1.
Knight of the Order of the Garter
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The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry and the third most prestigious honour in England and the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George and it is awarded at the Sovereigns pleasure as a personal gift on recipients from the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. Membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, the order also includes supernumerary knights and ladies. New appointments to the Order of the Garter are always announced on St Georges Day, the orders emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense in gold lettering. Members of the wear it on ceremonial occasions. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne, the list includes Sir Sanchet DAbrichecourt, who died on 20 October 1345. Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed, the Kings wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that member of the Order already be a knight. The earliest written mention of the Order is found in Tirant lo Blanch and it was first published in 1490. This book devotes a chapter to the description of the origin of the Order of the Garter, at the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St.1431. Various legends account for the origin of the Order, the most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury, whose garter is said to have slipped from her leg while she was dancing at a court ball at Calais. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and returned it to her, exclaiming, Honi soit qui mal y pense, King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. This story is recounted in a letter to the Annual Register in 1774, The motto in fact refers to Edwards claim to the French throne, the use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour. Medieval scholars have pointed to a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Gawain, a girdle, very similar in its erotic undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough version of the Orders motto also appears in the text and it translates from Old French as Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart. While the author of that poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter. Scholar J. P. Oakden has suggested that it is related to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and, more importantly. Another competing theory is that the work was written for Enguerrand de Coucy, the Sire de Coucy was married to King Edward IIIs daughter, Isabella, and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day
2.
Knight Companion of the Order of the Thistle
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The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order, the Order consists of the Sovereign and sixteen Knights and Ladies, as well as certain extra knights. The Sovereign alone grants membership of the Order, he or she is not advised by the Government, the Orders primary emblem is the thistle, the national flower of Scotland. The motto is Nemo me impune lacessit, the patron saint of the Order is St Andrew. Most British orders of chivalry cover the whole United Kingdom, the Order of the Thistle, which pertains to Scotland, is the second-most senior in precedence. Its equivalent in England, The Most Noble Order of the Garter, is the oldest documented order of chivalry in the United Kingdom, in 1783 an Irish equivalent, The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, was founded, but has now fallen dormant. James VII claimed that he was reviving an earlier Order, according to legend, Achaius, King of Scots, while engaged in battle at Athelstaneford with the Saxon King Æthelstan of East Anglia, saw in the heavens the cross of St Andrew. After he won the battle, Achaius is said to have established the Order of the Thistle, dedicating it to the saint, the tale is not credible, because the two individuals purported to have fought each other did not even live in the same century. Another story states that Achaius founded the Order in 809 to commemorate an alliance with the Emperor Charlemagne, there is some credibility to this story given the fact that Charlemagne did employ Scottish bodyguards. There is, in addition, a tradition that the order was instituted, or re-instituted and he allegedly conferred membership of the Order of the Burr or Thissil on King Francis I of France. However, there is no evidence for a fifteenth-century order. A French commentator writing in 1558 described the use of the thistle and the cross of St Andrew on Scottish coins and war banners. Similarly, John Lesley writing around 1578, refers to the three orders of chivalry carved on the gate of James Vs Linlithgow Palace with his ornaments of St Andrew. Some Scottish order of chivalry may have existed during the century, possibly founded by James V and called the Order of St. Andrew. James VII issued letters patent reviving and restoring the Order of the Thistle to its glory, lustre. Eight knights, out of a maximum of twelve, were appointed and his successors, the joint monarchs William and Mary, did not make any further appointments to the Order, which consequently fell into desuetude. In 1703, however, Anne once again revived the Order of the Thistle, in 1827, George IV augmented the Order to sixteen members. From time to time, individuals may be admitted to the Order by special statutes, such members are known as Extra Knights and do not count towards the sixteen-member limit
3.
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
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The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, members of the monarchs family, the present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Sovereign of the order, its motto is Victoria, and its official day is 20 June. The orders chapel is the Savoy Chapel in London, the organisation was founded a year preceding Victorias Diamond Jubilee, so as to give the Queen time to complete a list of first inductees. The orders official day was made 20 June of each year, in 1902, King Edward VII created the Royal Victorian Chain as a personal decoration for royal personages and a few eminent British subjects and it was the highest class of the Royal Victorian Order. It is today distinct from the order, though it is issued by the chancery of the Royal Victorian Order. The order was open to foreigners from its inception, the Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Queen Elizabeth II then appointed her daughter, Anne, Princess Royal, to the position in 2007. Foreigners may be admitted as members, there are no limits to the number of any grade. Retiring Deans of the Royal Peculiars of St, prior to 1984, the grades of Lieutenant and Member were classified as Members and Members, respectively, but both with the post-nominals MVO. On 31 December of that year, Queen Elizabeth II declared that those in the grade of Member would henceforth be Lieutenants with the post-nominals LVO. Upon admission into the Royal Victorian Order, members are given various insignia of the organisation, each grade being represented by different emblems and robes. For Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Commanders, and Lieutenants, the orders ribbon is blue with red-white-red stripe edging, the only difference being that for foreigners appointed into the society, their ribbon bearing an additional central white stripe. For Knights Grand Cross, the ribbon is 82.5 millimetres wide, for Dames Grand Cross 57.1 millimetres, for Knights and Dames Commander 44.4 millimetres, and for all other members 31.7 millimetres. Though after the death of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross their insignia may be retained by their family, the collar must be returned. Knights and Dames Grand Cross also wear a mantle of blue satin edged with red satin and lined with white satin. Since 1938, the chapel of the Royal Victorian Order has been the Queens Chapel of the Savoy, in central London, upon the occupants death, the plate is retained, leaving the stalls festooned with a record of the orders Knights and Dames Grand Cross since 1938. There is insufficient space in the chapel for the display of knights and dames banners, founded by Michael Jackson, the group has, since 2008, gathered biennially. The practice of notifying the Prime Minister of Canada of nominees ended in 1982, in Canada, the order has come to be colloquially dubbed as the Royal Visit Order, as the majority of appointments are made by the sovereign during her tours of the country. Persons have been removed from the order at the monarchs command, anthony Blunt, a former surveyor of the Queens Pictures, was in 1979 stripped of his knighthood, after it was revealed that he had been a spy
4.
Companion of the Order of the Bath
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The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for appointing a knight. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath, George I erected the Knights of the Bath into a regular Military Order. Prior to 1815, the order had only a class, Knight Companion. Recipients of the Order are now usually senior officers or senior civil servants. Commonwealth citizens who are not subjects of the Queen and foreign nationals may be made Honorary Members, in the Middle Ages, knighthood was often conferred with elaborate ceremonies. These usually involved the taking a bath during which he was instructed in the duties of knighthood by more senior knights. He was then put to bed to dry, clothed in a special robe, he was led with music to the chapel where he spent the night in a vigil. At dawn he made confession and attended Mass, then retired to his bed to sleep until it was fully daylight, in the early medieval period the difference seems to have been that the full ceremonies were used for men from more prominent families. Knights Bachelor continued to be created with the form of ceremony. The last occasion on which Knights of the Bath were created was the coronation of Charles II in 1661. From at least 1625, and possibly from the reign of James I, Knights of the Bath were using the motto Tria iuncta in uno, and wearing as a badge three crowns within a plain gold oval. These were both adopted by the Order of the Bath, a similar design of badge is still worn by members of the Civil Division. Their symbolism however is not entirely clear, the three joined in one may be a reference to the kingdoms of England, Scotland and either France or Ireland, which were held by English and, later, British monarchs. This would correspond to the three crowns in the badge, another explanation of the motto is that it refers to the Holy Trinity. The prime mover in the establishment of the Order of the Bath was John Anstis, Garter King of Arms, the Court remained the centre of the political world. The King was limited in that he had to choose Ministers who could command a majority in Parliament, the leader of an administration still had to command the Kings personal confidence and approval. A strong following in Parliament depended on being able to supply places, pensions, the attraction of the new Order for Walpole was that it would provide a source of such favours to strengthen his political position
5.
Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St John
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The orders approximately 25,000 members, known as confrères, are mostly of the Protestant faith, though those of other Christian denominations or other religions are accepted into the order. Except via appointment to government or ecclesiastical offices in some realms, membership is by invitation only. It is a constituent member of the Alliance of the Orders of St John of Jerusalem and its headquarters are in London and it is a registered charity under English law. This was to be achieved by issuing bonds in London to form an army of demobilized British soldiers using readily available. The council was reorganised and the Marquis de Sainte-Croix du Molay became its head, scotsman Donald Currie was in 1827 given the authority to raise £240,000. Anyone who subscribed to the project and all commissioned officers of the army were offered the opportunity of being appointed knights of the order. Few donations were attracted, though, and the Greek War of Independence was won without the help of the knights of the Council of the French Langues and it was headquartered at what Mortara called the Auberge of St. John, St Johns Gate, Clerkenwell. The creation of the langue has been regarded either as a revival of the Knights Hospitaller or the establishment of a new order, on 29 January 1831, in the presence of Philip de Castellane and the Agent-General of the French Langues, Peat was elected Prior ad interim. Sir Robert Peat died in April 1837 and Sir Henry Dymoke was appointed grand prior and re-established contact with the knights in France and Germany, into which the group had by that time expanded. This new entity grew its membership over the three decades and, in 1861, the Duke of Manchester agreed to become its grand prior. Additionally, an associated national hospitaller organisation was formed with a corps of ambulances, Sir Edmund Lechmere purchased St Johns Gate as the orders headquarters two years later, the property was initially leased from Lechmere before the order acquired the freehold in 1887. The name given when first constituted in 1888 as the present order of chivalry by Queen Victorias royal charter was Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in England. Its most recent royal charter was granted in 1955, with a charter issued in 1974. In 1999, the order received special status from the United Nations Economic. The Grand Prior may also appoint a secretary of the order, since the orders royal charter of 1888, the Grand Prior has been appointed by the Sovereign Head and has always been a member of the royal family. All Priors, should not already be in the grade or higher, are made a Knight or Dame of Justice upon their assignment. Knights and Dames receive the accolade from the grand prior when they are touched on the shoulder with a sword and are given their robes, bailiffs and Dames Grand Cross additionally have the right to be granted heraldic supporters for life. In 2013, the Priory of Kenya and in 2014 the Priory of Singapore were formed, each is governed by a prior and a priory chapter
6.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
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Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians, who are present or former members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, the Council also holds the delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. The Council advises the sovereign on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, otherwise, the Privy Councils powers have now been largely replaced by the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Judicial Committee consists of judges appointed as Privy Counsellors, predominantly Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom was preceded by the Privy Council of Scotland, the key events in the formation of the modern Privy Council are given below, Witenagemot was an early equivalent to the Privy Council of England. During the reigns of the Norman monarchs, the English Crown was advised by a court or curia regis. The body originally concerned itself with advising the sovereign on legislation, administration, later, different bodies assuming distinct functions evolved from the court. The courts of law took over the business of dispensing justice, nevertheless, the Council retained the power to hear legal disputes, either in the first instance or on appeal. Furthermore, laws made by the sovereign on the advice of the Council, powerful sovereigns often used the body to circumvent the Courts and Parliament. During Henry VIIIs reign, the sovereign, on the advice of the Council, was allowed to enact laws by mere proclamation, the legislative pre-eminence of Parliament was not restored until after Henry VIIIs death. Though the royal Council retained legislative and judicial responsibilities, it became an administrative body. The Council consisted of forty members in 1553, but the sovereign relied on a smaller committee, by the end of the English Civil War, the monarchy, House of Lords, and Privy Council had been abolished. The remaining parliamentary chamber, the House of Commons, instituted a Council of State to execute laws, the forty-one members of the Council were elected by the House of Commons, the body was headed by Oliver Cromwell, de facto military dictator of the nation. In 1653, however, Cromwell became Lord Protector, and the Council was reduced to thirteen and twenty-one members, all elected by the Commons. In 1657, the Commons granted Cromwell even greater powers, some of which were reminiscent of those enjoyed by monarchs, the Council became known as the Protectors Privy Council, its members were appointed by the Lord Protector, subject to Parliaments approval. In 1659, shortly before the restoration of the monarchy, the Protectors Council was abolished, Charles II restored the Royal Privy Council, but he, like previous Stuart monarchs, chose to rely on a small group of advisers. Under George I even more power transferred to this committee and it now began to meet in the absence of the sovereign, communicating its decisions to him after the fact. Thus, the British Privy Council, as a whole, ceased to be a body of important confidential advisers to the sovereign and it is closely related to the word private, and derives from the French word privé
7.
Order of the Garter
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The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry and the third most prestigious honour in England and the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George and it is awarded at the Sovereigns pleasure as a personal gift on recipients from the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. Membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, the order also includes supernumerary knights and ladies. New appointments to the Order of the Garter are always announced on St Georges Day, the orders emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense in gold lettering. Members of the wear it on ceremonial occasions. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne, the list includes Sir Sanchet DAbrichecourt, who died on 20 October 1345. Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed, the Kings wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that member of the Order already be a knight. The earliest written mention of the Order is found in Tirant lo Blanch and it was first published in 1490. This book devotes a chapter to the description of the origin of the Order of the Garter, at the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St.1431. Various legends account for the origin of the Order, the most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury, whose garter is said to have slipped from her leg while she was dancing at a court ball at Calais. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and returned it to her, exclaiming, Honi soit qui mal y pense, King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. This story is recounted in a letter to the Annual Register in 1774, The motto in fact refers to Edwards claim to the French throne, the use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour. Medieval scholars have pointed to a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Gawain, a girdle, very similar in its erotic undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough version of the Orders motto also appears in the text and it translates from Old French as Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart. While the author of that poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter. Scholar J. P. Oakden has suggested that it is related to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and, more importantly. Another competing theory is that the work was written for Enguerrand de Coucy, the Sire de Coucy was married to King Edward IIIs daughter, Isabella, and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day
8.
Windsor Castle
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Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is notable for its association with the English and later British royal family. The original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror, since the time of Henry I, it has been used by the reigning monarch and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. Inside the castle walls is the 15th-century St Georges Chapel, considered by the historian John Martin Robinson to be one of the achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic design. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a siege during the First Barons War at the start of the 13th century. Edwards core design lasted through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment. Windsor Castle survived the period of the English Civil War, when it was used as a military headquarters for Parliamentary forces. At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of the architect Hugh May, Queen Victoria made a few minor changes to the castle, which became the centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign. Windsor Castle was used as a refuge for the family during the Luftwaffe bombing campaigns of the Second World War. It is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits, today, more than 500 people live and work in Windsor Castle, making it the largest inhabited castle in the world. Windsor Castle occupies 13 acres, and combines the features of a fortification, a palace, the present-day castle was created during a sequence of phased building projects, culminating in the reconstruction work after a fire in 1992. It is in essence a Georgian and Victorian design based on a medieval structure, since the 14th century, architecture at the castle has attempted to produce a contemporary reinterpretation of older fashions and traditions, repeatedly imitating outmoded or even antiquated styles. Although there has some criticism, the castles architecture and history lends it a place amongst the greatest European palaces. At the heart of Windsor Castle is the Middle Ward, a formed around the motte or artificial hill in the centre of the ward. The motte is 50 feet high and is made from chalk originally excavated from the surrounding ditch, the Round Tower is in reality far from cylindrical, due to the shape and structure of the motte beneath it. The western entrance to the Middle Ward is now open, the eastern exit from the ward is guarded by the Norman Gatehouse. Wyatville redesigned the exterior of the gatehouse, and the interior was later converted in the 19th century for residential use. The Upper Ward of Windsor Castle comprises a number of major buildings enclosed by the bailey wall
9.
Berkshire
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Berkshire is a county in south east England, west of London. It was recognised as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of Windsor Castle by the Queen in 1957, Berkshire is a county of historic origin and is a home county, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. Berkshire County Council was the main county governance from 1889 to 1998 except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading, in 1974, significant alterations were made to the countys administrative boundaries although the traditional boundaries of Berkshire were not changed. The towns of Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage were transferred to Oxfordshire, Slough was gained from Buckinghamshire, since 1998, Berkshire has been governed by the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. It borders the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Surrey, according to Asser, it takes its name from a large forest of box trees that was called Bearroc. Berkshire has been the scene of notable battles through its history. Alfred the Greats campaign against the Danes included the Battles of Englefield, Ashdown, Newbury was the site of two English Civil War battles, the First Battle of Newbury in 1643 and the Second Battle of Newbury in 1644. The nearby Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle, another Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688. It was the only military action in England during the Glorious Revolution. Reading became the new county town in 1867, taking over from Abingdon, boundary alterations in the early part of the 20th century were minor, with Caversham from Oxfordshire becoming part of the Reading county borough, and cessions in the Oxford area. On 1 April 1974 Berkshires boundaries changed under the Local Government Act 1972, Berkshire took over administration of Slough and Eton and part of the former Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire. 94 Signal Squadron still keep the Uffington White Horse in their insignia, the original Local Government White Paper would have transferred Henley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire, this proposal did not make it into the Bill as introduced. On 1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished under a recommendation of the Banham Commission, unlike similar reforms elsewhere at the same time, the non-metropolitan county was not abolished. Berkshire divides into two distinct sections with the boundary lying roughly on a north-south line through the centre of Reading. The eastern section of Berkshire lies largely to the south of the River Thames, in two places the county now includes land to the north of the river. Tributaries of the Thames, including the Loddon and Blackwater, increase the amount of low lying land in the area. Beyond the flood plains, the land rises gently to the county boundaries with Surrey, much of this area is still well wooded, especially around Bracknell and Windsor Great Park. In the west of the county and heading upstream, the Thames veers away to the north of the county boundary, leaving the county behind at the Goring Gap
10.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
11.
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
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St Georges Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter, the chapel is governed by the Dean and Canons of Windsor. The chapel is located in the Lower Ward of the castle, the Society of the Friends of St Georges and Descendants of the Knights of the Garter, a registered charity, was established in 1931 to assist the College in maintaining the chapel. In 1348, King Edward III founded two new colleges, St Stephens at Westminster and St Georges at Windsor. The new college at Windsor was attached to the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor which had constructed by Henry III in the early thirteenth century. The chapel was rededicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Edward the Confessor. Edward III also built the Aerary Porch in 1353–1354 and it was used as the entrance to the new college. St Georges Chapel became the Mother Church of the Order of the Garter, and their heraldic banners hang above the upper stalls of the choir where they have a seat for life. The period 1475–1528 saw a redevelopment of St Georges Chapel, set in motion by Edward IV and continued by Henry VII. The Horseshoe Cloister was constructed for the new community of 45 junior members,16 vicars, St Georges Chapel was a popular destination for pilgrims during the late medieval period. The chapel was purported to contain several important relics, the bodies of John Schorne and Henry VI of England and these relics all appear to have been displayed at the east end of the south choir aisle. The Chapel suffered a great deal of destruction during the English Civil War, parliamentary forces broke into and plundered the chapel and treasury on 23 October 1642. Further pillaging occurred in 1643 when the chapter house was destroyed, lead was stripped off the chapel roofs. Following his execution in 1649, Charles I was buried in a vault in the centre of the choir at St Georges Chapel which also contained the coffins of Henry VIII. A programme of repair was undertaken at St Georges Chapel following the Restoration of the monarchy, the reign of Queen Victoria saw further changes made to the architecture of the chapel. On the roof of the chapel, standing on the pinnacles, the original beasts dated from the sixteenth century, but were removed in 1682 on the advice of Sir Christopher Wren, the present statues date from 1925, when the chapel was restored. Members of the meet at Windsor Castle every June for the annual Garter Service. After lunch in the State Apartments in the Upper Ward of the Castle they process on foot, wearing their robes and insignia, if any new members have been admitted to the Order they are installed at the service
12.
Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore
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The Royal Burial Ground is a cemetery used by the British Royal Family. Consecrated on 23 October 1928, it surrounds the Royal Mausoleum on the Frogmore Estate in the Home Park at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, since 1928, most members of the Royal Family, except for sovereigns and their consorts, have been interred here. Among those interred here are three of Queen Victorias children as well as one former monarch, in the adjacent Frogmore gardens is the mausoleum of Queen Victorias mother, the Duchess of Kent. 1928 Prince Harald of Schleswig-Holstein, son of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel until transferred to the Royal Burial Ground in late October 1928. 1928 Prince Francis of Teck, brother of Queen Mary, Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 5 November 1910, then interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel, transferred to the Royal Burial Ground in late October 1928. 1928 Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught, wife of Prince Arthur,1928 Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, husband of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom. Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 1 November 1917, then interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel,1928 Lord Leopold Mountbatten, grandson of Queen Victoria through his mother Princess Henry of Battenberg. Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 1 May 1922, then interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel,1928 Princess Helena of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria, wife of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 15 June 1923, then interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel,1928 Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, a former Prince of Teck and brother of Queen Mary and husband of Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge. Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 29 October 1927, then interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel and his coffin is in the same grave as that of his wife. 1928 Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon, son of Alexander Cambridge, Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 19 April 1928, then interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel, transferred to the Royal Burial Ground in late October 1928. 1929 Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge, wife of the 1st Marquess of Cambridge, Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 30 March 1929, then interred in the Royal Burial Ground. Her coffin is in the grave as that of her husband. 1935 Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom, daughter of King Edward VII, interred in the Royal Burial Ground on 9 December 1935. 1938 Prince Arthur of Connaught, son of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 16 September 1938, then interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel, transferred to the Royal Burial Ground on 22 September 1938. 1940 Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria,1942 Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria. Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 23 January 1942, then interred in the Royal Vault at St Georges Chapel,1948 Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom. Funeral at St Georges Chapel on 17 March 1948, then interred in the Royal Burial Ground,1956 Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and granddaughter of Queen Victoria
13.
Princess Alexandra, 2nd Duchess of Fife
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Princess Arthur of Connaught, 2nd Duchess of Fife, GCStJ was a granddaughter of King Edward VII and great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Alexandras father was Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife, Princess Louise accordingly became the Duchess of Fife. Alexandra was born at East Sheen Lodge, Richmond on 17 May 1891, as a female-line granddaughter of the British monarch, Alexandra was not entitled to the title of Princess of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Ireland, nor to the style of Her Royal Highness. Instead she was styled Lady Alexandra Duff, as the daughter of a duke, on 5 November 1905, King Edward VII declared his eldest daughter Princess Royal. From that point, Her Highness Princess Alexandra held her title and rank, not from her ducal father, around 1910, Alexandra became secretly engaged to Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, a son of King George I of the Hellenes. The engagement was terminated when their disapproving parents learned of the liaison, as Prince Christophers father was a younger brother of Princess Alexandras maternal grandmother, the hopeful couple were first cousins once-removed. On 15 October 1913, Princess Alexandra married her cousin Prince Arthur of Connaught at the Chapel Royal, St. Jamess Palace, the brides attendants were, Princess Mary, daughter of King George V. Princess Mary of Teck and Princess Helena of Teck, daughters of Prince Adolphus, Princess May of Teck, daughter of Prince Alexander of Teck and Princess Alice of Albany. Prince Arthur of Connaught was the son of the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, third son of Queen Victoria and thus a younger brother of her maternal grandfather. As such, Arthur and Alexandra were first cousins once removed, after their marriage, Alexandra was referred to as HRH Princess Arthur of Connaught, in accordance with the tradition that a wife normally shares the title and style of her husband. With her husband, Alexandra also carried out engagements on behalf of her uncle, King George V. She also served as a Counsellor of State between 1937 and 1944, during World War I, Princess Arthur of Connaught served as nurse at St. Marys Hospital in Paddington. When Prince Arthur was appointed general of the Union of South Africa in 1920, she accompanied him to Pretoria. Upon the couples return to Britain, she continued to carry out royal duties and she died at her home near Primrose Hill, London, in 1959 and was buried at St Ninians Chapel, Braemar. The Royal Encyclopedia, ISBN 0-333-53810-2 Marlene A. Eilers, Queen Victorias Descendants, ISBN 91-630-5964-9 Alison Weir, Britains Royal Families, the Complete Genealogy, rev. ed. ISBN 0-7126-4286-2
14.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
15.
House of Windsor
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The House of Windsor is the royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The houses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Windsor have provided five British monarchs to date, including four kings, the name was changed from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor in 1917 because of anti-German sentiment in the British Empire during World War I. During the reign of the Windsors, major changes took place in British society, the British Empire participated in the First and Second World Wars, ending up on the winning side both times, but subsequently lost its status as a superpower during decolonisation. Much of Ireland broke with the United Kingdom and the remnants of the Empire became the Commonwealth of Nations, the current head of the house is monarch of sixteen sovereign states. As well as these separate monarchies, there are also three Crown dependencies, fourteen British Overseas Territories and two associated states of New Zealand. Edward VII and, in turn, his son, George V, were members of the German ducal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by virtue of their descent from Albert, Prince Consort, husband of Queen Victoria. The King and his family were convinced to abandon all titles held under the German Crown and to change German titles. From 1917 to 1919, George V also stripped 15 of his German relations—most of whom belonged to the House of Hanover—of their British titles and styles of prince, Prince Alastair and Princess Victoria died unmarried and childless. Princess Mary married into the Lascelles family, and Princess Patricia married Alexander Ramsay, neither of the Prince Arthurs had any further children, meaning all subsequent members of the House of Windsor descend from the sons of George V. In 1947, Princess Elizabeth, heir presumptive to King George VI and he was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a branch of the House of Oldenburg, and had been a prince of Greece and Denmark. It is the translation of the German battenberg, which refers to Battenberg. Philip privately complained, I am nothing but a bloody amoeba, I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children. Still, Elizabeth also decreed that her descendants who do not have that style and title would bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. This came after months of correspondence between the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and the constitutional expert Edward Iwi. Iwi had raised the prospect that the Royal child due to be born in February 1960 would bear the Badge of Bastardy if it were given its mothers maiden name rather than its fathers name and she clearly wished to make this change before the birth of her child. The issue did not affect Prince Charles or Princess Anne, as they had been born with the name Mountbatten, Prince Andrew was born 11 days later, on 19 February 1960. Any future monarch can change the name through a similar royal proclamation. At the creation of the House of Windsor, its head reigned over a unitary British Empire, in the chart below, the countries are differentiated between light green, medium green, and dark green
16.
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
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House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a German dynasty, the line of the Saxon House of Wettin that ruled the Ernestine duchies including the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Due to anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during World War I, George V changed the name of his branch from Saxe-Coburg, the same happened in 1920 in Belgium, where it was changed to van de Belgen or des Belges. The first duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was Ernest I, who reigned from 1826 until his death in 1844 and he had previously been Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld from 1806 until the duchy was reorganized in 1826. Ernsts younger brother Leopold became King of the Belgians in 1831, léopolds only daughter, Princess Charlotte of Belgium, was the consort of Maximilian I of Mexico, known as the Empress Carlota of Mexico, in the 1860s. Ernsts nephew Ferdinand married Queen Maria II of Portugal, and his descendants continued to rule Portugal until that became a republic in 1910. Ernest Is second son, Prince Albert, married Queen Victoria in 1840, in 1826, a cadet branch of the house inherited the Hungarian princely estate of Koháry, and converted to Roman Catholicism. Its members managed to marry a princess of Brazil, an archduchess of Austria, a royal princess of the French, a royal princess of Belgium. A scion of this branch, also named Ferdinand, became Prince, and then Tsar, of Bulgaria, according to the House law of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha the full title of the Duke was, There were two official residences, in Gotha and Coburg. Therefore, the ducal court, including the Court Theater, had to move twice a year, from Gotha to Coburg for the summer. For the Court Theater, two almost identical buildings had to be built in 1840 in Gotha and Coburg and thereafter maintained at the same time. In 1893, the duke died childless, whereupon the throne would have devolved, by male primogeniture. However, as heirs to the British throne, Alberts descendants consented, therefore, the German duchy became a secundogeniture, hereditary among the younger princes of the British royal family who belonged to the House of Wettin, and their male-line descendants. Instead of the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom inheriting the duchy, it was diverted to his brother, Prince Alfred. Upon the latters death without surviving sons, it went to the youngest grandson of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, Prince Charles Edward, Charles Edwards uncle Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and his male line had renounced their claim. Although senior by birth, they were not acceptable to the German Emperor as a member of the British military or unwilling to move to Germany. The current head of the branch is Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg. The House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry is the Catholic cadet branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and it was founded with the marriage of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, second son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, with Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág. In Portugal, the royal house is usually not distinguished from the House of Braganza
17.
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
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Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the British Army, where he served for some 40 years, seeing service in various parts of the British Empire. During this time he was created a royal duke, becoming the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. In 1911, he was appointed as Governor General of Canada and he occupied this post until being succeeded by the Duke of Devonshire in 1916. After the end of his tenure, Arthur returned to the United Kingdom and there, as well as in India, performed various royal duties. Though he retired from life in 1928, he continued to make his presence known in the army well into the Second World War. He was Queen Victorias last surviving son, Arthur was born at Buckingham Palace on 1 May 1850, the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The prince was baptised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Bird Sumner, as with his older brothers, Arthur received his early education from private tutors. It was reported that he became the Queens favourite child, following his arrival at Halifax, Arthur toured the country for eight weeks and made a visit in January 1870 to Washington, D. C. where he met with President Ulysses S. Grant. Arthur made an impression on many in Canada, as he became the 51st chief on the council, his appointment broke the centuries-old tradition that there should only be 50 chiefs of the Six Nations. Arthur was promoted to the rank of colonel on 14 June 1871, substantive lieutenant-colonel in 1876, colonel on 29 May 1880 and. He gained military experience as Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army from December 1886 to March 1890 and he went on to be General Officer Commanding Southern District, at Portsmouth, from September 1890 to 1893. The Prince had hoped to succeed his first cousin once-removed, the elderly Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, as Commander-in-chief of the British Army, upon the latters forced retirement in 1895. But this desire was denied to Arthur, and instead he was given, between 1893 and 1898, command of the Aldershot District Command, the regiment had recently been converted to the infantry role from the 2nd Battalion, 5th British Columbia Regiment of Canadian Artillery. With the Princes agreement the unit was renamed 6th Regiment, Duke of Connaughts Own Rifles on 1 May 1900 and he was subsequently appointed colonel-in-chief of the regiment, then known as The British Columbia Regiment, in 1923. He held that appointment until his death, on his mothers birthday in 1874, Arthur was created a royal peer, being titled as the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex. Through his childrens marriages, Arthur became the father-in-law of Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife, arthurs first two children predeceased him, Margaret while pregnant with his sixth grandchild. For many years, Arthur maintained a liaison with Leonie, Lady Leslie, sister of Jennie Churchill, alongside his military career, he continued to undertake royal duties beyond, or vaguely associated with, the army. On the return from a posting in India, he again and he also toured Canada in 1906
18.
Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia
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Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia was a German princess, and later a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. She also served as the Viceregal Consort of Canada, when her husband served as the Governor General of Canada from 1911 to 1916, king Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queens Margrethe II of Denmark and Anne-Marie of Greece are among her great-grandchildren. Princess Luise Margarete was born at Marmorpalais near Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia and her father was Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, the son of Karl of Prussia and his wife Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Her mother was Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt, daughter of Leopold IV of Anhalt-Dessau and her father, a nephew of the German Emperor Wilhelm I, distinguished himself as a field commander during the Battle of Metz and the campaigns west of Paris in the 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War. Her father was a cousin of the German Emperor Friedrich III. On 13 March 1879, Princess Luise Margarete married Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, Prince Arthur was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple received a number of expensive gifts, the Queens gift consisted of a diamond tiara. Many members of England and Germanys royal families attended, these included the Prince, after her marriage, Princess Louise was styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Connaught and her name was Anglicised as Louise Margaret. The Duchess of Connaught spent the first twenty years of her accompanying her husband on his various deployments throughout the British empire. The Duke and Duchess of Connaught acquired Bagshot Park in Surrey as their country home and she accompanied her husband to Canada in 1911, when he began his term as Governor-General. In 1916, she became colonel-in-chief of the 199th Canadian Infantry Battalion, in 1885, she became chief of the 64th Regiment of Infantry Field Marshal General Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, Prussian Army. The Duchess of Connaught died of influenza and bronchitis at Clarence House and she became the first member of the British Royal Family to be cremated. This was done at Golders Green Crematorium, the procedure of burying ashes in an urn was still unfamiliar at the time, and her urn was transported in an ordinary coffin during the funeral ceremonies. Her ashes were buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. The Duke of Connaught survived her by almost twenty-five years
19.
Governor-General of South Africa
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The Governor-general of the Union of South Africa was the representative of the British and later South African Crown in the Union of South Africa between 31 May 1910 and 31 May 1961. The Union of South Africa was a Commonwealth realm in which Queen Elizabeth II was given the title Queen of South Africa, as in other Dominions, this would change, and from 1943 onward only South Africans held the office. The office was established by the South Africa Act 1909, although the Governor General was nominally the countrys chief executive, in practice he was bound by convention to act on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. In the interim, the National Party used the Governor-Generals post as a sinecure for retired National Party ministers. In 1957, God Save the Queen ceased to have status with Die Stem van Suid-Afrika as a national anthem. However, it was not until 1960 that prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd advised governor-general Swart to hold a referendum on the issue, the result was 52 per cent in favour of the change. Swart, the last governor-general, asked the Queen to relieve him of his duties on 30 April 1961, state President of South Africa President of South Africa Prime Minister of South Africa
20.
George V
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George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. He was the son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. From the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession behind his father and his own brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. From 1877 to 1891, George served in the Royal Navy, on the death of his grandmother in 1901, Georges father became King-Emperor of the British Empire, and George was created Prince of Wales. He succeeded his father in 1910 and he was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar. His reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, the Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords. In 1917, George became the first monarch of the House of Windsor, in 1924 he appointed the first Labour ministry and in 1931 the Statute of Westminster recognised the dominions of the Empire as separate, independent states within the Commonwealth of Nations. He had health problems throughout much of his reign and at his death was succeeded by his eldest son. George was born on 3 June 1865, in Marlborough House and he was the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Albert Edward and Alexandra. His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and he was baptised at Windsor Castle on 7 July 1865 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Longley. As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was expectation that George would become king. He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother, George was only 17 months younger than Albert Victor, and the two princes were educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed as their tutor in 1871, neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. For three years from 1879, the brothers served on HMS Bacchante, accompanied by Dalton. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean, South Africa and Australia, and visited Norfolk, Virginia, as well as South America, the Mediterranean, Egypt, Dalton wrote an account of their journey entitled The Cruise of HMS Bacchante. Between Melbourne and Sydney, Dalton recorded a sighting of the Flying Dutchman, after Lausanne, the brothers were separated, Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge, while George continued in the Royal Navy. He travelled the world, visiting many areas of the British Empire, during his naval career he commanded Torpedo Boat 79 in home waters then HMS Thrush on the North America station, before his last active service in command of HMS Melampus in 1891–92. From then on, his rank was largely honorary
21.
Jan Christiaan Smuts
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Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts OM, CH, ED, PC, KC, FRS was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924. Smuts subsequently lost the 1948 election to hard-line Afrikaners who created apartheid and he continued to work for reconciliation and emphasised the British Commonwealth’s positive role until his death in 1950. He led a Boer Commando in the Second Boer War for the Transvaal, during the First World War, he led the armies of South Africa against Germany, capturing German South-West Africa and commanding the British Army in East Africa. From 1917 to 1919, he was one of the members of the British Imperial War Cabinet. He became a marshal in the British Army in 1941. He was the man to sign both of the peace treaties ending the First and Second World Wars. A statue of him stands in Parliament Square and he was born on 24 May 1870, at the family farm, Bovenplaats, near Malmesbury, in the Cape Colony. His parents, Jacobus Smuts and his wife Catharina, were prosperous, traditional Afrikaner farmers, long established, Jan was quiet and delicate as a child, strongly inclined towards solitary pursuits. During his childhood, he went out alone, exploring the surrounding countryside, this awakened a passion for nature. As the second son of the family, rural custom dictated that he would remain working on the farm, however, in 1882, when Jan was twelve, his elder brother died, and Jan was sent to school in his brothers place. Jan attended the school in nearby Riebeek West and he made excellent progress here, despite his late start, and caught up with his contemporaries within four years. He moved on to Victoria College, Stellenbosch, in 1886, at Stellenbosch, he learned High Dutch, German, and Ancient Greek, and immersed himself further in literature, the classics, and Bible studies. His deeply traditional upbringing and serious outlook led to isolation from his peers. However, he made outstanding academic progress, graduating in 1891 with double First-class honours in Literature and Science. During his last years at Stellenbosch, Smuts began to cast off some of his shyness and reserve, and it was at time that he met Isie Krige. On graduation from Victoria College, Smuts won the Ebden scholarship for overseas study and he decided to travel to the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom to read law at Christs College, Cambridge. Smuts found it difficult to settle at Cambridge, he felt homesick and isolated by his age, worries over money also contributed to his unhappiness, as his scholarship was insufficient to cover his university expenses
22.
Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton
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Sydney Charles Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton GCMG PC was a radical British Liberal politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Buxton was the son of Charles Buxton and grandson of social reformer Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton and his mother was Emily Mary, daughter of the physician and traveller Sir Henry Holland, 1st Baronet. He was born in London and educated at Clifton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1880, Buxton became prominent in political circles by the publication of his Handbook to the Political Questions of the Day, a work which eventually went through 11 editions. That same year, he ran for Parliament for Boston, however, he became an MP in 1883 by winning a by-election in Peterborough. He was defeated in the 1885 general election, but returned to Parliament the very next year and he would represent this constituency in Parliament until 1914. From 1892-95, Buxton served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, in 1905, he earned his first Cabinet post, that of Postmaster-General. In this capacity he introduced such services as penny postage to the United States, the Canadian magazine post, in 1910, Buxton was named President of the Board of Trade, in this position he oversaw the passage or amendment of many trade and commerce laws. Upon the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, he asked Lord Loreburn and this commission eventually came to be headed by Lord Mersey. In February 1914, Buxton was appointed Governor-General of South Africa, thereafter, Buxton and Botha formed an effective partnership, planning and executing South African actions in the war, including the invasion of the neighbouring German colony of South West Africa. Buxton travelled widely throughout South Africa, and endeared himself to the people, upon his retirement in 1920, the people demonstrated their affection for him. He continued his interest in South African affairs after returning to England and he was created Earl Buxton in 1920, and continued to be a member of the Liberal Party, often supporting his close friend and colleague Sir Edward Grey. In his later years, he had to undergo amputation of his leg due to an injury sustained earlier in his life. He died at Newtimber on 15 October 1934, Buxton was twice married, firstly in 1882 to Hon. By his first wife, he had two sons and one daughter, of whom the sons died in his lifetime. By his second wife, he had one son and two daughters, of whom the son and the daughter died in his lifetime. By his first wife Hon. Constance Mary Lubbock, Charles Sydney Buxton, the elder son Charles Sydney Buxton, the only surviving son by his first wife Constance, proposed marriage to Octavia Wilberforce, a descendant of the reformer, but she refused him. Kenneth Sydney Buxton, died in childhood, aged seven, Lady Phyllis Sydney Buxton, later Lady Phyllis Ponsonby OBE, married 23 September 1918 Rev. She died aged 25, shortly after the birth of her third child, after her death, her husband remarried
23.
Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone
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Prince Alexander was born in London to the Duke and Duchess of Teck and was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1904, he married Princess Alice and rose in the ranks through his service in African campaigns of the First World War, receiving numerous honours. Athlone helped galvanise the Canadian war effort and was a host to British, after returning to the United Kingdom, Athlone sat on the organising committee for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He died at Kensington Palace in 1957 and was interred in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. Prince Alexander of Teck was born at Kensington Palace on 14 April 1874, the child and third son of Prince Francis, Duke of Teck. In October 1894, having completed his officers training, Prince Alexander was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 7th Queens Own Hussars. He was mentioned in despatches during the conflict and, after its cessation, was appointed on 8 December 1898 by Queen Victoria as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order and he received a promotion to lieutenant in June 1899 and to captain the following April. For his actions in the Second Boer War, Alexander was in April 1901 appointed by King Edward VII as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. The couple thereafter had three children, Princess May of Teck, born 1906, Prince Rupert of Teck, born 1907, Maurice, however, lived only for less than six months, between 29 March and 14 September 1910. In the same year Prince Alexander was appointed Chairman of Middlesex Hospital, H. Asquith to serve as Governor General of Canada. However, the Prince was called up for service with his regiment, taking him to battle in France. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, with the rank of brigadier-general. At the same time he was serving as the head of the British Mission to the Belgian Army. For his service on the battlefields, in June 1917 Prince Alexander was appointed by his brother in law, King George V, as a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Alexander was then simply as Sir Alexander Cambridge, until, on 7 November 1917. Athlone had declined a marquessate, as he thought the title did not sound British enough, Athlones wife retained her royal style and title, while their surviving children became the Lady May Cambridge and Rupert Cambridge, Viscount Trematon. He took up posts in the world, continuing at Middlesex Hospital. Because of his there, he was appointed in 1921 to chair an investigative committee on the needs of doctors
24.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
25.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
26.
Colonel (United Kingdom)
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Colonel is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders, typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level, the insignia is two diamond-shaped pips below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs, the current Queens reign has used St Edwards Crown, the rank is equivalent to captain in the Royal Navy and group captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of colonel was popularized by the tercios that were employed in the Spanish Army during the 16th and 17th centuries, general Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba divided his troops in to coronelías ). These units were led by a coronel and this command structure and its titles were soon adopted as colonello in early modern Italian and in Middle French as coronel. The modern English pronunciation of the word is derived from the French variant, the British Army has historically been organized around the regiment, with each regiment being raised, uniformed, and equipped or either directly by the crown or by a nobleman. By the end of 17th century in Great Britain, the colonel of a regiment was often a person who had been given Royal Assent to raise it for service. As such, he was required to cover all costs of the equipment, uniforms. Until the late 18th century most British regiments were known by the name of the colonelcy. It occasionally raised its own fighting units, such as battoemen, the reforms meant that the British government was now financially responsible for the pay, clothing and equipment of the troops in the service of the British Crown. Colonels were also no longer permitted to directly from the sale of officer commissions in their regiments. A lieutenant-colonel commanded the regiment in battle, by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, the title colonel of the regiment had become a sinecure appointment for distinguished generals and members of the royal family or British nobility. Despite an individual only being permitted to hold one colonelcy, it was a position as they were in financial charge of their regiments allowance from the government. This meant they could hope to make a profit on the allocated for equipment, supplies. As generals were mostly on half-pay, a colonelcy was a method of providing them with extra income, however it should be noted that many colonels spent large sums of their own money on their regiments. Some of the duties associated with the title Colonel of the Regiment continue to be used in the modern British Army. The ceremonial position is often conferred on retired general officers, brigadiers or colonels who have a link to a particular regiment. Non-military personnel, usually for positions within the Army Reserve may also be appointed to the ceremonial position, when attending functions as Colonel of the Regiment, the titleholder wears the regimental uniform with rank insignia of colonel, regardless of their official rank
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Royal Scots Greys
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The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers to form The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The regiments history began in 1678, when three independent troops of Scots Dragoons were raised, in 1681, these troops were regimented to form The Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, numbered the 4th Dragoons in 1694. They were already mounted on horses by this stage and were already being referred to as the Grey Dragoons. In 1707, they were renamed The Royal North British Dragoons and they were also sometimes referred to, during the first Jacobite uprising, as Portmores Dragoons. In 1877, their nickname was made official when they became the 2nd Dragoons. They kept this title until 2 July 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers, the Royal Scots Greys originated as three troops of dragoons. The first two were formed on 21 May 1678 under the commands of Captain John Strachan and Captain John Inglis, the third, under the command of Captain Viscount Kingstoun, was formed on 23 September 1678. These were the first mounted troops raised for the British crown in Scotland, in 1681, by Royal Warrant, these three troops were combined, with the addition of three further troops, into what would be named the Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons. Lieutenant-General Thomas Dalziel would be the regiments first colonel, in its original configuration, the Scots Greys were configured as a true dragoon regiment. Although mounted, as regiments were, their armament was closer to that carried by infantry units. Troopers of the Scots Greys were authorised, during the late 17th century, to carry matchlock muskets with bayonets, while their sergeants and corporals carried halberds, only the officers were authorised swords, though the lieutenants were to be armed with a partisan. Interestingly, the original uniform called for the troopers to wear grey coats, between its formation in 1681 and 1685, the Scots Greys were employed primarily in keeping civil order in Scotland. The regiment participated in expeditions against various fractious clans which resisted the monarchs rule, in 1688, the regiment was quartered in London at the start of the Glorious Revolution. Upon the landing of William of Orange, the regiment took the side of William and Mary, ordered back to Scotland, the Scots Greys took part in the Battle of Killiecrankie against the Jacobites. For their service, the title as a Royal regiment was confirmed. Prior to 1693, there is no record that the regiment used grey horses exclusive to others, however, when inspected in London in 1693 by King William III, people took note that the regiment was mounted on all grey horses. Some have offered the theory that the grey horses originated with the Dutch Horse Guards, when they left to return to the Netherlands, the horses were turned over to the Scots Greys. Although there is no reason, some of the men also wore either fur caps or broad-brimmed hats
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Queen Victoria
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Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne aged 18, after her fathers three brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. The United Kingdom was already a constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments, publicly, Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together, after Alberts death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength and her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration. Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and it was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover and her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father. Victorias father was Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, until 1817, Edwards niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales, was the only legitimate grandchild of George III. Her death in 1817 precipitated a crisis that brought pressure on the Duke of Kent. In 1818 he married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, a widowed German princess with two children—Carl and Feodora —by her first marriage to the Prince of Leiningen and her brother Leopold was Princess Charlottes widower. The Duke and Duchess of Kents only child, Victoria, was born at 4.15 a. m. on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in London. Victoria was christened privately by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Manners-Sutton, on 24 June 1819 in the Cupola Room at Kensington Palace and she was baptised Alexandrina, after one of her godparents, Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. Additional names proposed by her parents—Georgina, Charlotte, and Augusta—were dropped on the instructions of the Dukes eldest brother, George, the Duke of Clarence and the Duke of Kent married on the same day in 1818, but both of Clarences daughters died as infants. Victorias father died in January 1820, when Victoria was less than a year old, a week later her grandfather died and was succeeded by his eldest son, George IV. The Duke of York died in 1827, when George IV died in 1830, he was succeeded by his next surviving brother, William IV, and Victoria became heir presumptive
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Governor-General of the Union of South Africa
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The Governor-general of the Union of South Africa was the representative of the British and later South African Crown in the Union of South Africa between 31 May 1910 and 31 May 1961. The Union of South Africa was a Commonwealth realm in which Queen Elizabeth II was given the title Queen of South Africa, as in other Dominions, this would change, and from 1943 onward only South Africans held the office. The office was established by the South Africa Act 1909, although the Governor General was nominally the countrys chief executive, in practice he was bound by convention to act on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. In the interim, the National Party used the Governor-Generals post as a sinecure for retired National Party ministers. In 1957, God Save the Queen ceased to have status with Die Stem van Suid-Afrika as a national anthem. However, it was not until 1960 that prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd advised governor-general Swart to hold a referendum on the issue, the result was 52 per cent in favour of the change. Swart, the last governor-general, asked the Queen to relieve him of his duties on 30 April 1961, state President of South Africa President of South Africa Prime Minister of South Africa
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Albert, Prince Consort
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Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the husband of Queen Victoria. He was born in the Saxon duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to a family connected to many of Europes ruling monarchs, at the age of 20, he married his first cousin, Queen Victoria, they had nine children. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Queen came to depend more and more on his support and guidance. Albert died at the young age of 42, plunging the Queen into deep mourning for the rest of her life. Upon Queen Victorias death in 1901, their eldest son succeeded as Edward VII, Albert was born at Schloss Rosenau, near Coburg, Germany, the second son of Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and his first wife, Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Alberts future wife, Victoria, was earlier in the same year with the assistance of the same midwife. Albert was baptised into the Lutheran Evangelical Church on 19 September 1819 in the Marble Hall at Schloss Rosenau with water taken from the local river, in 1825, Alberts great-uncle, Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, died. His death led to a realignment of Saxon duchies the following year and Alberts father became the first reigning duke of Saxe-Coburg, Albert and his elder brother, Ernest, spent their youth in a close companionship marred by their parents turbulent marriage and eventual separation and divorce. After their mother was exiled from court in 1824, she married her lover, Alexander von Hanstein, Count of Polzig and she presumably never saw her children again, and died of cancer at the age of 30 in 1831. The brothers were educated privately at home by Christoph Florschütz and later studied in Brussels, like many other German princes, Albert attended the University of Bonn, where he studied law, political economics, philosophy and the history of art. He played music and excelled at sport, especially fencing and riding and his tutors at Bonn included the philosopher Fichte and the poet Schlegel. By 1836, the idea of marriage between Albert and his cousin, Victoria, had arisen in the mind of their ambitious uncle Leopold, at this time, Victoria was the heiress presumptive to the British throne. Her father, Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, the son of King George III, had died when she was a baby. Her mother the Duchess of Kent, was the sister of both Alberts father—the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—and King Leopold. Leopold arranged for his sister, Victorias mother, to invite the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, William IV, however, disapproved of any match with the Coburgs, and instead favoured the suit of Prince Alexander, second son of the Prince of Orange. Victoria was well aware of the matrimonial plans and critically appraised a parade of eligible princes. Alexander, on the hand, she described as very plain. Victoria wrote to her uncle Leopold to thank him for the prospect of great happiness you have contributed to give me and he possesses every quality that could be desired to render me perfectly happy
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Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
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Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, VA CI GCVO GBE RRC GCStJ was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. King Felipe VI of Spain is her great-great-grandson, Beatrice was the last of Queen Victorias children to die,65 years after the first, her sister Alice. Beatrices childhood coincided with Queen Victorias grief following the death of her husband Albert, as her elder sisters married and left their mother, Queen Victoria came to rely on the company of her youngest daughter, whom she called Baby for most of her childhood. Beatrice was brought up to stay with her mother always and she resigned herself to her fate. Queen Victoria was so set against her youngest daughter marrying that she refused to discuss the possibility and she was attracted to the Prince Imperial and there was talk of a possible marriage, but he was killed in the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. Beatrice fell in love with Prince Henry of Battenberg, the son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine and Julia von Hauke and brother-in-law of her niece Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. Queen Victoria consented on condition that Beatrice and Henry make their home with her, the Prince and Princess had four children, but 10 years into their marriage, on 20 January 1896, Prince Henry died of malaria while fighting in the Anglo-Asante War. Beatrice remained at her mothers side until Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, Beatrice devoted the next 30 years to editing Queen Victorias journals as her designated literary executor and continued to make public appearances. She died at 87, outliving all her siblings, two of her children, and several nieces and nephews including George V and Wilhelm II, Beatrice was born at Buckingham Palace. She was the daughter and youngest of the nine children of the reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria. The birth caused controversy when it was announced that Queen Victoria would seek relief from the pains of delivery through the use of chloroform administered by Dr John Snow, chloroform was considered dangerous to mother and child and was frowned upon by the Church of England and the medical authorities. Queen Victoria was undeterred and used that blessed chloroform for her last pregnancy, a fortnight later, Queen Victoria reported in her journal, I was amply rewarded and forgot all I had gone through when I heard dearest Albert say Its a fine child, and a girl. She was christened in the chapel at Buckingham Palace on 16 June 1857. Her godparents were the Duchess of Kent, the Princess Royal, from birth, Beatrice became a favoured child. The elder favourite daughter of Prince Albert, the Princess Royal, was about to take up residence in Germany with her new husband, at the same time, the newly arrived Beatrice showed promise. Albert wrote to Augusta, Fritzs mother, that Baby practises her scales like a prima donna before a performance and has a good voice. Although Queen Victoria was known to dislike most babies, she liked Beatrice and this provided Beatrice with an advantage over her elder siblings. Queen Victoria once remarked that Beatrice was a pretty, plump, with fine large blue eyes, pretty little mouth and very fine skin
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Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia
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Joachim Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Leopold Prinz von Preußen was a son of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau, married in 1854. On 24 June 1889 he married in Berlin Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, at age 10 in 1875 Kadett, in 1885 Premierlieutnant,1888 Rittmeister,1890 Major and 1893 Oberst. In the same year promoted to Generalmajor, commander of the Gardes du Corps, husarenregimentes Nr.2 Friedrich Leopold, Prinz von Preußen. 1898 Generalleutnant, leader of Kavallerieinspektion Potsdam, served during Russian-Japanese War as counselor in the Russian HQ.1907 Generalinspektor of the Army,10 September 1910 Generaloberst. Prinz Friedrich Leopold was the last patron of the Prussian freemasons from the House of Hohenzollern, a member since 1889 in Friedrich Wilhelm zur Morgenröte, in 1894 he became patron of all three lodges. During the November Revolution 1918, he hoisted a red flag on his hunting lodge Glienicke near Berlin and he also owned a large manor at Krojanke, after 1918 located in Posen-West Prussia. On 21 June 1924, possession was confirmed by the Reichsgericht, zivkovic, Georg, Heer- und Flottenführer der Welt
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German Embassy, London
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The Embassy of Germany in London is the diplomatic mission of Germany in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located at Belgrave Square, in Belgravia and it occupies three of the original terraced houses in Belgrave Square and a late 20th-century extension. The Prussian Consul-General was housed at 9 Carlton House Terrace in the so-called Prussia House, the Consulate became a fully functional Embassy in June 1951, the FRG leasing the building for 99 years in 1953. In the 1970s, office space in the embassy was tight so an extension was erected at Chesham Place and it won the Westminster City Council prize for architecture. In 1990, after German reunification, the East German embassy building at 34 Belgrave Square became part of the German embassy
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Prince George, Duke of Cambridge
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The Duke was an army officer by profession and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces from 1856 to 1895. He became Duke of Cambridge in 1850 and field marshal in 1862, deeply devoted to the old Army, he worked with the Queen to defeat or minimize every reform proposal, such as setting up a general staff. His Army became a moribund and stagnant institution, lagging far behind France and its weaknesses were dramatically revealed by the poor organization at the start of the Second Boer War. Prince George was born at Cambridge House in Hanover, Germany and his father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the 10th child and seventh son of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. His mother was the Duchess of Cambridge and he was baptised at Cambridge House on 11 May 1819, by the Reverend John Sanford, his fathers Domestic Chaplain. His godparents were the Prince Regent, the Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, Prince George of Cambridge was educated in Hanover and from 1830 in England by the Rev. J. R. Wood, a canon of Worcester Cathedral. Like his father, he embarked upon a career initially becoming a colonel in the Hanoverian Army and then, on 3 November 1837. He was attached to the staff at Gibraltar from October 1838 to April 1839, after serving in Ireland with the 12th Royal Lancers, he was appointed substantive lieutenant-colonel of the 8th Light Dragoons on 15 April 1842 and colonel of the 17th Lancers on 25 April 1842. From 1843 to 1845, he served as a colonel on the staff in the Ionian islands and he succeeded to his fathers titles of Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Tipperary, and Baron Culloden on 8 July 1850. The Duke of Cambridge became Inspector of the Cavalry in 1852, in February 1854, at an early stage in the Crimean War, he received command of the 1st Division of the British army in the East. On 19 June 1854, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general and he was present at the battles of the Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman, and at the siege of Sevastopol. Owing to illness the Earl of Cardigan returned first to Malta and then to England, in that capacity he served as the chief military advisor to the Secretary of State for War, with responsibility for the administration of the army and the command of forces in the field. He was promoted to the rank of general on 15 July 1856, the Duke of Cambridge served as commander-in-chief for 39 years. Under his command, the British Army became a moribund and stagnant institution and it is said that he rebuked one of his more intelligent subordinates with the words, Brains. You havent any, I know, Sir and he was equally forthright on his reluctance to adopt change, There is a time for everything, and the time for change is when you can no longer help it. In 1861,100 were issued to five battalions, in 1863. A years good behaviour would return them to the first class, cardwell succeeded in pushing through a number of reforms, including one that made the Commander in chief nominally report to the Secretary of State for War. The Duke was opposed to most of the reforms because they struck at the heart of his view of the Army and his fears seemed to be confirmed in 1873, when Wolseley raided battalions for the expedition against the Ashanti
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Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
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Alfred reigned as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1893 to 1900. He was the son and fourth child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. He was known as the Duke of Edinburgh from 1866 until he succeeded his paternal uncle Ernest II as the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and he was second in the line of succession behind his elder brother, the Prince of Wales. He was known to his family as Affie, after a childhood mispronunciation of the name Alfred, Alfred was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley, at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle on 6 September 1844. His godparents were his mothers first cousin, Prince George of Cambridge, his aunt, the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Alfred studied violin at Holyrood, Edinburgh, where his accompanist was Hungarian expatriate George Lichtenstein. Alfred remained second in line to the British throne from his birth until 8 January 1864, any legitimate children of his older brother took priority in the succession list. Alfred became third in line to the throne and as Edward and Alexandra continued to have children, in 1856 it was decided that Prince Alfred, in accordance with his own wishes, should enter the Royal Navy. A separate establishment was accordingly assigned to him, with Lieutenant J. C. Cowell, RE and he passed the examination in August 1858, and was appointed as midshipman in HMS Euryalus at the age of 14. In July 1860, while on this ship, he paid a visit to the Cape Colony. He took part in a hunt at Hartebeeste-Hoek, resulting in the slaughter of large numbers of game animals and she and her late husband had made plans for him to succeed to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg. Prince Alfred, therefore, remained in the navy, and was promoted to lieutenant on 24 February 1863 and he was promoted to captain on 23 February 1866 and was appointed to the command of the frigate HMS Galatea in January 1867. In the Queens Birthday Honours on 24 May 1866, the Prince was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Ulster and he took his seat in the House of Lords on 8 June. While still in command of the Galatea, the Duke of Edinburgh started from Plymouth on 24 January 1867 for his round the world. On 7 June 1867, he left Gibraltar, reached the Cape of Good Hope on 24 July and he landed at Glenelg, South Australia, on 31 October. Being the first member of the family to visit Australia. During his stay of five months he visited Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane. Adelaide school Prince Alfred College was named in his honour to mark such an occasion, at the function he was wounded in the back by a revolver fired by Henry James OFarrell
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Edward VII of the United Kingdom
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Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, before his accession to the throne, he served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors. During the long reign of his mother, he was excluded from political power. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial duties, and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and the Indian subcontinent in 1875 were popular successes, as king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War. He reinstituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised and he died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords. Edward was born at 10,48 in the morning on 9 November 1841 in Buckingham Palace and he was the eldest son and second child of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He was christened Albert Edward at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle and he was named Albert after his father and Edward after his maternal grandfather Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. He was known as Bertie to the family throughout his life. As the eldest son of the British sovereign, he was automatically Duke of Cornwall, as a son of Prince Albert, he also held the titles of Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Saxony. He was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on 8 December 1841, Earl of Dublin on 17 January 1850, a Knight of the Garter on 9 November 1858, and a Knight of the Thistle on 24 May 1867. In 1863, he renounced his rights to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in favour of his younger brother. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were determined that their eldest son should have an education that would prepare him to be a constitutional monarch. At age seven, Edward embarked on an educational programme devised by Prince Albert. Unlike his elder sister Victoria, Edward did not excel in his studies and he tried to meet the expectations of his parents, but to no avail. Although Edward was not a diligent student—his true talents were those of charm, sociability and tact—Benjamin Disraeli described him as informed, intelligent, after the completion of his secondary-level studies, his tutor was replaced by a personal governor, Robert Bruce. After an educational trip to Rome, undertaken in the first few months of 1859, he spent the summer of that year studying at the University of Edinburgh under, among others, in October, he matriculated as an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. Now released from the strictures imposed by his parents, he enjoyed studying for the first time
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Eton College
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Eton College /iːtən/ is an English independent boarding school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It educates more than 1,300 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years and it was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor, making it the 18th oldest Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference school. Eton is one of the seven public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. Eton has educated 19 British prime ministers and generations of the aristocracy and has referred to as the chief nurse of Englands statesmen. The school is headed by a Provost and Fellows, who appoint the Head Master and it contains 25 boys houses, each headed by a housemaster, selected from the more senior members of the teaching staff, which numbers some 155. Almost all of the pupils go on to universities, about a third of them to Oxford or Cambridge. The Head Master is a member of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference, Eton has a long list of distinguished former pupils. David Cameron was the 19th British prime minister to have attended the school, about 20% of pupils at Eton receive financial support, through a range of bursaries and scholarships. In early 2014, this figure had risen to 263 pupils receiving the equivalent of around 60% of school fee assistance, Eton has been described as the most famous public school in the world, and been referred to as the chief nurse of Englands statesmen. The Good Schools Guide called the school the number one public school, adding that The teaching. The school is a member of the G20 Schools Group, Eton today is a larger school than it has been for much of its history. In 1678, there were 207 boys, in the late 18th century, there were about 300, while today, the total has risen to over 1,300. Eton College was founded by King Henry VI as a charity school to free education to 70 poor boys who would then go on to Kings College, Cambridge. Henry took Winchester College as his model, visiting on many occasions, borrowing its Statutes and removing its Headmaster, when Henry VI founded the school, he granted it a large number of endowments, including much valuable land. He persuaded the then Pope, Eugene IV, to grant him a privilege unparalleled anywhere in England, the school also came into possession of one of Englands Apocalypse manuscripts. Legend has it that Edwards mistress, Jane Shore, intervened on the schools behalf and she was able to save a good part of the school, although the royal bequest and the number of staff were much reduced. Construction of the chapel, originally intended to be slightly over twice as long, only the Quire of the intended building was completed. Etons first Headmaster, William Waynflete, founder of Magdalen College, Oxford and previously Head Master of Winchester College, as the school suffered reduced income while still under construction, the completion and further development of the school has since depended to some extent on wealthy benefactors
38.
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
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The RMC was reorganised at the outbreak of the Second World War, but some of its units remained operational at Sandhurst and Aldershot. In 1947, the Royal Military College was merged with the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, general Sir William Harcourt was appointed as the first Governor of the Royal Military College at Great Marlow and continued in post until 1811. In 1799, a school for officers had been established at High Wycombe. In 1858 this became an institution, the Staff College. In 1942, this moved to Mons Barracks, Aldershot. In 1812, the posts of Lieutenant Governor and Commandant were merged into the role of Commandant, in 1888 the two remaining senior posts, Governor and Commandant, were merged into the single appointment of Governor and Commandant, which in 1902 was retitled as Commandant
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7th (Queen's Own) Hussars
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The 7th Queens Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1690. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War, the regiment fought at the Siege of Namur in July 1695. The Hon William Kerr became colonel in 1709 in the stages of the Nine Years War. The regiment was disbanded in 1714, with its squadrons joining the 1st and 2nd Dragoons, the regiment marched up to Scotland in October 1715 and fought the rebels at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715 during the Jacobite rising. The regiment was retitled on Carolines coronation as Queen Consort, becoming The Queens Own Regiment of Dragoons in 1727. The regiment next saw action when it took part in charges at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743 and it saw action again at the Battle of Rocoux in October 1746 and the Battle of Lauffeld in July 1747. The regiment was titled as the 7th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment was designated as dragoons in 1783, becoming the 7th Regiment of Dragoons. The regiment undertook two successful charges causing substantial losses at the Battle of Willems in May 1794. The regiment was designated as hussars in 1807 and became the 7th Regiment of Dragoons, many horses had to be destroyed for want of transport as the troops re-boarded their ships at Corunna. On the return journey the transport Dispatch, was wrecked, on Black Head, the regiment lost 104 men in the wrecking, only seven men from the Dispatch were saved. In March 1814 the regiment was ordered to proceed to Brighton, the following day, at the Battle of Waterloo, the regiment was held in reserve until the evening, but then again undertook a series of charges. In May 1838 the regiment was deployed to Canada as part of the response to the Lower Canada Rebellion, the regiment was deployed to India in late 1857 as part of the response to the Indian Rebellion. The regiments title was simplified in 1861 as the 7th Hussars, the regiment provided a contingent for the Nile Expedition in autumn 1884. The regiment was deployed to South Africa in November 1901 and was stationed at Leeuwkop during the Second Boer War. The regiment, which had been stationed in Bangalore at the start of the First World War landed in Mesopotamia as part of the 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade in November 1917. The regiment took part in the action of Khan Baghdadi in March 1918, after service in the First World War, the regiment retitled as 7th Queens Own Hussars in 1921. The regiment, which was re-equipped with Mark II tanks, transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939
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Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
41.
7th Hussars
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The 7th Queens Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1690. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War, the regiment fought at the Siege of Namur in July 1695. The Hon William Kerr became colonel in 1709 in the stages of the Nine Years War. The regiment was disbanded in 1714, with its squadrons joining the 1st and 2nd Dragoons, the regiment marched up to Scotland in October 1715 and fought the rebels at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715 during the Jacobite rising. The regiment was retitled on Carolines coronation as Queen Consort, becoming The Queens Own Regiment of Dragoons in 1727. The regiment next saw action when it took part in charges at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743 and it saw action again at the Battle of Rocoux in October 1746 and the Battle of Lauffeld in July 1747. The regiment was titled as the 7th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment was designated as dragoons in 1783, becoming the 7th Regiment of Dragoons. The regiment undertook two successful charges causing substantial losses at the Battle of Willems in May 1794. The regiment was designated as hussars in 1807 and became the 7th Regiment of Dragoons, many horses had to be destroyed for want of transport as the troops re-boarded their ships at Corunna. On the return journey the transport Dispatch, was wrecked, on Black Head, the regiment lost 104 men in the wrecking, only seven men from the Dispatch were saved. In March 1814 the regiment was ordered to proceed to Brighton, the following day, at the Battle of Waterloo, the regiment was held in reserve until the evening, but then again undertook a series of charges. In May 1838 the regiment was deployed to Canada as part of the response to the Lower Canada Rebellion, the regiment was deployed to India in late 1857 as part of the response to the Indian Rebellion. The regiments title was simplified in 1861 as the 7th Hussars, the regiment provided a contingent for the Nile Expedition in autumn 1884. The regiment was deployed to South Africa in November 1901 and was stationed at Leeuwkop during the Second Boer War. The regiment, which had been stationed in Bangalore at the start of the First World War landed in Mesopotamia as part of the 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade in November 1917. The regiment took part in the action of Khan Baghdadi in March 1918, after service in the First World War, the regiment retitled as 7th Queens Own Hussars in 1921. The regiment, which was re-equipped with Mark II tanks, transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939
42.
Krugersdorp
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Krugersdorp is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a town in the west of the reef. The government bought part of the Paardekraal farm and named the new town after the Transvaal president, Krugersdorp no longer has a separate municipal government after it was integrated into Mogale City Local Municipality along with surrounding towns. It is now the seat of government for Mogale City, Krugersdorp is the site of a December 1880 gathering at which more than 6,000 men vowed to fight for the Transvaals independence. Founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius after the discovery of gold on his farm, Paardekraal, two important events in the history of South Africa, the Transvaal War of Independence and the discovery of the Witwatersrand Goldfields took place in Krugersdorp. These events had far-reaching political and economic consequences for the countrys development, by the time the town was founded, the existence of the gold reef along the Witwatersrand had become common knowledge, and thousands seeking their fortunes pitched their tents and pegged claims. In 1888, Krugersdorp was proclaimed a separate gold field, during the Anglo Boer War the British built a concentration camp in the valley that is now occupied by the Centenary Dam. As of 2014 this shaft is being brought back into production, part of the heritage of the area will feature in a museum to be built post-closure. An essential part of the content will be the Boer War legacy. In 1952, the West Rand Consolidated Mine was the first in the world to extract uranium as a byproduct of the refining process. Gold, manganese, iron, asbestos and lime are all mined in the area, Krugersdorp has a modern business center and shopping malls alongside many smaller shops, schools, and necessary amenities. There are also game reserves and a bird sanctuary. The nearby 1,400 hectares game reserve in the bush of the veld holds a large quantity of game and is one of the towns major tourist attractions. Also in close proximity are various provincial heritage sites including the Cradle of Humankind and its Sterkfontein Caves, Krugersdorp is home to the South African Branch of Jehovahs Witnesses. In 2010, the towns Coronation Park area received international exposure for the depiction of Afrikaner poverty by Finbarr OReilly, in 2014 the area was exposed again as a subject of the BBC documentary Reggie Yates Extreme South Africa, White Slums. Krugersdorp is home to some of the best schools in Gauteng, afropop sensation Mafikizolo and Ntando Bangani, better known simply as Ntando, are successful acts that hail from Krugersdorp. Krugersdorp has popular tourist attractions such as Krugersdorp Game Reserve, Maropeng Visitor Centre, Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens, by 1931, the municipal council had assumed a pseudo-heraldic coat of arms. The shield was divided by a line, the upper half subdivided by a vertical line
43.
2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys)
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The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers to form The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The regiments history began in 1678, when three independent troops of Scots Dragoons were raised, in 1681, these troops were regimented to form The Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, numbered the 4th Dragoons in 1694. They were already mounted on horses by this stage and were already being referred to as the Grey Dragoons. In 1707, they were renamed The Royal North British Dragoons and they were also sometimes referred to, during the first Jacobite uprising, as Portmores Dragoons. In 1877, their nickname was made official when they became the 2nd Dragoons. They kept this title until 2 July 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers, the Royal Scots Greys originated as three troops of dragoons. The first two were formed on 21 May 1678 under the commands of Captain John Strachan and Captain John Inglis, the third, under the command of Captain Viscount Kingstoun, was formed on 23 September 1678. These were the first mounted troops raised for the British crown in Scotland, in 1681, by Royal Warrant, these three troops were combined, with the addition of three further troops, into what would be named the Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons. Lieutenant-General Thomas Dalziel would be the regiments first colonel, in its original configuration, the Scots Greys were configured as a true dragoon regiment. Although mounted, as regiments were, their armament was closer to that carried by infantry units. Troopers of the Scots Greys were authorised, during the late 17th century, to carry matchlock muskets with bayonets, while their sergeants and corporals carried halberds, only the officers were authorised swords, though the lieutenants were to be armed with a partisan. Interestingly, the original uniform called for the troopers to wear grey coats, between its formation in 1681 and 1685, the Scots Greys were employed primarily in keeping civil order in Scotland. The regiment participated in expeditions against various fractious clans which resisted the monarchs rule, in 1688, the regiment was quartered in London at the start of the Glorious Revolution. Upon the landing of William of Orange, the regiment took the side of William and Mary, ordered back to Scotland, the Scots Greys took part in the Battle of Killiecrankie against the Jacobites. For their service, the title as a Royal regiment was confirmed. Prior to 1693, there is no record that the regiment used grey horses exclusive to others, however, when inspected in London in 1693 by King William III, people took note that the regiment was mounted on all grey horses. Some have offered the theory that the grey horses originated with the Dutch Horse Guards, when they left to return to the Netherlands, the horses were turned over to the Scots Greys. Although there is no reason, some of the men also wore either fur caps or broad-brimmed hats
44.
Colonel-in-Chief
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Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in a military regiment. It is in use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiments patron. The position was used in the armies of several European monarchies. A Colonel-in-Chief has a ceremonial role in their regiment. The Norwegian Army has taken a more whimsical approach to the position, historically a Colonel-in-Chief was the ceremonial head of a regiment, usually a member of a European countrys royal family. The practice extends at least back to 1740 in Prussia when Frederick II held that position in the newly created Garde du Corps, an elite heavy cavalry regiment. By the late 19th Century the designation could be given to the children of royalty, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II carried the title to an extreme, holding it in literally dozens of German and Austro-Hungarian, British, Russian, and Portuguese regiments. In addition, his mother, wife, son, and daughters were also full or deputy Colonels-in-Chief of various units, in modern usage, the Colonel-in-Chief of a regiment is its patron, who has a ceremonial role in the life of the regiment. They do not have a role, or the right to issue orders. The chief purpose of the Colonel-in-Chief is to maintain a link between the regiment and the royal family. Some artillery regiments have a Captain-General instead of a Colonel-in-Chief, Colonels-in-Chief are appointed at the invitation of the regiment. While it is traditional for a royal personage to hold the position, as of 2015, most Colonels-in-Chief in the British Army are members of the British royal family. These exceptions, however, do not change the raison dêtre of the post, the role has spread to other armies in the Commonwealth of Nations, at least in countries which have royal families
45.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
46.
Aide-de-camp
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An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant or secretary to a person of high rank, usually a senior military, police or government officer, a member of a royal family, or a head of state. This is not to be confused with an adjutant, who is the administrator of a military unit. The first aide-de-camp is typically the foremost personal aide, in some countries, the aide-de-camp is considered to be a title of honour, and participates at ceremonial functions. The badge of office for an aide-de-camp is usually the aiguillette, whether it is worn on the left or the right shoulder is dictated by protocol. A controversy was raised in 2006, when president Néstor Kirchner decided to promote his army aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel Graham to colonel, upon taking office, former president Cristina Kirchner decided to have, for the first time, female officers as her aides-de-camp. In each of the forces, the chief of staff and other senior officers have their own adjutants, normally of the rank of major or lieutenant colonel. An aiguillette is worn on the shoulder by aides-de-camp and adjutants as a symbol of their position. In Belgium the title of Honorary Aide-de-camp to the King can be granted by the court for services rendered. Notable people include Major General Baron Édouard Empain, Count Charles John dOultremont, generals being field marshals, have four, lieutenant generals two, major generals one”. In British colonies and modern-day British overseas territories, the aide-de-camp is appointed to serve the governor, in 1973, the Governor of Bermuda, Sir Richard Sharples, and his aide-de-camp, Captain Hugh Sayers, were murdered on the grounds of Government House. On the last day of British rule in Hong Kong on 30 June 1997 and he then gave the Vice Regal Salute before proceeding, with the Pattens, to leave Government House for the last time. Prince Charles is a personal aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II, Honorary aides-de-camp to the Governor-General or state governors are entitled to the post-nominal ADC during their appointment. Officers of and above the ranks of admiral, major general. Within the navy, an aide-de-camp is called a flag lieutenant, aides-de-camp in Canada are appointed to the Queen and some members of the royal family, the governor general, lieutenant governors, and to certain other appointments. All aides-de-camp also wear the cypher or badge of the principal to whom they are appointed, aides-de-camp to the governor general wear the governor generals badge and aides-de-camp to a lieutenant governor wear the lieutenant governors badge. They are appointed officers of the Canadian Forces. In certain instances, civilians may be appointed, non-uniformed civilians do not wear the aiguillette, but do wear their lieutenant governors badge as a symbol of their appointment. Aides-de-camp to royal and vice-regal personages wear the aiguillette on the right shoulder, aides-de-camp to all others wear their aiguillette on the left shoulder
47.
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres
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Born in Kent to an Anglo-Irish family, he saw brief service as a midshipman in the Royal Navy, before becoming a cavalry officer. He achieved rapid promotion and distinguished himself on the Gordon Relief Expedition, French had a considerable reputation as a womaniser throughout his life and his career nearly ended when he was cited in the divorce of a brother officer whilst in India in the early 1890s. French became a hero during the Second Boer War. He won the Battle of Elandslaagte near Ladysmith, escaping under fire on the last train as the siege began and he then commanded the Cavalry Division, winning the Battle of Klip Drift during a march to relieve Kimberley. He later conducted Counter-insurgency operations in Cape Colony, during the Edwardian Period he commanded I Corps at Aldershot, then served as Inspector-General of the Army, before becoming Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1912. During the Curragh incident he had to resign as CIGS after promising Hubert Gough in writing that the Army would not be used to coerce Ulster Protestants into a Home Rule Ireland. French’s most important role was as Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force for the first year and he suffered an immediate personality clash with the French General Lanrezac. By summer 1915 French’s tenure of command was being criticised in London by Kitchener and other members of the government, and by Haig, Robertson. Haig, formerly his trusted subordinate and who had saved him from bankruptcy by lending him a sum of money in 1899. French was then appointed Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces for 1916–18 and this period saw the country running increasingly short of manpower for the Army. Frenchs family was related to the French/De Freyne family which had gone to Wexford in the century and had substantial estates at Frenchpark. French always regarded himself as Irish, although his branch of the family had lived in England since the eighteenth century. He was born the son of Commander John Tracey William French, RN, of Ripple Vale in Kent and his mother was Margaret Eccles from Glasgow. He was educated at a Harrow preparatory school and Eastmans Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth before joining the Royal Navy in 1866 and he joined the Royal Navy because it gave him a chance to leave home four or five years earlier than the Army. From August 1866 he trained on board the three-decker battleship HMS Britannia at Dartmouth, in 1869, he served as a midshipman on HMS Warrior, commanded by Captain Boys, an old friend of Frenchs father. He resigned from the Royal Navy in November 1870, as he was discovered to be acrophobic, French joined the Suffolk Artillery Militia in November 1870, where he was expected to put in about two months a year with the regiment. He initially failed his exams for a commission, and had to hire a new tutor. He was posted to Aldershot Command, which contained a division under Sir Hope Grant
United Kingdom
British Army
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