Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed two and a half years after Elizabeths birth. Annes marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate, edwards will was set aside and Mary became queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. During Marys reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels, in 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, one of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England and it was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir to continue the Tudor line.
She never did, despite numerous courtships, as she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity. A cult grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, in government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was video et taceo, in religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the powers of France and Spain. She only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, by the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. Englands defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military victories in English history, Elizabeths reign is known as the Elizabethan era. Some historians depict Elizabeth as a short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler, towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity.
Such was the case with Elizabeths rival, Queen of Scots, after the short reigns of Elizabeths half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity. Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard and she was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Henrys second wife, Anne Boleyn, at birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the throne of England. She was baptised on 10 September, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk, Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded on 19 May 1536, four months after Catherine of Aragons death from natural causes. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the royal succession, eleven days after Anne Boleyns execution, Henry married Jane Seymour, who died shortly after the birth of their son, Prince Edward, in 1537
Palace of Whitehall
Before then, it had grown to be the largest palace in Europe with more than 1,500 rooms, overtaking the Vatican and Versailles. The palace gives its name, Whitehall, to the road on many of the current administrative buildings of the UK government are situated. It is about 650 metres from Westminster Abbey, by the 13th century the Palace of Westminster had become the centre of government in England, and had been the main London residence of the king since 1049. The surrounding area became a popular and expensive location, the Archbishop of York Walter de Grey bought a nearby property as his London residence soon after 1240, calling it York Place. King Edward I stayed at York Place on several occasions while work was carried out at Westminster, and enlarged it to accommodate his entourage. York Place was rebuilt during the 15th century and expanded so much by Cardinal Wolsey that it was rivalled by only Lambeth Palace as the greatest house in London, the Kings London palaces included. The name Whitehall or White Hall was first recorded in 1532, Henry VIII hired Flemish artist Anthony van den Wyngaerde to redesign York Place, and he extended it during his lifetime.
Inspired by Richmond Palace, he included a centre with a bowling green, indoor tennis court, a pit for cock fighting. It is estimated more than £30,000 were spent during the 1540s. Henry VIII married two of his wives at the palace—Anne Boleyn in 1533 and Jane Seymour in 1536, Henry died at the palace in January 1547. In 1611 the palace hosted the first known performance of William Shakespeares play The Tempest and its decoration was finished in 1634 with the completion of a ceiling by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, commissioned by Charles I. By 1650 Whitehall Palace was the largest complex of buildings in England. Its layout was irregular, and its constituent parts were of different sizes and in several different architectural styles. Like his father, he died at the palace—but from a stroke, james II ordered various changes by Sir Christopher Wren, including a chapel finished in 1687, rebuilding of the queens apartments, and the queens private lodgings. By 1691 the palace had become the largest and most complex in Europe, on 10 April a fire broke out in the much-renovated apartment previously used by the Duchess of Portsmouth that damaged the older palace structures, though apparently not the state apartments.
This actually gave a greater cohesiveness to the remaining complex, however a second fire on 4 January 1698 destroyed most of the remaining residential and government buildings, the diarist John Evelyn noted succinctly the next day, Whitehall burnt. Nothing but walls and ruins left, beside the Banqueting House, some buildings survived in Scotland Yard and some facing the park, along with the so-called Holbein Gate, eventually demolished in 1769. Despite some rebuilding, financial constraints prevented large scale reconstruction, in the second half of the 18th century, much of the site was leased for the construction of town houses
Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley
Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley KP, GCB, OM, GCMG, VD, PC was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign, Wolseley served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces from 1895 to 1900. His reputation for efficiency led to the late 19th century English phrase everythings all Sir Garnet, born the eldest son of Major Garnet Joseph Wolseley of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers and Frances Anne Wolseley, Wolseley was educated in Dublin and first worked in a surveyor’s office. Wolesley obtained a commission as an ensign in the 12th Foot on 12 March 1852 without purchase and he transferred to the 80th Foot on 13 April 1852, with whom he served in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. He was severely wounded in the thigh on 19 March 1853 in the attack on Donabyu and he was promoted to captain on 29 December 1854. Wolseley accompanied the regiment to the Crimea, and landed at Balaklava in December 1854 and he was selected to be an assistant engineer, and attached to the Royal Engineers during the Siege of Sevastopol.
Wolseley served throughout the siege, where he was wounded at the Quarries on 7 June 1855, and again in the trenches on 30 August 1855, losing an eye. For his services he was mentioned in despatches, received the war medal with clasp, the 5th class of the French Légion dhonneur. Six months after joining the 90th Foot at Aldershot, he went with it in March 1857 to join the troops being despatched for the Second Opium War, Wolseley was embarked in the transport Transit, which wrecked in the Strait of Banka. The troops were all saved, but with only their personal arms and they were taken to Singapore, and from there dispatched to Calcutta on account of the Indian Mutiny. That March, he served at the siege and capture of Lucknow. In the autumn and winter of 1858–59 he took part in the Baiswara, trans-Gogra and he was present at the action at Sin-ho, the capture of Tang-ku, the storming of the Taku Forts, the Occupation of Tientsin, the Battle of Pa-to-cheau and the entry into Peking. He assisted in the re-embarkation of the troops before the set in.
He was Mentioned, yet again, in Dispatches, and for his services received the medal, on his return home he published the Narrative of the War with China in 1860. He was given the rank of major on 15 February 1861. In November 1861, Wolseley was one of the service officers sent to Canada in connection with the Trent incident. In 1862, shortly after the Battle of Antietam, Wolseley took leave from his military duties and he befriended Southern sympathizers in Maryland, who found him passage into Virginia with a blockade runner across the Potomac River. There he met with the Generals Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet and he provided an analysis on Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest
First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, during October and November 1914. The battles at Ypres began at the end of the Race to the Sea, reciprocal attempts by the German, North of Ypres, the fighting continued in the Battle of the Yser, fought between the German 4th Army and the Belgian army and French marines. General Erich von Falkenhayn, head of the Oberste Heeresleitung, tried a limited offensive to capture Ypres and Mount Kemmel, the autumn battles in Flanders had quickly become static, attrition operations, unlike the battles of manoeuvre in the summer. French and Belgian troops in improvised field defences, repulsed German attacks for four weeks, from 21–23 October, German reservists had made mass attacks at Langemarck, with losses of up to 70 percent, to little effect. The defensive use of artillery and machine guns had dominated the battlefield, thirty-four German divisions fought in the Flanders battles, against twelve French, nine British and six Belgian, along with marines and dismounted cavalry.
Falkenhayn reconsidered German strategy over the winter, because Vernichtungsstrategie and a dictated peace against France, Falkenhayn intended to detach Russia or France from the Allied coalition, by diplomatic as well as military action. A strategy of attrition, would make the cost of the war too great, the remaining belligerents would have to negotiate or face the Germans concentrated on the remaining front, which would be sufficient to obtain a decisive victory. On 9 October, the First German offensive against Warsaw began with the battles of Warsaw, four days later, Przemyśl was relieved by the advancing Austro-Hungarians and the Battle of Chyrow 13 October–2 November) began in Galicia. Czernowitz in the Bukovina, was re-occupied by the Austro-Hungarian army on 22 August, on 29 October, the Ottoman Empire commenced hostilities against Russia, when Turkish warships bombarded Odessa and Theodosia. Next day Stanislau in Galicia was taken by Russian forces and the Serbian army began a retreat from the line of the Drina, on 4 November, the Russian army crossed the frontier of Turkey-in-Asia and seized Azap.
Britain and France declared war on Turkey on 5 November and next day, Keupri-Keni in Armenia was captured, on 10 October, Przemysl was surrounded again by the Russian army, beginning the Second Siege, Memel in East Prussia was occupied by the Russians a day later. Keupri-Keni was recaptured by the Ottoman army on 14 November, the Sultan proclaimed Jihad, next day the Battle of Cracow began, the Second German Offensive against Warsaw opened with the Battle of Łódź. The Great Retreat was a withdrawal by the Franco-British armies to the Marne, from 24 August –28 September 1914. After the defeat of the French Fifth Army at the Battle of Charleroi, a counter-offensive by the French and the BEF at the First Battle of Guise, failed to end the German advance and the Franco-British retreat continued beyond the Marne. After the retreat of the French Fifth Army and the BEF, General Fournier was ordered on 25 August to defend the fortress at Maubeuge, which was surrounded two days by the German VII Reserve Corps.
Maubeuge was defended by fourteen forts, with a garrison of 30,000 French territorials and c. 10,000 French, British, on 7 September, the garrison surrendered, after super-heavy artillery from the Siege of Namur demolished the forts. The Germans took 32,692 prisoners and captured 450 guns, small detachments of the Belgian and British armies conducted operations in Belgium and northern France, against German cavalry and Jäger. On 27 August, a squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service flew to Ostend, British marines landed at Dunkirk on the night of 19/20 September and on 28 September, a battalion occupied Lille
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in the City of Westminster, Central London, which forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Square, the name Whitehall is used as a metonym for British civil service, and as the geographic name for the surrounding area. The name was taken from the Palace of Whitehall that was the residence of Kings Henry VIII through to William III, before its destruction by fire in 1698, only the Banqueting House survived. Whitehall was originally a road that led to the front of the palace. As well as government buildings, the street is known for its statues and monuments, including Britains primary war memorial. The Whitehall Theatre, now the Trafalgar Studios, has been a place for farce comedies since the mid-20th century. The name Whitehall was used for buildings in the Tudor period. It either referred to a made of light stone, or as a general term for any festival building.
This included the Royal Palace of Whitehall, which in turn gave its name to the street, the street is about 0.4 miles long and runs through the City of Westminster. It is part of the A3212, a road in Central London that leads towards Chelsea via the Houses of Parliament. It runs south from Trafalgar Square, past numerous government buildings, including the old War Office building, Horse Guards, the Ministry of Defence, the Cabinet Office and it ends at the Cenotaph, the road ahead being Parliament Street. Great Scotland Yard and Horse Guards Avenue branch off to the east, the nearest tube stations are Charing Cross at the north end, and Westminster at the south. Numerous London bus routes run along Whitehall, including 12,24,53,88,159 and 453. It had become a street by the 16th century, and had become a popular place to live by the 17th, with residents including Lord Howard of Effingham. The Palace of Whitehall, to the east of the road, was originally named York Palace, the palace was redesigned in 1531–32 and became the Kings main residence in the decade.
He married Ann Boleyn here in 1533, followed by Jane Seymour in 1536, Charles I owned an extensive art collection at the palace and several of William Shakespeares plays had their first performances here. It ceased to be a residence after 1689, when William III moved to Kensington Palace. The palace was damaged by fire in 1691, following which the front entrance was redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren, in 1698, most of the palace burned to the ground owing to an accident started by a careless washerwoman
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Thracians, Phrygians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire.
The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black.
The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
Admiralty House, London
Admiralty House in London is a Grade I listed building facing Whitehall, currently used for UK government functions and as ministerial flats. It was opened in 1788 and until 1964 was the residence of the First Lords of the Admiralty. Admiralty House is a building of yellow brick. The front facade has a facade of three broad bays and one additional small bay at the southern end. The rear facade is of five bays and faces Horse Guards Parade, Admiralty House was designed by Samuel Pepys Cockerell, a protégé of Sir Robert Taylor, and opened in 1788. U. S. President John F. Kennedy attended a meeting there with Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1962 to discuss the reaction to the communist threat. Winston Churchill lived in the house serving as First Lord of the Admiralty for two terms, 1911–15 and 1939–40. It now contains government function rooms and three ministerial flats, in recent times, Lord Malloch-Brown used one of the flats in Admiralty House while he was Minister of State for Africa and the United Nations.
There was speculation as to whether the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, Admiralty House entry from the Survey of London online, including plans of each floor as of 1935
Downing Street mortar attack
The Downing Street mortar attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 7 February 1991. The IRA launched homemade mortar shells at 10 Downing Street, London and it was an attempt to assassinate Prime Minister John Major and his War Cabinet, who were meeting to discuss the Gulf War. One of the mortar shells exploded in the back garden of number 10. Due to the windows, none of the cabinet were hurt, though four other people received minor injuries. The other two shells overshot Downing Street and landed on a green nearby, during the Troubles, as part of its armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland, the Provisional IRA had repeatedly used homemade mortars against targets in Northern Ireland. The most notable attack was the 1985 Newry mortar attack killed nine members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The IRA had carried out attacks in England, but had not used mortars there. In the late 1980s British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was top of the IRAs list for assassination, the Army Council instead sanctioned a mortar attack on Downing Street, and in mid-1990 two IRA members travelled to London to plan the attack.
One of the IRA members was knowledgeable about the trajectory of mortars, an active service unit bought a Ford Transit van and rented a garage, and an IRA co-ordinator procured the explosives and materials needed to make the mortars. The IRA unit began making the mortars and cutting a hole in the roof of the van for the mortars to be fired through. They reconnoitred locations in Whitehall to find a place from which the mortars could be fired at the back of 10 Downing Street. In November 1990 Margaret Thatcher unexpectedly resigned from office, but the Army Council decided the planned attack should still go ahead, targeting her successor John Major. The IRA planned to attack when Major and his ministers were likely to be meeting at Downing Street, on the morning of 7 February 1991, the War Cabinet and senior government and military officials were meeting at Downing Street to discuss the ongoing Gulf War. As the meeting began, an IRA member was driving the van to the launch site amid a heavy snowfall, the launch site was at the junction of Horse Guards Avenue and Whitehall, near the Ministry of Defence headquarters, about 200 yards from Downing Street.
On arrival, the driver parked the van and left the scene on a waiting motorcycle. Several minutes at 10,08 am, as a policeman was walking towards the van to investigate it and this device was designed to destroy any forensic evidence and set the van on fire. Each shell was four and a half long, weighed 140 pounds. The weapon was described as a Mark 10 homemade mortar, two shells landed on Mountbatten Green, a grassed area near the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII, Henry is best known for his six marriages and, in particular, his efforts to have his first marriage, to Catherine of Aragon, annulled. Despite his resulting excommunication, Henry remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, Henry is known for his radical changes to the English Constitution, ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings to England. Besides asserting the supremacy over the Church of England, he greatly expanded royal power during his reign. Charges of treason and heresy were commonly used to quash dissent, and he achieved many of his political aims through the work of his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Richard Rich and his contemporaries considered Henry in his prime to be an attractive and accomplished king, and he has been described as one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne.
He was an author and composer, as he aged, Henry became severely obese and his health suffered, contributing to his death in 1547. He is frequently characterised in his life as a lustful, harsh. He was succeeded by his son Edward VI, born 28 June 1491 at the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, Henry Tudor was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Of the young Henrys six siblings, only three – Arthur, Prince of Wales and Mary – survived infancy and he was baptised by Richard Fox, the Bishop of Exeter, at a church of the Observant Franciscans close to the palace. In 1493, at the age of two, Henry was appointed Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. He was subsequently appointed Earl Marshal of England and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at age three, and was inducted into the Order of the Bath soon after. The day after the ceremony he was created Duke of York, in May 1495, he was appointed to the Order of the Garter. Henry was given an education from leading tutors, becoming fluent in Latin and French.
Not much is known about his early life – save for his appointments – because he was not expected to become king, as Duke of York, Henry used the arms of his father as king, differenced by a label of three points ermine. In 1502, Arthur died at the age of 15 of sweating sickness, Arthurs death thrust all his duties upon his younger brother, the 10-year-old Henry. After a little debate, Henry became the new Duke of Cornwall in October 1502, Henry VII gave the boy few tasks. Young Henry was strictly supervised and did not appear in public, as a result, the young Henry would ascend the throne untrained in the exacting art of kingship
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons.
However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party.
The Prime Minister acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
St James's Park
St Jamess Park is a 23-hectare park in the City of Westminster, central London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St Jamess area, the park is the most easterly of a near-continuous chain of parks that comprises Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens. The park is bounded by Buckingham Palace to the west, the Mall to the north, Horse Guards to the east and it meets Green Park at Queens Gardens with the Victoria Memorial at its centre, opposite the entrance to Buckingham Palace. St Jamess Palace is on the side of The Mall. The closest London Underground stations are St Jamess Park, Green Park, the park has a small lake, St Jamess Park Lake, with two islands, West Island, and Duck Island, named for the lakes collection of waterfowl. A resident colony of pelicans has been a feature of the park since pelicans were donated by a Russian ambassador in 1664 to Charles II. While most of the time the wings are clipped, there is a pelican who can be flying to the London Zoo in hopes of another meal.
The Blue Bridge across the lake affords a view west towards Buckingham Palace framed by trees. Looking east the view includes the Swire Fountain to the north of Duck Island and, past the lake, the grounds of Horse Guards Parade, with Horse Guards, the Old War Office and Whitehall Court behind. To the south of Duck Island is the Tiffany Fountain on Pelican Rock, and past the lake is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with the London Eye, the Shell Tower, and the Shard behind. In 1532, Henry VIII bought an area of marshland through which the Tyburn flowed from Eton College. It lies to the west of York Place acquired by Henry from Cardinal Wolsey, it was purchased in order to turn York Palace, subsequently renamed Whitehall, a 775 metre by 38 metre canal was created as evidenced in the old plan. The king opened the park to the public and used the area to entertain guests and mistresses, such as Nell Gwyn. The park became notorious at the time as a place for impromptu acts of lechery, as described by John Wilmot.
In the late-17th and early-18th centuries cows grazed on the park, at the same time, Buckingham House was expanded to create the palace, and Marble Arch was built at its entrance, whilst The Mall was turned into a grand processional route. It opened to public traffic 60 years in 1887, the Marble Arch was moved to its current location at the junction of Oxford Street and Park Lane in 1851 and the Victoria Memorial was erected between 1906 and 1924. Media related to St Jamess Park at Wikimedia Commons Visitor information at the Royal Parks website
Tournament (medieval)
A tournament, or tourney was a chivalrous competition or mock fight in Europe in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It is one of various types of hastiludes, Old French tornement was in use in the 12th century, from a verb tornoier, ultimately Latin tornare to turn. The same verb gave rise to tornei, the French terms were adopted in English by 1300. The Old French verb in origin meant to joust, tilt, by the end of the 12th century and Latinized torneamentum had become the generic term for all kinds of knightly hastiludes or martial displays. Roger of Hoveden writing in the late 12th century defined torneamentum as military exercises carried out, not in the spirit of hostility, but solely for practice. The application of the tournament to competition in games of skill or sports in general dates to the mid 18th century. Medieval equestrian warfare, and equestrian practice, did hark back to Roman antiquity and it is known that such cavalry games were central to military training in the Carolingian Empire, with records of Louis and Charles military games at Worms in 843.
At this event, recorded by Nithard, the chasing and fleeing was followed by a general mêlée of all combatants. Documentation of equestrian practice during the 9th to 10th centuries is still sparse, the earliest known use of the word tournament comes from the peace legislation by Count Baldwin III of Hainaut for the town of Valenciennes, dated to 1114. It refers to the keepers of the peace in the town leaving it for the purpose of frequenting javelin sports, tournaments, a pattern of regular tournament meetings across northern France is evident in sources for the life of Charles, Count of Flanders. The sources of the 1160s and 1170s portray the event in the form it maintained into the fourteenth century. Tournaments centred on the melee, a fight where the knights were divided into two sides and came together in a charge. Jousting, a combat of two knights riding at each other, was a component of the tournament, but was never its main feature. The standard form of a tournament is evident in sources as early as the 1160s and 1170s, notably the Life of William Marshal, Tournaments might be held at all times of the year except the penitential season of Lent.
The general custom was to them on Mondays and Tuesdays. The site of the tournament was announced a fortnight before it was to be held. The most famous tournament fields were in northeastern France which attracted hundreds of knights from all over Europe for the lonc sejor. Knights arrived individually or in companies to stay at one or other of the two settlements designated as their lodgings, the tournament began on a field outside the principal settlement, where stands were erected for spectators
Media related to Horse Guards at Wikimedia Commons
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