1.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
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Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. She was the last Empress consort of India, born into a family of British nobility, she came to prominence in 1923 when she married Albert, Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. The couple and their daughters embodied traditional ideas of family and public service and she undertook a variety of public engagements and became known as the Smiling Duchess because of her consistent public expression. In 1936, her husband became king when his brother, Edward VIII. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic tours to France and North America before the start of World War II, during the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. In recognition of her role as an asset to British interests, after the war, her husbands health deteriorated and she was widowed at the age of 51. Her elder daughter, aged 25, became the new queen, on the death of Queen Mary in 1953, Elizabeth became the most senior member of the British royal family after the sovereign, and was viewed as the family matriarch. In her later years, she was a popular member of the family. She continued a public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101, seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter and the ninth of ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis, other possible locations include Forbes House in Ham, London, the home of her maternal grandmother, Louisa Scott. Her birth was registered at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, near the Strathmores English country house, St Pauls Walden Bury, which was also given as her birthplace in the census the following year. She was christened there on 23 September 1900, in the parish church, All Saints. She spent much of her childhood at St Pauls Walden and at Glamis Castle and she was educated at home by a governess until the age of eight, and was fond of field sports, ponies and dogs. When she started school in London, she astonished her teachers by precociously beginning an essay with two Greek words from Xenophons Anabasis and her best subjects were literature and scripture. After returning to education under a German Jewish governess, Käthe Kübler. On her fourteenth birthday, Britain declared war on Germany, four of her brothers served in the army. Her elder brother, Fergus, an officer in the Black Watch Regiment, was killed in action at the Battle of Loos in 1915, another brother, Michael, was reported missing in action on 28 April 1917. Three weeks later, the family discovered he had captured after being wounded
2.
George VI
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George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India and the first Head of the Commonwealth, known as Albert until his accession, George VI was born in the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria, and was named after his great-grandfather Albert, Prince Consort. As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his life in the shadow of his elder brother. He attended naval college as a teenager, and served in the Royal Navy, in 1920, he was made Duke of York. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, in the mid-1920s, he had speech therapy for a stammer, which he never fully overcame. Georges elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII upon the death of their father in 1936, however, later that year Edward revealed his desire to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry a divorced woman, Edward abdicated in order to marry, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor. During Georges reign, the break-up of the British Empire and its transition into the Commonwealth of Nations accelerated, the parliament of the Irish Free State removed direct mention of the monarch from the countrys constitution on the day of his accession. The following year, a new Irish constitution changed the name of the state to Ireland, from 1939, the Empire and Commonwealth – except Ireland – was at war with Nazi Germany. War with Italy and Japan followed in 1940 and 1941, respectively, though Britain and its allies were ultimately victorious in 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union rose as pre-eminent world powers and the British Empire declined. After the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, George remained king of countries, but relinquished the title of Emperor of India in June 1948. Ireland formally declared itself a republic and left the Commonwealth in 1949, George adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth. He was beset by problems in the later years of his reign. He was succeeded by his eldest daughter, Elizabeth II, George was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria. His father was Prince George, Duke of York, the second and eldest-surviving son of the Prince and his mother was the Duchess of York, the eldest child and only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Teck. His birthday was the 34th anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather, Albert, uncertain of how the Prince Consorts widow, Queen Victoria, would take the news of the birth, the Prince of Wales wrote to the Duke of York that the Queen had been rather distressed. Two days later, he again, I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name Albert to her. Consequently, he was baptised Albert Frederick Arthur George at St. Mary Magdalenes Church near Sandringham three months later, within the family, he was known informally as Bertie
3.
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
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Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, CI, GCVO, GCStJ was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom and the only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Margaret spent much of her childhood in the company of her older sister and her life changed dramatically in 1936, when her paternal uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated to marry a divorcée, Wallis Simpson. Margarets father became King, and her sister became heir presumptive. During World War II, the two stayed at Windsor Castle, despite suggestions to evacuate them to Canada. During the war years, Margaret was considered too young to perform any official duties, after the war, Margaret fell in love with Group Captain Peter Townsend. In 1952, Margarets father died, her sister became Queen, early the following year, he proposed to Margaret. Many in the government believed he would be a husband for the Queens 22-year-old sister. Margaret eventually abandoned her plans with him and in 1960, she accepted the proposal of the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, Margaret was often viewed as a controversial member of the British royal family. Her divorce earned her publicity, and she was romantically associated with several men. Her health gradually deteriorated in the two decades of her life. A heavy smoker for most of her life, she had a lung operation in 1985, a bout of pneumonia in 1993. She died at King Edward VII Hospital on 9 February 2002, Margaret was born on 21 August 1930 at Glamis Castle in Scotland, her mothers ancestral home, and was affectionately known as Margot within the royal family. The Home Secretary, J. R. Clynes, was present to verify the birth, the registration of her birth was delayed for several days to avoid her being numbered 13 in the parish register. At the time of her birth, she was fourth in the line of succession to the British throne and her father was Prince Albert, Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. Her mother was Elizabeth, Duchess of York, the youngest daughter of the 14th Earl, King George V disliked the name Ann but approved of the alternative Margaret Rose. Margaret was baptised in the chapel of Buckingham Palace on 30 October 1930 by Cosmo Lang. Margarets early life was spent primarily at the Yorks residences at 145 Piccadilly and she was educated alongside her sister, Princess Elizabeth, by their Scottish governess Marion Crawford. Margarets education was supervised by her mother, who in the words of Randolph Churchill never aimed at bringing her daughters up to be more than nicely behaved young ladies
4.
Forfar
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Forfar /ˈfɔːrfər/ is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council. Its population is 14,048 Forfar dates back to the temporary Roman occupation of the area, and was held by the Picts. It was occupied by the English before being recaptured by the Scots, Forfar has been both a traditional market town and a major manufacturing centre for linen and jute. Today the main activities are agriculture and tourism around the valley of Strathmore. The local glens are popular with hill-walkers, and there are ski-slopes in the mountains, the town has a second division football club, Forfar Athletic, and Rugby Union is represented by Strathmore Rugby Football Club. The Forfar Bridie, a popular Scottish meat pastry snack, is identified with the town. From Battledykes northward the Romans established a succession of camps including Stracathro, during the First War of Scottish Independence, the castle of Forfar was held by the English. He then yielded the castle to Bruce, who rewarded him, the Meffan Museum is in the heart of the town. It was built by a daughter of the Provost Meffan as a bequest in 1898 and it is home of the Forfar story. It is also an art gallery and a place for local speakers, summer clubs for children. The story of Forfar takes you from the history of the cobbler shops to the burning of the witch Helen Guthrie. There is also a selection of Pictish stones found in and around Forfar. The Large Class I Pictish stone, with a carving of a flower, is called the Dunnichen Stone. It was found in the early 19th century when a farmer from the East Mains of Dunnichen was ploughing and it was initially displayed at a church in the vicinity, then at Dunnichen House. In 1966 it was relocated at St Vigeans and finally moved to Dundee museum in 1972, after the Meffan Institute had been renovated it was brought to Forfar on a long term loan where it is displayed alongside the Kirriemuir Sculptured Stones. There is also a canoe, excavated from Forfar Loch, that dates back to the 11th century, like other parts of Angus, Forfar was home to a very successful textile industry during and after the Industrial Revolution. In the late 18th century the firm of William Don & Co. was founded in the town, the firm originally bought and sold webs of linen which were woven in local cottages, although it also operated a small weaving shed. In 1865 the firm merged with A J Buist, a Dundee based firm, the partnership also operated mills in Dundee and later built Station Works in Forfar, which contained some 300 looms
5.
North Sea
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The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and it is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of around 570,000 square kilometres. The North Sea has long been the site of important European shipping lanes as well as a major fishery, the North Sea was the centre of the Vikings rise. Subsequently, the Hanseatic League, the Netherlands, and the British each sought to dominate the North Sea and thus the access to the markets, as Germanys only outlet to the ocean, the North Sea continued to be strategically important through both World Wars. The coast of the North Sea presents a diversity of geological and geographical features, in the north, deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the Norwegian and Scottish coastlines, whereas in the south it consists primarily of sandy beaches and wide mudflats. Due to the population, heavy industrialization, and intense use of the sea and area surrounding it. In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean, in the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In the north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands, and connects with the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres and a volume of 54,000 cubic kilometres. Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos, including Shetland, Orkney, the North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds, as well as the British Isles. A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea, the largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine – Meuse watershed. Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas, for the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres. The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to a north of Bergen. It is between 20 and 30 kilometres wide and has a depth of 725 metres. The Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris and this feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea. The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with uniform depth in fathoms. These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate, the Devils Hole lies 200 miles east of Dundee, Scotland. The feature is a series of trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres long,1 and 2 kilometres wide and up to 230 metres deep. Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank, Fisher Bank, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows, On the Southwest
6.
Arboretum
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An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum, and a viticetum, a collection of vines, more commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study. An arboretum specializing in growing conifers is known as a pinetum, other specialist arboreta include saliceta, populeta, and querceta. The term arboretum was first used in an English publication by John Claudius Loudon in 1833 in The Gardeners Magazine, egyptian Pharaohs planted exotic trees and cared for them, they brought ebony wood from the Sudan, and pine and cedar from Syria. It is reported that Hatshepsut had these trees planted in the courts of her Deir el Bahri mortuary temple complex, Arboreta are special places for the cultivation and display of a wide variety of different kinds of trees and shrubs. Many tree collections have been claimed as the first arboretum, in most cases, however, Arboreta differ from pieces of woodland or plantations because they are botanically significant collections with a variety of examples rather than just a few kinds. Of course there are many tree collections that are older than the eighteenth century in different parts of the world. Loudons Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum,8 vols, Loudon urged that a national arboretum be created and called for arboreta and other systematic collections to be established in public parks, private gardens, country estates and other places. He regarded the Derby Arboretum as the most important landscape-gardening commission of the part of his career because it demonstrated the benefits of a public arboretum. The more lofty trees suffered from the high winds. We walked round the two spirals of this coil of trees and shrubs, viz. from Acer to Quercus. There is no garden scene about London so interesting, a plan of Loddiges arboretum was included in The Encyclopaedia of Gardening,1834 edition. One example of an early European tree collection is the Trsteno Arboretum, the date of its founding is unknown, but it was already in existence by 1492, when a 15 m span aqueduct to irrigate the arboretum was constructed, this aqueduct is still in use. The garden was created by the prominent local Gučetić/Gozze family and it suffered two major disasters in the 1990s but its two unique and ancient Oriental Planes remained standing. Udhagamandalam Arboretum, The Nilgiris, India The arboretum at Ooty was established in 1992 with an aim of conserving native and indigenous trees and it was established during the year 1992 and maintained by Department of Horticulture with Hill Area Development Programme funds. The area is the natural habitats of indigenous and migratory birds. During the year 2005-2006, it was rehabilated with funds provided by the Hill Area Development Programme by providing permanent fencing, a foot path, and other infrastructure facilities. The arboretum is the realization of the dream of William Douglas Cook, the arboretum is now the National Arboretum of New Zealand, and holds some 4,000 different trees, shrubs and climbers
7.
Pictish stone
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A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. The earlier stones have no parallels from the rest of the British Isles, in The Early Christian Monuments of Scotland J Romilly Allen and Joseph Anderson first classified Pictish stones into three groups. Critics have noted weaknesses in this system but it is widely known, in particular, the classification may be misleading for the many incomplete stones. Allen and Anderson regarded their classes as coming from distinct periods in sequence, Class 1 — unworked stones with symbols only incised. There is no cross on either side, Class 1 stones date back to the 6th, 7th and 8th century. Class 2 — stones of more or less rectangular shape with a large cross, the symbols, as well as Christian motifs, are carved in relief and the cross with its surroundings is filled with designs. Class 2 stones date from the 8th and 9th century, Class 3 — these stones feature no idiomatic Pictish symbols. The stones can be cross-slabs, recumbent gravemarkers, free-standing crosses and they originate in the 8th or 9th century. Historic Scotland describes this class as too simplistic and says Nowadays this is not considered a useful category, a surviving fragment may belong to a monument that did include Christian imagery. Later Scottish stones merge into wider medieval British and European traditions, many later Christian stones from Class II and Class III fall more easily into recognisable categories such as gravestones. A small number of Pictish stones have been associated with burials. Some later stones may also have marked tribal or lineage territories, some were re-used for other purposes, such as the two Congash Stones near Grantown-on-Spey, now placed as portal stones for an old graveyard. The shaft of an old cross is lying in the field, another Pictish stone, the Dunachton Stone near Kincraig, was later used as a door lintel in a barn. This was discovered when the building was dismantled in 1870, the stone was re-erected in the field. Recently it fell, after being photographed in 2007, but was re-erected again a few years later by the owner of Dunachton Lodge. Class I and II stones contain symbols from a set of standard ideograms, many unique to Pictish art. The exact number of distinct Pictish symbols is uncertain as there is debate as to what constitutes a Pictish symbol. The more inclusive estimates are in excess of sixty different symbols, there are also representations of everyday objects such as the mirror and comb, which could have been used by high-status Picts
8.
David C.H. Austin
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David Charles Henshaw Austin OBE is a rose breeder and writer who lives in Shropshire, England. His emphasis is on breeding roses with the character and fragrance of old garden roses but with the repeat-flowering ability, austins first commercially available rose, Constance Spry, was introduced in 1961. In 1967 and 1968 he introduced Chianti and Shropshire Lass respectively, although these first roses bloomed only once in spring or early summer, they led, in 1969, to a series of remontant varieties, including Wife of Bath and Canterbury. Austins roses soon became the most successful group of new roses in the twentieth century, since its founding in 1969, he and his firm David Austin Roses in Albrighton, near Wolverhampton, have introduced over 190 rose cultivars. For instance, roses have honoured such diverse entities as the rosarian and artist Graham Thomas and King Henry VIIIs flagship, in the twenty-first century, Austin separated his roses into four groups as a guide to further developments. The musk rose scent is missing from most, though other scents are present in many, the English Alba Hybrids, with tall, rather blue-leaved bushes like the old Alba roses. In 2003, David Austin was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society for his services to horticulture and he has received an Honorary MSc from the University of East London for his work on rose breeding. He received the achievement award from the Garden Centre Association in 2004 and was awarded an OBE in 2007. In 2010, he was named a Great Rosarian of the World, shrub roses and climbing roses, with hybrid tea and floribunda roses. Martin, Clair G.100 English roses for the American garden, David Austin wrote the foreword for Beales, Peter. English Rose is the designation for roses bred by David Austin
9.
William Shakespeare
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William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called Englands national poet, and the Bard of Avon and his extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright, Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children, Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a career in London as an actor, writer. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, at age 49, Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, in his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and it was prefaced with a poem by Ben Jonson, in which Shakespeare is hailed, presciently, as not of an age, but for all time. In the 20th and 21st centuries, his works have been adapted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship. His plays remain highly popular and are studied, performed. William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden and he was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26 April 1564. His actual date of birth unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23 April. This date, which can be traced back to an 18th-century scholars mistake, has proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616 and he was the third child of eight and the eldest surviving son. At the age of 18, Shakespeare married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway, the consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The next day, two of Hathaways neighbours posted bonds guaranteeing that no lawful claims impeded the marriage, twins, son Hamnet and daughter Judith, followed almost two years later and were baptised 2 February 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596, after the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the bill of a law case before the Queens Bench court at Westminster dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9 October 1589
10.
Robert II of Scotland
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Robert II reigned as King of Scots from 1371 to his death as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. Marjorie by this time had died in a riding accident – probably in 1317. Parliament decreed her infant son, Robert Stewart, as heir presumptive, in 1329 King Robert I died and the six-year-old David succeeded to the throne with Sir Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray appointed Guardian of Scotland. Robert fought at Halidon, where his uncle and former guardian, following this battle, Roberts lands in the west were given by Balliol to his supporter David Strathbogie, the titular Earl of Atholl. Robert took refuge in the fortress of Dumbarton Castle in the Clyde estuary to join his uncle, in May 1334 David escaped to France leaving Robert and John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray as joint Guardians of the kingdom. Robert succeeded in regaining his lands but following Randolphs capture by the English in July 1335, his possessions were again targeted by the forces of Balliol. This may have persuaded Robert to submit to Balliol and the English king, the Guardianship transferred to Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell but following his death in 1338 Robert was re-appointed and retained the office until King David returned from France in June 1341. Robert accompanied David into battle at Nevilles Cross on 17 October 1346 but he and Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March escaped or fled the field, in October 1357, the king was ransomed for 100,000 marks to be paid in installments over ten years. Robert married Elizabeth Mure around 1348, legitimising his four sons and his subsequent marriage to Euphemia de Ross in 1355 produced two sons and two surviving daughters and provided the basis of a future dispute regarding the line of succession. Robert joined a rebellion against David in 1363 but submitted to him following a threat to his right of succession. In 1364, David presented a proposal to Parliament that would cancel the remaining ransom debt if it was agreed that a Plantagenet heir would inherit the Scottish throne should he die without issue. This was rejected and Robert succeeded to the throne at the age of 55 following Davids unexpected death in 1371, Robert II died in Dundonald Castle in 1390 and was buried at Scone Abbey. Robert Stewart, born in 1316, was the child of Walter Stewart, High Steward of Scotland and King Robert Is daughter Marjorie Bruce. He had the upbringing of a Gaelic noble on the Stewart lands in Bute, Clydeside, in 1315 parliament removed Marjories right as heir to her father in favour of her uncle, Edward Bruce. This reinstatement of his status was accompanied by the gift of lands in Argyll, Roxburghshire, the first war of independence began in the reign of King John Balliol. His short reign was bedeviled by Edward Is insistence on his overlordship of Scotland, John Balliol submitted to Edward and resigned the throne to him before being sent to London as a prisoner. Despite this, resistance to the English led by William Wallace, on their deaths, Robert the Bruce continued to resist the English and eventually succeeded in defeating the forces of Edward II of England and gained the Scottish throne for himself. David Bruce, aged five, became king on 7 June 1329 on the death of his father Robert, Davids accession kindled the second independence war which threatened Roberts position as heir
