cOn this day in history, on the 28th of June, 1461, Edward IV was crowned king. Edward IV was quite an unusual king. He essentially had two reigns.
The first began on this day, the 28th of June. He was unlucky in his accession to the throne, as England was in civil war. It was during the War of the Roses. Edward previously had been in exile in Scotland. Helped by the Scottish King James III. James helped Edward in reward for land, namely Berwick. Edward several years later was overthrown by the Earl of Warwick. At the time, Warwick was England's most powerful land owner. Edward made the mistake of becoming estranged from Warwick, to his own cost. It would cost him the crown. A crown which he would later reclaim. Edward's second reign began almost ten years after his first one, on April 11th 1471. It was to last until the 9th of April, 1483.
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The reign of Richard III began on this day, the 26th of June 1483. A day after commoners and lords endorsed Richard.
His claim to power was not immediate. His brother Edward IV, died earlier that year in April. Richard was named asLord Protector of Edward IV son, Edward V, who was only 12 years old at the time. Edward V rule was short and non-lasting. Just 86 days. Then, he died on the 26th of June 1483. Edward was never crowned king.
Edward V is know better today as one of the Princes in the Tower, alongside Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. Both of these boys disappeared, and it is not known what happened to them.
Although, many contemporaries believe that the boys were murdered in order for Richard III to secure the throne. Historians debate the Princes of the Tower disappearance. There is actually no evidence that Richard killed the princes, or ordered their murder. However, he did have the most to gain from it. The Church of England hasrefused several times for bones under Westminster Abbey to be forensically tested. The same bones are believed to be of the boys. And, if they are, it could forever solve the case of what happened to the boys. And, provide evidence of the wildly speculated theory that they were murdered. It is because of his association to the murder of the Princes of the Tower, that King Richard III has been seen as an infamous king. Unless tests are allowed to be carried out on the bones beneath Westminster Abbey, we will likely never know for sure what happened to the princes. The reign of King Richard III has been largely overshadowed by the Princes in the Tower. When we think of Richard III, we tend to think of him as a murderer of his own nephews. But, there was also a few other significant things about Richard III time as king. He was the last monarch from the House of York. An impressive royal house which dated back to 1385. With Richards death also, we saw an end to the War of the Roses. Something which brought in a new era of English history, the beginning of theHouse of Tudor. Richard III maybe one of our most memorable and fascinating monarchs. However, his reign was short. Just under two years. The king was the last king to die in battle. On the 22nd of August, 1485.
On this day, June 15th, 1215, King John of England signed the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta is also known as 'The Great Charter'. It is one of the world's best known documents. It is a document which is as important today, as it was in 1215, as it is a cornerstone of British democracy and law. It has also had other influences within the world, such as with America, in the US Bill of Rights.
The charter, a creation of rebel barons, has originally 63 clauses. Many of the 63 clauses wereeither cut or edited just 10 years after the original Magna Carta was signed, in 1225. Today, only 3 of the original clauses of the 1215 version of Magna Carta still remain in law. They are, one defending the rights of the church, the second gives all citizens the right to a free and fair trail, and the third protects liberties. Many of the other original clauses which have been dropped from the Magna Carta have been dropped because they are not relevant to the modern world.
In its original context, the charter was aimed at being a peace treaty. This aim failed. At the time there was a civil war between King John and his barons. The aim of this treaty was to end this conflict between the two parties. It failed when Pope Innocent III wrote the treaty off just 10 weeks after its publication. It also failed because Magna Carta produced a civil war between King John and his barons.
The charter was saved after King John's death just one year later, in October 1216. John's successor Henry III republished Magna Carta. The reissued version of the Magna Carta had 69 clauses in it. The rest is history. On this day in history, Henry VIII marries his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. However, this was not the first marriage for Catherine of Aragon. She had been married previously, to Arthur, Prince of Wales. The marriage was not a long marriage, lasting little over a year. Catherine did not marry Henry VIII straight after becoming a widow. Something which was not uncommon at the time. Instead, she wed Henry nine years after her first husbands death. The marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon came shortly after Henry acceded the throne. It was not really a grand display of marriage, it was a private ceremony outside Greenwich Palace. Henry was just 18 years old at the time, meanwhile Catherine was older at 23 years old. She gave Henry one daughter, Mary, who would later become Mary I of England.
On August 1888, the worlds most notorious serial killer killed his first victim, his name? Jack the Ripper. Not his real name, a name given to him. Historians generally agree that Jack the Ripper was also one man. They also generally agree that there were five murders during the autumn months of 1888 in the Whitechapel district of London.
Both of these things have been disputed. Some people argue that Jack the Ripper did not only kill five women, but instead, they argue that a total of 11 victims were by the hand of Jack. Others say that it wasn't the work of one man, or even a man. They claim that it was the work of a group, or, a women. Lastly, some even go as far to say that Jack the Ripper goes to the heart of the British establishment itself, namely, the Royal Family. Whatever we choose to believe about Jack the Ripper. Who he, she or they were. What their primary motivation was. And, why did the killings stop in November 1888? One thing that we do know, is that we don't know much about Jack himself. And, that is why he has remained a mystery all this time. It is easy to see why the identity of Jack the Ripper remains such a mystery, royal conspiracies aside. For one thing, we didn't have DNA at the time, crucial in identifying suspects. There was no CCTV. And, no sophisticated technology. Not to mention, that those prosecuted for murder in Victorian Britain, had to be caught at the scene of the crime by police men. Therefore, it is easy to see why we don't know who Jack the Ripper was. And why we will probably never discover his identity. Unless we have new information that comes to light. The chance of that is slim. There only seems one hope of any new information out there for us to possibly know who Jack the Ripper was. And, that is through the police files which are held at Scotland Yard. The chance of that seems slim though, give that the proposal to release the files to the public has been rejected. Who ever the identity of Jack the Ripper was, or, what his motivation was for killing those people, the likelihood is, we will probably never now. If professional historians or criminologists can't figure out who Jack the Ripper was, then, there is almost no chance of his identity being uncovered. Also, with the passing of time, 128 years this year, the chance of new information coming forward seems very slim. At the end of July/beginning of August, Jack the Ripper will be tweeted in real time. British time. Join us on Twitter at @events_bl |
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