, and not miss out on the opportunity to serve their country in a conflict that was expected to be over by Christmas.

However, the war was not over by Christmas, and instead carried on for more than four years, only ending in November 1918. Despite the initial desire to join up, Britain was forced to introduce conscription in 1916 once word about the realities of the war filtered through.