After centuries on the throne of England, it would be safe to say that the Royal Family are keeping quite a few secrets in their nice fancy closets. Here are nine of our favourites.
1. The Queen is not legally required to own a driving licence.
It is probably advisable to get out of her way while she is driving.
2. The Queen is quite the rich lady…
Her furniture, jewellery, art and horses are thought to be worth about £70 million. That’s not even including the palaces.
3. Diana didn’t promise to “obey her husband” in her vows
The Princess of Wales broke with tradition and instead of declaring she would “obey” her husband in her marriage vows, she simply said she would love, comfort, honour and keep Prince Charles in sickness and in health. This was the first time the tradition was broken since 1662.
4. Princess Margaret claimed her first husband Antony Armstrong-Jones was homosexual
In fact, when she was asked “how is the Queen?”, her standard answer was “do you mean my husband or my sister?”
5. The Royal Family do not have a surname.
Until 1917, the Royal Family were defined by their House or Dynasty. In that year, King George adopted Windsor as a surname. Elizabeth II decided she wanted her descendants to have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor which was declared by the Privy Council as the name given only to her line with Prince Philip.
6. During the War of the Roses, the heirs to the throne disappeared in the Tower of London.
Following the death of Edward IV, his sons were placed in the Tower of London for safekeeping. However, before the coronation of the eldest, the pair disappeared and were never seen again. No one knows what happened to the Princes from the Tower, they literally disappeared from history.
7. Richard III was found under a car park
Richard took the Crown just before the disappearance of the two boys, but was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth. He was buried in a church in Leicester, which was eventually turned into a car park. His body was excavated just this year, it had not been touched since 1485!
8. Prince Albert Victor was a suspect in the Jack the Ripper case.
Prince Albert Victor, known to the Royal Family as Eddy, was the son of Prince Albert Edward, son of Queen Victoria and Princess Alexandra. It wasn’t until long after the famous Jack the Ripper murders that Dr. Thomas Stowell linked him to the women’s deaths, claiming he had syphilis which eventually drove him to kill the women. The theory has never been proven.
9. Queen Victoria is to be thanked for pain relief during childbirth.
Victoria had nine children but reportedly hated childbirth. There was even a rumour she suffered from post-natal depression. However, on her eighth child Victoria had enough and asked her physician for an anaesthetic. The Queen was attacked for the move, but opposition soon faded out as Victoria dismissed the criticism.
