Game of Gay Thrones 9: Micro-monarchs

About three years ago I mentioned that I’d come across a few micronations that have lgbt+ monarchs. I suppose they are just as valid for inclusion in my Game of Gay Thrones series, as none are officially recognised by any member state of the United Nations.

Some micronations are established as part of political activism, as is the case with the Coral Sea Islands. Others are created by young people who are still attending school. With many other reasons, micronations are taken seriously by their creators and supporters.

Just to be clear, a micronation is no the same as a micro-state. Monaco and Palau are examples of micro-states. Their independence is recognised internationally at the United Nations. Micronations are not. You can find a lot of more detailed information on micronations online.

Today I have selected an lgbt+ monarch from one micronation on each of the generally accepted 7 continents, listed in no particular order.

Australasia/Oceania

Dale I, Emperor of the Coral Sea Islands

Perhaps the most well-known lgbt+ micronation, the Coral Sea Islands are situated off the coast of Australia. For more information see here.

North/Central America

Marie-Adélina I, Queen of the United Kingdom of Le Navasse

Navasse consists of several small uninhabited islands in the Caribbean, officially belonging to Haiti.

The micronation was founded in 2017 by a group of friends which included the black transgender activist Marie-Adélina de la Ferrierè, herself of Haitian descent. She was declared the sovereign of the new kingdom. Actually, Queen Marie-Adélina has a personal connection to the defunct crown of Haiti, as she claims descent from Henri I Christophe (1767-1820), the first King of Haiti. I haven’t been able to verify her descent, but succession to the Haitian throne was specifically restricted to male heirs only.

Antarctica

Travis I, Grand Duke of Westarctica (b.1980)

By international treaty, no nation can claim any territory on Antarctica, though scientific and research bases are permitted, and definitely no military bases. No new claims could be made after the treaty, and nations already established there were allowed to remain. Even so, there are still disputes over who has a claim over which part (see here).

In 2001 Travis McHenry, a US Navy Intelligence specialist at the time, founded the Achaean Territory of Antarctica on Marie Byrd Land, an unclaimed area due south of the Pacific Ocean. Three years later he declared it a monarchy and adopted the title of Grand Duke. However, because he was serving in the US Navy he was forced to “abdicate” after they threatened to remove his security clearance due to his activity in promoting his micronation.

After several years of involvement with other micronations Travis was persuaded to re-assume control of the territory, now renamed Westarctica, and he re-assumed the title of Grand Duke in 2012.

In 2014 Travis founded Westarctica Inc., a charity devoted to protecting the territory’s ecosystem against climate change.

Asia

Mona I, Empress of Schalamzaar (b.1996)

The Schalamzaar Empire existed between 2004 and 2023 in Iran.

The empire was founded by Mona Ghazvini, a Tehran native, who established herself as the monarch of the empire in 2004. As happens in all UN-recognised nations, Empress Mona found religious bigotry and persecution from several other micronations because she was Shia Muslim. An online conflict starting in 2014 which lasted several years resulted in Empress Mona withdrawing from micronationalism due to online bullying.

Mona returned in 2018 when she announced that she now identified as a transgender woman, and her former regal name had been dropped in favour of Mona. The Schalamzaar Empire was re-established as a constitutional monarchy. This lasted until the end of 2022 when Mona declared that the empire had been abandoned and renounced her royal status due to her busy personal life, but she did not rule out the possibility of a return some time in the future.

Europe

Amelia I, Queen of Lytera (b.2002)

The Kingdom of Lytera covers several residential addresses across southern England with its nominal capital in Ruislip, Greater London.

Lytera was created in 2010 by Amelia Banks, who identifies as bisexual and transgender, as a client state of Clubhausia, a micronation she founded with friends in 2008 at the age of 6. Amelia declared the independence of Lytera in 2017.

In 2021 Queen Amelia was made Princess of Essexia, another micronation. However, she was removed from power later that year. Undeterred, Amelia has claimed the throne of Essexia as its empress.

South America, Europe and Africa

Emperor Felipe I of Epasiera (b.2008)

The Empire of Epasiera is one of the few cross-continental micronations. It was founded in 2022 by Felipe de Oliveira Felmer who was then the King of Silbervia. Silbervia was founded only a day beforehand when Felipe declared his garden in São Paulo, Brazil, as a republic. King Felipe dissolved Slibervia to make way for the new Empire of Epasiera in October 2022.

The empire is divided into several duchies – 3 in Brazil, 2 in Europe, and 1 in Morocco called the Duchy of Cossobia. As far as I’m aware this is the only micronational territory in Africa ruled by an lgbt+ monarch (though information on South African micronations is sparce).

Olympic Day: The First of Three Firsts

Note: As more research is undertaken and new information is made available, the information below may be subject to change. The information is as correct as possible on the date of publication. This article has been amended since it was first published.

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In January 1948 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to create an annual day on which National Olympic Committees (NOCs) could celebrate the founding of the modern games and promote its ideals through sport. The date chosen for this special day was 23rd June, and today is its 75th anniversary.

This date was chosen because it was the last day of the Congrés International de Paris pour le Retablissment de Jeux Olympique, during which the IOC is recognised as being founded.

My continuing research into lgbt+ participation in the Olympic Games has brought to light three individuals who are pioneers in a particular aspect of the Olympic movement. Over the next three months I will feature them individually.

Today we look at the man who was the first lgbt+ member of an organising committee, a member of the committee which organised the very first modern Olympics in 1896. He was Prince George of Greece and Denmark (1869-1957).

HRH Prince George of Greece and Denmark

Last year I mentioned that the first lgbt+ member of an NOC was Prince Aribert von Anhalt (1864-1933). He was appointed to the Komitee für die Beteiligung Deutschlands an den Olympischen Spielen zu Athen (Committee for the Participation of Germany at the Olympic Games in Athens) on its formation on 13th December 1895. Prince George of Greece and Denmark predates Prince Aribert, because the Greek NOC was founded on 3rd February 1894, even before the IOC’s first congress mentioned above, and the NOC appointed Prince George to the organising committee of the Athens Olympics in January 1895.

But why is George a prince of both Greece and Denmark? Well, George’s father was a brother of the king of Denmark who was offered (and accepted) the throne of Greece by the Greek people. His descendants are still princes and princesses of Denmark as well as Greece. King Charles III’s father was born one of them before adopting his mother’s name. In fact, Prince George was one King Charles’s godparents, and represented the King of Greece at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1952. But I digress.

Although Prince George married and has two children he is widely believed to have been gay. There’s some circumstantial evidence for this in a couple of recent books about Sigmund Freud, to whom George’s wife turned for therapy.

Prince George and his brothers Crown Prince (later King) Constantine and Prince Nicholas were heavily involved in the organisation of the Athens Olympics. Constantine was President of the organising committee, and when other duties prevented him from attending, Prince George deputised for him. George was appointed President of the Sub-Committee for National Sports, which included sailing and rowing. Unfortunately, bad weather and a mix-up over the supply of proper boats saw the sailing abandoned. George was also appointed an umpire and final arbitrator in the swimming events, and as chairman of the judges for the weightlifting events.

The one-hand weightlifting contest provided Team GB with its first ever Olympic champion, Launceston Elliott. But the weightlifting events provided an incident that has gone down in Olympic history, and it involved Prince George. The incident could have come straight out of a comedy film, or at the very least be considered apocryphal, if it wasn’t recorded in the official report of the games that was published in 1897. Here is what the report says:

Apart from his duties as a sports official Prince George also performed several civic duties as well as a member of the royal family. He took part in official receptions, visited sports events he was not directly involved with, and supported his father, the king, in royal engagements associated with the games.

In 1906 Athens hosted what is now referred to as the Intercalated Olympics. The Greek Olympic Committee had the idea of holding an Olympic games in between the main 4th-yearly events, but various circumstances led to this being the only one ever held. They were regarded as full Olympic Games until 1948 when the IOC decided to remove it, its results, and medals from their records. However, most Olympic historians, myself included, still give the Intercalated games full Olympic status.

What makes the IOC’s decision even more ridiculous is that the 1904 Intercalated Olympics were the first ones we would recognise as an Olympic Games today. They introduced the opening and closing ceremonies, an athlete’s parade, flag-raising for the medallists, an Olympic village, and athletes registered under their National Olympic Committee rather than athletics club. It was also the first Olympics to be concentrated within a short time period and not spread out over several months.

Prince George was, again, appointed as President of the judges and games referee, and he and his brother Nicholas were heavily involved in the organisation of the sports. He also fulfilled his royal responsibilities at receptions for the athletes.

The prince’s athletic abilities gained more recognition at these games. During the marathon Prince George awaited at the stadium entrance for the arrival of the first runner. That runner was Canadian Billy Sherring. As he entered the stadium Prince George ran along side him, applauding and encouraging him, on the final lap around the stadium. It should be pointed out that Prince George was in full military uniform and the lap was 400 metres in distance.

Prince George was often referred to as the Prince of Crete. He became involved in the political conflict on Crete, an island that remained in the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire after Greece gained its independence from it in 1830. After several Greek-Cretan insurrections the Ottoman Empire declared war on Greece in 1897. The major European powers sent a multinational force to defend Greece.

This force set Crete up as an autonomous state and in 1898 appointed Prince George of Greece and Denmark as High Commissioner of the Great Powers, the de facto head of state. The Ottomans were finally expelled from the island later that year. Prince George remained in office until 1908 when the Cretan assembly declared unilateral union with the Greek crown. Crete was fully incorporated into Greece in 1912. The full history of Crete between 1897 and 1912 is a lot more complicated than this and cannot be recounted with enough justice here.

There is still so much to tell about Prince George – how he saved his cousin, the future Tsar Nicholas II, from being assassinated in Japan, and how he lived with his bachelor uncle for most of his life despite never divorcing from his wife. But all that can wait for another time. On this Olympic Day, we only needed to look at his Olympic involvement.

Game of Gay Thrones 8: Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Byzantium, Murcia, Dai Viet and Anhalt

To mark last Saturday’s historic coronation of King Charles III here is another batch of lgbt+ people who were prevented from becoming sovereign, or who unlawfully declared themselves to be one.

We’ll start with a man who was born into the British royal family but was deprived of his titles by the king.

Prince Hubertus von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1909-1943) – heir apparent of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

In 1826 the German duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was created. The title of duke eventually passed to the children of Prince Albert von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria of the UK. By 1917 the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was Victoria and Albert’s grandson, Prince Charles, Duke of Albany.

During World War I Charles (I suppose I should use his German name Karl) fought for Germany against Britain. This prompted the UK to pass the Titles Deprivations Act 1917. This stripped British royals who were fighting for Germany of all their British titles, and the loyal British royals dropped their German titles. This is when the UK Royals adopted the family name Windsor and the Princes of Battenburg became the Mountbattens.

After the war the German Weimar Republic abolished all royal titles, though many remained in use unofficially, as they are still today. The ex-reigning royals became the titular heads of their dynasties. Karl’s eldest son renounced his rights to succeed as head of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty in 1932. The heir became Karl’s second son, Prince Hubertus.

Like his father Prince Hubertus became a high-ranking Nazi officer, but unlike his father Hubertus was actually anti-Hitler. Surprisingly, there are reports that Hitler would have appointed Prince Hubertus governor of the UK after a successful invasion, making him third in rank in the entire Nazi party. It has become apparent through research carried out in the last decade that Prince Hubertus was a closeted gay man. He never married, had no known relationships, or an interest in getting married.

During World War II Hubertus was a Luftwaffe pilot. He was killed when his plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Force in 1943. His father outlived him and died in 1954 and Hubertus’s nephew became head of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family.

Staurakios (d.800) – attempted to become Emperor of Byzantium

Staurakios was one of the many eunuchs who held high positions at the imperial Byzantine court. However, Byzantine law forbad eunuchs from occupying the throne. This didn’t stop Staurakios from trying.

Staurakios was the chief minister and most powerful man in the empire during the reign of Empress Irene, who favoured giving top positions to eunuchs. This was mainly because she distrusted the officials who had been appointed by her predecessor, her late husband Emperor Leo IV. This also meant that those officials distrusted the eunuchs, Staurakios in particular.

Staurakios’s career rose and fell on a regular basis. Irene appointed him her foreign minister (in 781); he was captured by Sultan Harun-al Rashid (782); after his release he gained Byzantine control over Slavic Greece (784); was sacked, flogged, and exiled by Irene’s son Co-Emperor Constantine (790); and then recalled back to Byzantium and reinstated (791).

When Constantine died Staurakios found that he had a rival. He and Aetius, another eunuch appointed to a high position by Empress Irene, began a power struggle to ensure control of the empire after Irene’s death. Aetius accused Staurakios of trying to usurp the throne. Although Irene believed this, all Staurakios got was just a metaphorical slap on the wrist and told not to do it again.

But it does appear that Staurakios was indeed plotting to become emperor when Irene died. In 800 Irene decided to limit his authority over the army, which he was bribing, to prevent him from organising a military campaign against Aetius. However, Staurakios was becoming ill at around this time. His advisers and doctors assured him he would recover and become emperor. So he continued his campaign against Aetius. He should have ignored his advisers and rested. He died a few weeks later.

Muhammad ibn Ammar (1031-1086) – self-proclaimed Emir of Murcia, Spain.

This poet was the lover of Abbad III al Mu’tamid (1040-1095), the Emir and Caliph of Seville, who was also a poet. The two met when they were teenagers and a close bond developed quickly though their love of poetry and each other. However, al-Mu’tamid’s father, Emir Abbad II, was suspicious of ibn Ammar’s influence and banished him. Needless to say, when Abbad II died and al-Mu’tamid succeeded as Abbad III, ibn Ammar was recalled, and he was appointed Vizier.

Ibn Ammar led the conquest of the neighbouring kingdom of Murcia, deposing its emir in 1078. He told the Murcian people that they deserved a better emir, and he decided that this better emir was himself. This displeased Abbad III, who had not given him permission to declare himself emir. The two poets exchanged sarcastic poems, not meant to be malicious, but they both took them personally and their friendship deteriorated. Not only that, but ibn Ammar’s reign as self-appointed emir also deteriorated and eventually he was deposed.

Returning to Seville as a prisoner ibn Ammar misjudged Abbad’s attempts at a reconciliation and, reluctantly, Abbad ordered his execution. Nonetheless, Abbad gave ibn Ammar a sumptuous funeral.

Prince Lê Tuân (1482-1512) – heir presumptive of Dai Viet.

Dai Viet was a medieval kingdom in what is now northern Vietnam. Prince Lê Tuân was the eldest son of King Lê Hien Tong. In 1499 the king was persuaded by his high ranking courtiers to name his successor to ensure the stability of the kingdom.

The king thought Prince Lê Tuân, was unsuitable. He was too hot-heated and often dressed as a woman, so he chose his youngest son as his successor instead. An even bigger reason to overlook Prince Lê Tuân than his cross-dressing was because he had plotted to drug his own mother.

Both of Lê Tuân’s younger brothers became kings of Dai Viet in succession. The first was very popular, but the second was a murderous maniac, disposing of many other royal princes. Lê Tuân thought it best to hide away to avoid the same fate as them.

Lê Tuân’s penchant for wearing women’s clothing didn’t hinder his marriage, and he has many living descendants, all, technically, the senior bloodline heirs of the Lê dynasty of Dai Viet. When Lê Tuân died he was declared as god by the people of the Biansia commune of Dai Viet, which is now part of China.

Prince Aribert von Anhalt (1864-1933) – heir apparent to the Duchy of Anhalt

I briefly wrote about Prince Aribert’s involvement in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 (spoiler alert – next month I’ll be writing about another European gay prince who was even more heavily involved).

The duchy of Anhalt was a small sovereign German state within the German Empire, just as the above-mentioned duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Prince Aribert was the last heir apparent before the Weimar Republic abolished all royal titles.

Actually Anhalt was not abolished by the Weimar Republic with the others. In 1918, the final days of the German Empire, Anhalt saw the year of three sovereigns. Aribert’s eldest brother, the reigning Duke of Anhalt, died childless in April 1918. Aribert’s next oldest brother, Prince Eduard, succeeded but died in September 1918. Eduard’s 17-year-old son Prince Joachim-Ernst then became duke. Prince Aribert was appointed regent for his nephew until Joachim-Ernst became 21. Until a time when Joachim-Ernst married and had children, Prince Aribert was heir to the title.

The day after the Armistice of 11th November 1918 was signed, which ended World War I, Prince Aribert announced the abdication of his nephew and the self-abolition of the duchy of Anhalt. As with Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Joachim-Ernst lost his royal title but became the head of the dynasty. Prince Aribert lost his place as heir when Prince Joachim-Ernst married and had children.

Game of Gay Thrones 7: Byzantium, Korea, England and Baden

Here we are again with another group of lgbt royal wannabes. Included are a couple of spouses who, for one reason or another, were prevented from sitting beside their spouses. I never stop being surprised by the number of queer claimants and disinherited heirs to thrones past and present there have been, not to mention their spouses. There are even more to come next year.

Imperial symbol adopted by the Byzantine emperors

1) Basiliskianos (pre-846- after 866); named as a possible Emperor of Byzantium, 866.

The throne of Byzantium has seen more than its fair share of dethronements, assassinations and claimants. Basiliskianos became a pawn in the power struggle between Emperor Mikhael III (840-866) and his lover and co-Emperor Basileios (c.830-886). I explain the emperors’ relationship in more detail here. Briefly, Mikhael spotted Basileios at a sporting event and became besotted with him. He later made him co-emperor.

In 866 Mikhael began to show more than a casual interest in a young courtier called Basiliskianos. After Mikhael won a chariot race Basiliskianos gave him a lot of enthusiastic praise. The emperor was wearing the imperial red boots, and he told Basiliskianos to remove them and wear them himself. This angered co-emperor Basileios and a bit of an argument ensured. Mikhael said to him “I made you emperor, and do I not have the power to create another?” He later added, “I am ready to make Basiliskianos emperor”. He never did, but the possibility was always there and it upset Basileios enough to assassinate Mikhael. There’s no record of what happened to Basiliskianos after Mikhael died.

Imperial emblem on the Joseon kingdom

2) Crown Princess Sun-Bin Bong (1414-after 1436); consort of the future king of Josean.

Sun-Bin was a member of the aristocratic Haeum Bong clan. In 1429 she married Crown Prince Hi Hyang of the Joseon kingdom in Korea. The marriage, however, was not a very congenial one, and it is reported that the king himself told the Crown Prince to take more interest in his new bride. It didn’t help the marriage, and it deteriorated even more when Princess Bong got angry after one of the Crown Prince’s concubines became pregnant.

Another stumbling block in the marriage was Princess Bong’s habit of giving clothes from the royal wardrobe to her own family. But what really put an end to the marriage, and any chance of her sitting on the Korean throne with her husband in the future, was her blatant over-friendliness towards her female servants, in particular a maid with whom she confesses to having been intimate with on more than one occasion.

This was too much for the king and he banished Sun-Bin Bong from court, annulled the marriage, and reduced her to the rank of commoner. As with Basiliskianos above, there’s no real record of what happened to her after that.

Coat of arms the Mervyn, Earl of Castlehaven

3) Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven (1594-1631); consort of the legal heir to King Henry VIII of England.

Before the 1701 Act of Settlement defined the order of succession to the British throne it was sometimes decided by the last will of the previous monarch. King Henry VIII’s will of 1546 decreed that after the extinction of his own descendants the throne should pass to descendants of his younger sister, not his elder sister as would have been the case under primogeniture rules.

After the last of Henry VIII’s children, Queen Elizabeth I, died in 1603 the heir to the throne under his will was Lady Anne Stanley (1580-1647), who should have become Queen Anne. However, parliament decided to ignore the will and gave the throne to the primogeniture heir, the gay King James VI of Scotland. Some people considered Anne to be the rightful monarch though she never pressed her claim.

It is Anne’s second husband, the Earl of Castlehaven, who is our lgbt royal wannabe. Their marriage was disastrous. I wrote about it several years ago and it is best to read about it here because it’s a bit complicated. Thankfully, the whole sordid affair ended in 1631 when the earl was executed and he never got the chance to be the prince consort to the lawful (under King Henry’s will) queen of England.

Coat of arms of the Pinces Sanguszko-Lubartowicz

4) Prince Janusz Sanguszko-Lubartowicz (1712-1775); bloodline heir of King Harold II of England.

The most famous date in English history is 1066 – the year of 4 kings and 2 invasions. King Edward the Confessor died and was succeeded by King Harold II. Harold faced an invasion led by William of Normandy. Harold was killed in battle, but before William could take the throne as the victor one of King Edward’s nephews was declared king. He quickly abdicated in William’s favour.

Several sites online track Harold’s bloodline to determine who is his direct heir. None match my own research, which I believe is accurate. Harold’s bloodline passed through his daughter to the Kievan royal family, then to the Princes of Warsaw, and finally to the Counts Potocki, the present heirs. On the way several senior bloodlines became extinct and switched to surviving junior branches. One such senior line ended with Prince Janusz Sanguszko-Lubart.

Janusz became Harold’s heir at the age of 17 on the death of his mother, the previous bloodline heir. Janusz was a bit of a party animal and squandered his inheritance on parties and his many gay lovers. In contrast, he was also a great benefactor to local religious institutions. In 1730 he entered a dynastic marriage, but he showed little interest in performing his dynastic duty by fathering an heir. His wife soon left him, and Prince Janusz spent the rest of his life trying unsuccessfully to have his marriage annulled.

In 1748 his openly gay lifestyle was forced temporarily into the closet when his father imprisoned his lover for fraud. Two years later, his father died and Janusz had another vast inheritance to squander away. Although not interested in politics the king of Poland-Lithuania appointed him a Court Marshal, among other offices.

When Janusz died in 1775 he was in debt and there were no close living relatives on his mother’s side, King Harold’s bloodline, to succeed him. It had to go back to descendants of his great-grandfather’s younger brother, from which it has passed to today.

Coat of arms of the Grand Dukes of Baden

5) Prince Maximilian von Baden (1876-1929); heir presumptive to the Grand Duchy of Baden.

The Grand Duchy of Baden was one of the sovereign states within the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire until it was abolished in 1918. The last Grand Duke was Prince Friedrich II (1857-1928). He was childless and his cousin Prince Maximilian was his nearest living male relative and heir presumptive.

In the 1890s the British Queen Victoria attempted to marry Maximilian to her grand-daughter, Princess Alexandra von Hessen. Alexandra wasn’t interested because she was already in love with the future Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. I wonder how history would have been different if Alexandra had married Maximilian. After all, it was Alexandra’s relationship with Rasputin that was one of the causes of the Russian Revolution.

In 1900 Prince Maximilian did marry into the British royal family. His wife was Princess Marie Louise, one of Queen Victoria’s cousins and a member of the “old Royal Family” (i.e. junior descendants of King George III), the Cumberlands. This branch of the family still exists, but most of them sided with Germany in World War I and were deprived of their British royal titles, Princess Marie Louise included.

Before his marriage Prince Maximilian was listed in Berlin police records as a homosexual. This fact was only revealed in a biography of him in 2013. Maximilian and Marie Louise had two children, both of whom have interesting connections. Their son married the late Duke of Edinburgh’s sister (he was named after Prince Philipp von Hessen, heir presumptive of Finland). Maximilian’s daughter married Philipp von Hessen’s twin brother.

In September 1918, when it seemed Germany would lose the war, the Kaiser appointed Prince Maximilian as Chancellor of Germany. The following day the Kaiser offered an armistice to the Allies and Maximilian advised him to abdicate. Once armistice was accepted a political “rebellion” against the Kaiser’s appointments forced Maximilian to resign. A republic was declared, royal titles were abolished, and Maximilian spent the rest of his life in retirement. On his cousin’s death in 1928 he became the head of the abolished Baden royal family, and claimed by monarchists as the rightful Grand Duke of Baden. He died the following year.

Heralding a New Reign

I didn’t think the death of Queen Elizabeth II would be an occasion to write something for this blog. Watching the proclamations of King Charles III, which are purely historical and ceremonial and not a legal requirement, reminded me of something I had planned to write next year.

At all of the great ceremonial state occasions, such as the proclamation or the State Opening of Parliament, you’ll see a group of people dressed in brightly coloured tabards and feathered hats. These are the heralds. They are members of the Royal Household.

You may know how much I love heraldry by the many articles I’ve written on the subject. Today I’d like to concentrate on two heralds, or more correctly, two officers of arms. The first is very openly gay, and the second is reported to be gay.

Maj.-Gen. Alastair Bruce (b.1960) holds the office of Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary. A pursuivant (pronounced “percy-vant”) is the lowest rank of officer of arms at the College of Arms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The word pursuivant come from the same root at “pursue”. Originally, a pursuivant was a person who follows or offers support. So, a heraldic pursuivant is someone who supports a herald in the performance of the latter’s duties. Fitzalan is the name of one of the junior titles of the Duke of Norfolk, the person at the very top of the English heraldic hierarchy. “Extraordinary” means Alastair is a part-time officer of arms and called upon for special occasions and ceremonies. However, last weeks’ proclamation was reserved for the senior heralds and Kings of Arms.

Being a part-time pursuivant Alastair Bruce doesn’t earn a living from it. Thankfully, he has a military pension and still holds several military appointments. He is also a familiar sight on UK television as a regular royal commentator and adviser. He was almost constantly on screen on various channels, UK and world-wide, during this summer’s Platinum Jubilee. Alastair is also the historical adviser to several well-known films and television series – e.g. “Downton Abbey” and “The King’s Speech”.

Although he is an English officer of arms Alastair Bruce is, as his name suggests, Scottish. In fact he holds a Scottish feudal title, the Bruce of Crionaich. He is also the current Governor of Edinburgh Castle. I didn’t notice him at the castle when the proclamation of King Charles was televised from there. No doubt he was in a television studio commentating on the event. His royal connection is evident in several ways. He was equerry to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and interviewed the Queen in a BBC documentary about her coronation.

If you’re wondering why I haven’t said anything about his sexuality yet it’s because I thought the video below in which he speaks on UK television about it himself and his wedding would be better.

Given time, I’d like to do a full “Queer Achievement” article on Alastair Bruce, because he possesses several variations of his own coat of arms – personal, marital and official.

The second officer of arms I wish to mention is a man whose sexuality I haven’t been able to verify. His names is Rev. Canon Joseph Morrow (b.1955). He is the most senior officer of arms in Scotland with the title of Lord Lyon King of Arms. If you saw the proclamations of King Charles made around Edinburgh you’ll have seen him. He’s the person making the proclamation.

I am reluctant to claim that Rev. Morrow is gay because there’s only one source which states that he is, which is the “Mail of Sunday”. This is a publication that is not known for its accuracy or impartiality. It is a very right-wing newspaper.

In an article which the Main on Sunday on 4th September 2005 they reported on Rev. Morrow’s appointment the previous year as Grand master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. The article mentions him as being openly gay twice, giving no source or supporting statement from Rev. Morrow himself.

Ten days later there was a report in The Scotsman, a very reliable publication, about Rev. Morrow’s resignation as Grant Master Mason due to “a change in personal circumstances and for health reasons”. The article refers to the Mail on Sunday article and Rev. Morrow’s reported sexuality, again giving no source. When The Scotsman contacted the Grand Lodge of Scotland they declined to comment on the story.

So, who is Rev. Canon Joseph Morrow? Unlike Alastair Bruce, he wasn’t born into and old landed Scottish gentry. One of his first jobs was as a bus conductor. He studied law, became a barrister, was ordained into the Scottish Episcopal Church, and was elected a Labour councillor in Dundee. Among his many honours is a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth in 2018 for services to mental health (he is president of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland). Rev. Morrow was appointed Lord Lyon King of Arms by the Queen in 2014 and has many other royal connections through various appointments.

Whatever his sexuality may be, he has one of the most pleasing and distinctive coat of arms I’ve seen (as shown on the official Lord Lyon website). Like Alastair Bruce, there are several variations and ideal for one of my “Queer Achievements”.

Throughout European history since the Middle Ages heralds have played an important and visible part of ceremonial and pageantry. Their official duties are to regulate the adoption and use of coats of arms, a task that has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the 20th century. More people, many without titles or rank, have a coat of arms, either by grant of inheritance. In the UK these heralds and offices of arms are more visible than anywhere else, and continue to play important roles in royal and state ceremonial. The presence of one, perhaps two, openly gay officers of arms during this changeover of reigns only goes to show that the lgbt community are at the very heart of such occasions.

William and John: Part 4) Nottingham

Nottingham Castle gatehouse, part of the medieval castle that survives.

Nottingham Castle reopened to the public last month after a £30 million pound make-over (of the parts not protected by law). As regular readers may recall, I worked there for seven years as a gallery assistant and tour guide (winning the Best Guided Tour in the UK award in 2003 by “Good Britain Guide”).

2021 is an anniversary year for Nottingham Castle, because 640 years ago Sir William Neville was appointed Constable of Nottingham Castle. In the previous chapter I described how he and his partner Sir John Clanvowe acquired positions at the court of King Richard II. Today I’ll explore their connection to Nottingham.

Sir William’s first appointment which brought him to Nottingham was as Justice of the Forest North of the Trent in May 1381. The office, one of two English Justices of the Forest (the other being South of the Trent) were the chief magistrates of forest law. Sir William's appointment covered the forests of Sherwood in Nottinghamshire, and Knaresborough and Inglewood Forests in Yorkshire.

The medieval idea of a forest is different to ours today. A forest was not just trees, as you imagine Sherwood Forest to be. The word derives from the Latin for “outside”, so a forest included open fields, meadows, rivers, villages, and occasionally a small town. What united them was that the area covered by forest law, where the king had sole rights of hunting, hence they are called royal forests.

Being Justice of the Forest meant you only had to carry out your duties once every three years, but the actual performance of these duties would take many months as the Justice was required to sit and judge the accumulated violations of forest law and review the forest’s administration. If anyone poached deer or took wood for fire without permission within a royal forest, the Justice presided over their case. In modern versions of Robin Hood it is often the Sheriff of Nottingham who arrests and presides over the court in Sherwood Forest, but in real life he had no authority there. He couldn’t arrest Robin Hood for any law he broke in Sherwood Forest. That was the job of the Foresters. In 1387 Sir William Neville resigned from this appointment.

Often accompanying the office of Justice of the Forest North of the Trent was the constableship of Nottingham Castle. Unlike the Justice, this was a full-time position. Sir William Neville was appointed as Constable in November 1381. Nottingham was a royal castle and his appointment was a further sign of the king's favour, and William was appointed for life. Sir William would travel between Nottingham and his Yorkshire estates all the time.

But what is a constable? Basically, it’s the general manager of a castle. He kept the castle running when the king wasn’t in residence, and ensured that everything the king wanted when he was in residence was available. As a royal residence Nottingham Castle was visited by King Richard II every year that Sir William was Constable.

One of the most well-known events of King Richard's reign was the Peasant's Revolt of June 1381. Neither Sir William nor his partner Sir John Clanvowe had any real part in it. The revolt was partly a response to the changing social make-up after the Black Death, and partly due to growing support for Lollardy, an early form of Protestantism. There was also a political move against the king who was giving too much importance to his friends and advisers. By 1385 a political group called the Lords Appellant had been formed which openly criticised the king.

Through the influence of the Lords Appellant the parliament of 1386 took away the powers of the 19-year-old King Richard and put them into the hands of commissioners. Richard retaliated by going on a journey around the country to gather support against the commission. At Nottingham Castle in August 1387 he gathered his supporters at a Great Council. A group of judges pronounced the Lords Appellant commission as treasonable.

The king made an error of judgement in thinking that the supporters who gathered at Nottingham Castle were powerful enough to defeat the Lords Appellant, who issued a reciprocal accusation of treason against members of the court, including Archbishop Alexander Neville, the younger brother of Sir William Neville. Sir William had neither the political power nor resources to openly support his brother against the charge. Sir William Neville was wise to not openly declare his own views, which would be to his advantage. As constable of a royal residence he was required to support the king, but he was perhaps remembering the earlier crisis surrounding the impeachment of his brother Lord Neville for the failure of the military campaign in northern France in 1376.

The king reluctantly agreed to arrest the named traitors and bring them to trial at the so-called "Merciless Parliament" in February 1388. Archbishop Neville was found guilty of treason. Only his position as a clergyman protected him from execution. He ended his days in exile as a parish priest in France.

Several courtiers who weren’t charged with treason were, however, banished from court. Sir John Clanvowe was one of them. He disappears from court records for a while, perhaps returning to estates in Herefordshire and Wales. Sir William, however, earned the trust of the victorious Lords Appellant. They awarded him an annuity out of the forfeited estates of the traitors.

The power of the Lords Appellant lasted less than two years. After Richard II regained his personal rule on reaching 21 years of age, Sir John Clanvowe and Sir William Neville were again regular attendees at court, and for a few brief years Richard was secure on his throne.

Earlier I mentioned Lollardy as being a cause of the Peasants Revolt. Both Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe were prominent Lollard supporters, members of a small group of courtiers called the Lollard Knights. I wrote about this several years ago, so I’ll direct you over to those articles where you can read more.

While visiting his royal residence in Nottingham King Richard II would have been entertained with lavish banquets, jousts and entertainment. Sir John Clanvowe was a poet and it is my belief that on one occasion he produced a new ballad to be recited in front of the king and the court at one of those banquets. It featured a well-known character in a new setting, not unlike modern reboots of films and television series. Sir John used personal knowledge and the family backgrounds of himself, Sir William Neville, and the king to give local interest to his ballad. That well-known character was Robin Hood. Most of what is familiar to us about this legendary outlaw comes from the ballad I believe was written by Sir John Clanvowe, and I’ll explain more about it in the next chapter of the lives of Sir William and Sir John.

However, you’ll have to wait a while for that. I’ll explain why in a couple of weeks, but look out for 26th October, Robin Hood Day, when his connection to Sir John Clanvowe and Sir William Neville will be explained.

William and John: Part 3) William at Court

After looking at Sir John Clanvowe’s military career we turn today to the court career of his partner, Sir William Neville.

First of all, let’s look at Sir William’s marriage. It wasn’t what you could call a “marriage of convenience” as it might have been described in the 20th century, in which a marriage was arranged to hide the sexuality of one of the partners. Men we would regard as gay today would often marry and have children in pre-modern times. They didn’t think there was anything was wrong with that.

Sir William’s marriage was more of a political and financial marriage. As I mentioned in Part 1 when I described the childhoods of Sir William Neville and his male partner, William had little chance of inheriting substantial property or an income from his father, being the youngest of five sons. After plans for William to inherit the estates of his step-brother, Lord Greystoke, fell through, Lord Neville arranged for him to marry the heiress of manors spread across Yorkshire.

In 1366 William married Elizabeth le Waleys, the younger of the two daughters and coheirs of Stephen le Waleys, 2nd Baron Waleys. The elder daughter, Anora, died childless within two years and Elizabeth became sole heir to the family estates and "de facto" Baroness Waleys. This meant that William Neville now had an independent income and property through his wife (all property of a married woman usually belonged to the husband in those days). Elizabeth le Waleys was as well connected as her husband. Her father’s step-brother was the famous Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots.

As mentioned in part 2, Sir William Neville spent some time in France serving with the army during the Hundred Years War. When he returned to England he began a distinguished career at court. By this time his eldest brother Lord Neville, who had inherited their father’s title, had obtained the position of Lord Steward of the King's Household in late 1371. Probably through his brother's influence, Sir William succeeded his brother as Admiral of the North in 1372. This was one of the top naval commands in England. As Admiral of the North Sir William was responsible for all the fleet and ports north of the River Thames and naval activities in the North Sea.

In 1373 Sir William temporarily commanded the southern fleet that was appointed to patrol the Norman and Breton coasts and protect the English possessions there. Sir William anchored his fleet at St. Malo for several months and then he was called upon to go to the aid of his brother, Lord Neville. Lord Neville had been appointed ambassador to Brittany in June 1372 in order to negotiate an Anglo-Breton alliance. Brittany was subject to the French crown even though it was English support that had put the Duke of Brittany in power, as explained last time. The resulting alliance, not welcomed by the Breton lords, led to renewed rivalry between England and France. Lord Neville was appointed Captain of Brest and was given command of an English force. The French, under Bertrand du Guesclin, invaded Brittany and laid siege to Brest Castle. Lord Neville was accused of not providing sufficient military defence which led to the siege. This would taint Lord Neville’s reputation and be used against him three years later.

Lord Neville hoped that the army being assembled by Prince John of Gaunt, destined to form the "Grand Chevauchée" (see Part 2), would come to his aid. The army helped to keep the French at bay only temporarily. Sir William Neville's fleet carried an army which reinforced and restocked the Brest garrison. The Grand Chevauchée distracted some French forces away from Brest, but several other garrisons were still taken from the English.

By 1376 the war with France was not going well and people were putting some blame onto Lord Neville. As Lord Steward of the King’s Household he was also accused of helping the Lord Chamberlain to embezzle public funds. Later that year both the Lord Chamberlain and Lord Neville were impeached by parliament, even though the actual evidence of embezzlement against Neville was flimsy to say the least. This “Good” Parliament, as is it known, was called to address the many growing suspicions of corruption among the chief ministers of the old and frail King Edward III. The "Good" Parliament only deepened divisions, both at court and in the country. Sir William Neville seems to have escaped any suggestion that he profited from his brother's alleged actions. However, he was removed from his appointment of Admiral of the North in the same month as the impeachment. It wasn't long, however, before Lord Neville was reappointed Lord Steward by Prince John of Gaunt, who had by now become the chief minister of the country.

King Edward III died on 21st June 1377. His grandson Richard, Prince of Wales, succeeded as King Richard II at the age of 10. Sir William Neville had been appointed to the household of Richard just six months earlier. The succession of a 10-year-old boy as king led to politicians and royal relatives vying to ensure that the king's voice was theirs. Richard's own voice on matters was hardly ever heard, but he was personally responsible for the decision to keep Sir William Neville in his service after his accession, perhaps even making him a Gentleman of the Chamber at that time also.

By 1378 both Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe were favoured members of King Richard's court. Both were King's Knights and in regular attendance on Richard. They had become members of an inner circle of friends which the young king gathered around himself. Their positions of trust was recognised by their additional appointments as Knights of the Chamber by 1381. This brought them even closer to the king than the Privy Council and indicates how much King Richard must have trusted in their confidence.

A few historians believe that by this time Sir William and Sir John had formed a close personal bond. On John's return from the French wars they would have had ample opportunity to meet at court. As the years passed their names appear together in court records more and more often, and chroniclers of their time even begin to acknowledge an unusually close bond between them. They continued to have their separate lives and appointments; Sir William and his wife Elizabeth with their estates in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, and Sir John with his appointments in Herefordshire and the Welsh borders. But they always managed to be together at court sessions and as the King’s Knights of the Chamber, which would be for six weeks at a time on a regular basis.

During their time at King Richard’s court they would have mingled with the other courtiers, and that included the famous poet Geoffrey Chaucer. He became a close friend of both Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe. It was through this friendship that Chaucer and Sir John came up with the idea of St. Valentine’s Day as a day of romance, something that had not happened in history before. The story of how they created it is told here.

It was also at about this time that Sir William Neville acquired his connection to Nottingham Castle and Sherwood Forest. In Part 4 I’ll delve further into their time in Nottingham and how I believe Sir John Clanvowe came up with the oldest surviving ballad featuring a hero well-known across England at the time – Robin Hood.

Game of Gay Thrones 6: Norway, Poland and Portugal

Here we are with five more lgbt people who have been heirs, claimants, candidates, usurpers or imposters of various royal thrones. Their quests to pull their own “sword from the stone” were unsuccessful. Included for the first time are two people who were consorts to those heirs, etc., and would have sat beside their spouse on the royal throne.

1) Prince François Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conti (1664-1709); titular King of Poland and Prince of Neuchâtel.

Prince François Louis was the nephew of Prince Louis, Duke of Condé, who was twice an unsuccessful candidate for the elective throne of Poland-Lithuania. In 1697 the throne was up for election again and the King of France put Prince François Louis’ name forward. Unlike his uncle Prince François Louis was successful, although it was obtained mainly through bribes. The Prince didn’t seem too eager to occupy his throne. After a couple of months delay he arrived in Poland to find that his rival in the election had seized the throne from him. The Prince just turned around and went back home.

Perhaps Prince François Louis didn’t want a repeat of a previous attempt to occupy a throne. In 1694 he inherited the sovereign principality of Neuchâtel in the will of the previous prince. Unfortunately, this previous prince’s sister thought she was the rightful ruler and Prince François Louis took her to court. The court found in his favour, but the King of France refused to support his claim and ordered François Louis to let the sister keep Neuchâtel.

Prince François Louis was openly bisexual and often blatant about his affairs, which caused tension in his family.

2) Prince Eugen of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Närke (1865-1947); proposed king of Norway.

In 1905 the joint kingdom of Sweden and Norway decided to split. The King and Crown Prince were to remain on the Swedish throne, and a younger son would be the first king of an independent Norway. Of the younger sons Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke was the one considered most favourably, as he was known to be a great Norwegaphile.

Norwegian politicians had been calling for full independence from Sweden since 1814. Prince Eugen had even been suggested as a future King of Norway in 1893, but his father made it clear that he wanted none of his sons on a Norwegian throne. In 1905 the newly independent Norway gave the crown to a Danish prince instead.

Prince Eugen was himself reluctant to accept any throne. He was more interested in art and painting than politics and was a well-known artist. He never married and Scandinavian writers and journalists often include him in lists of famous lgbt Norwegians.

3) Prince Francisco José de Bragança (1879-1919); claimant to the throne of Portugal.

Prince Francisco’s father was Prince Miguel, Duke of Braganza, claimant to the throne of Portugal. Miguel’s father, another Miguel, had usurped the throne from his own brother in 1828 and was himself deposed in 1834. Supporters of Miguel’s restoration to the throne were called the Miguelista.

When Portugal became a republic in 1910 the younger Prince Miguel launched an uprising to regain his father’s throne but was unsuccessful. In an effort to unite the Miguelista and another group supporting a rival monarchist claim Miguel and his eldest son renounced all rights to the throne. The united monarchists considered Miguel’s younger son, Prince Francisco José, as the head of the claim to restore the monarchy with his as King of Portugal.

Scandal followed Prince Francisco José. He was arrested in London in 1902 for gross indecency with a 15-year-old boy. Although he was found not guilty he was accused of a similar crime a few years later in Austria. He was also swindled out of £325,000 in 1909 by someone claiming to be a member of the Vanderbilt family.

During World War I Prince Francisco José fought with the Austro-Hungarian army. He was captured and died, still in captivity, in 1919 at the age of 39.

4) Princess Anna Sforza d’Este (1476-1497); Hereditary Duchess of Ferrara.

Princess Anna is the first of the “Queer Consorts” who missed their chance to sit on a throne beside their spouse. Anne was the daughter of the Duke of Milan. In 1477 her father arranged her marriage to Alfonso d’Este, Hereditary Duke (heir) of the sovereign Duchy of Ferrara. The wedding ceremony took place in 1491.

The marriage was not a happy one. Princess Anna was said to be rather unfeminine in looks and behaviour. She spent most of her time dressed as man and preferred the company of women. It is believed by historians that she had several lesbian affairs, and it is known that she refused to consummate the marriage and shared her bed every night with a female black slave.

Eventually Anna agreed to consummate the marriage in order to provide an heir to the throne of Ferrara. In 1497 she became pregnant but, sadly, died in childbirth at the age of 21.

Anna’s widower, Prince Alfonso, remarried in 1503 to Lucrezia Borgia. Yes, the same Lucrezia Borgia whose life of debauchery and murder is legendary (and probably false). It was Lucrezia who later became Duchess of Ferrera when Alfonso inherited the title.

5) Sir George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628); consort to the heir of the Scottish and English thrones.

Buckingham was the lover of King James I of England, and VI of Scotland. James probably didn’t realise that he also arranged for Buckingham to marry a bloodline heir to both of his thrones. In 1620 Buckingham married the Lady Katherine Manners, daughter of the Earl of Rutland, who brought a lot of money and rich estates with her.

In 1290 the 7-year-old Queen Margaret of Scotland died unexpectedly leaving no close relatives or clear successor. Thirteen men came forward with claims to the throne through various old royal lines. No-one could decided who had the best claim, so the Scottish nobles asked King Edward I of England to chose one. Lady Katherine Manners’ ancestor, Lord de Ros, was the nearest bloodline heir of Queen Margaret through an illegitimate line. King Edward chose someone from a more junior line to be king instead. Lady Katherine became the eventual heir of the de Ros claim and she became Baroness de Ros herself when her father died.

Lady Katherine also had a claim to the English throne through the de Ros line. An earlier de Ros heiress carried the title into the Manners family on her marriage. The Manners were heirs of Princess Anne of England (1439-1476), the eldest sister of Kings Edward IV and Richard III. Anne’s brothers and their descendants were barred from the throne, even (technically) Princess Elizabeth of York who married the Tudor usurper King Henry VII. Various relatives of Anne tried to get the throne back but were unsuccessful. Eventually they gave up. The descendants of Anne carried the senior claim to the English throne through the Manners family to Lady Katherine, Baroness de Ros.

Out of King Edward's Tree: Part 3

Today is St. George’s Day. St. George became the patron saint of England during the reign of King Edward III (1312-1377). Over the past two days I have listed the many lgbt descendants of King Edward, and his father, the gay King Edward II (1284-1327). See my article of two days ago for the family tree which shows which of Edward III’s grandchildren the following people descend.

List 8 – descendants of Lady Joan Beaufort (c.1379-1440) through the Nevilles

Eva Gore-Booth (1870-1926), poet and suffragette (61 lines)

Hon. Hugh Lygon (1904-1936), banker (697 lines)

T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935), Lawrence of Arabia, author and adventurer (16 lines)

Pamela Schwerdt (1931-2009), horticulturalist (70 lines)

Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962), author (81 lines)

Edward Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (1926-2015) activist and motor museum owner (320 lines)

Roden Noel (1834-1894), poet (27 lines)

Rupert Buxton (1900-1921), Oxford University student (27 lines)

George Mallory (1886-1924), mountaineer (26 lines)

Fiona Cunnigham-Reid (b.1956), documentary film-maker (281 lines)

William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806), Britain’s youngest ever Prime Minister (8 lines)

John Waters (b.1946), film director (3 lines)

Glen Maxey (b.1952), American politician (3 lines)

Sir John Bramston (1832-1921), Australian politician (10 lines)

Margaret Damer Dawson (1873-1920), co-founder of women’s police force (29 lines)

Charles Ricketts (1866-1931), artist (10 lines)

Ellen Degeneres (b.1958), broadcaster and comedian (7 lines)

E. M. Forster (1879-1970), author (15 lines)

William Leonard Courtney (1850-1928); author and philosopher (12 lines)

Peter Cokes (1913-2008), actor (16 lines)

Patrick Trevor-Roper (1916-2004), eye surgeon and activist (45 lines)

Ernest Thesiger (1879-1961), actor (23 lines)

Clare Balding (b.1971), sports broadcaster (263 lines)

Cara Delevigne (b.1992), actor (66 lines)

William Beckford (1760-1844), novelist and arts patron (4 lines)

Francis Bacon (1909-1992), artist (6 lines)

Marlon Brando (1924-2004), actor (2 lines)

Randolph Scott (1898-1987), actor (2 lines)

Gore Vidal (1925-2012), author (2 lines)

Dale Parker Anderson (b.1965), activist, founder of lgbt micronation (1 line)

George Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford (1871-1940), party giver (141 lines)

Tony Scupham-Bilton (b.1960), historian, writer of The Queerstory Files (4 lines)

Peggy Seeger (b.1935), singer and songwriter (2 lines)

Vincent Price (1911-1993), actor and art collector (4 lines)

Victoria Price (b.1962), author and public speaker (4 lines)

Leona Holbrook (1909-1980), Professor of Physical Education (2 lines)

Frances Norma Loring (1887-1968), sculptor and artist (2 lines)

Reynell Grissell (1927-1999), classical pianist (4 lines)

Very Rev. Charles Vaughan (1816-1897), Dean of Llandaff Cathedral (4 lines)

Eustace Robb (1899-1985), television producer (8 lines)

Rt. Hon. Jeremy Thorpe (1929-2014), MP, Leader of the Liberal Party (4 lines)

Lady Eve Balfour (1899-1990), pioneer of organic farming (116 lines)

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), author (2 lines)

G. DeWolf Shaw (b.1950), human capital evaluator (2 lines)

Gerald Heard (1889-1971), historian, author and philosopher (1 line)

Hon. Eleanor Acheson (b.1947), US Assistant Attorney General (10 lines)

Sir Robert Herbert (1831-1905), Premier of Queensland (70 lines)

Mark Frankland (1934-2012), journalist and spy (14 lines)

Divine (1945-1988), actor and performer (3 lines)

Cynthia Nixon (b.1966), actor (3 lines)

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), author (3 lines)

Doris Fielding Reid (1895-1973), stockbroker (8 lines)

John Holmes III (b.1984), flower shop proprietor (8 lines)

List 9 – Descendants of Princess Constance of York (c.1374-1416)

Lady Eleanor Butler (1739-1829), one of the Ladies of Llangollen (2 lines)

Sir Arthur Vicars (1862-1921), herald (1 line)

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), author (1 line)

Dolly Wilde (after 1893-1941), socialite (1 line)

List 10 – Descendant of Princess Anne, Countess of Buckingham (1383-1438)

Rt. Rev. Mary Glasspool (b.1954), Assistant Bishop of New York (2 lines)