York to Windsor

We're supposed to write something interesting and I'm not sure about everyone else but I find this stuff highly interesting (plus I had no clue what else I was going to write.)


Note: Done without any internet/book/human aid (except for the years).



The British Monarchy, 1461-Present
YEdward IV - Built St. George's Chaplel in Windsor
YEdward V - Is believed to have been murdured, along with his younger brother, by his uncle, Richard III
YRichard III - Beheaded during the (2 hour) Battle of Bonsworth, bones were scattered around during the Reformation
THenry VII - By blood, a Lancaster, by marrying Elizabeth of York united the two houses and ended the Wars of the Roses
THenry VII - The legendary king who had six wives (Catherine of Aaragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr) --> (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived)
TEdward VI - Henry VII's beloved son and third child, took the throne at nine, tricked into leaving the throne to Lady Jane Grey instead of his sister Mary by his uncle, Edward Seymour, when he died at age fifteen
TLady Jane Grey - Used by Edward Seymour to keep the Protestants in power and the Catholic Mary Tudor off the throne when Edward died, only reigned for nine days before Mary defeated the Seymour party
TMary I - First child of Henry VIII, the infamous "Bloody Mary," nicknamed for persecuting Protestants. In the nursery rhyme "The Three Blind Mice" is the old farmer's wife (story is about the nine days Lady Jane Grey was queen)
TElizabeth I - Second child of Henry VIII, the Virgin Queen who reigned for forty-five years during the Renaissance, daughter of Anne Boleyn who was beheaded by Henry VIII when Bess was only three
SJames I - Only son of Mary Queen of Scots (a cousin of Elizabeth I), inherited the throne when Elizabeth died, already King James VI of Scotland when he became King James I of England, thus uniting the two crowns for the first time
SCharles I - Had a stutter and was a weak ruler, civil wars broke out in both Scotland and England during his reign, executed by the people to start the Interregnum Period (Cromwell took over)
SCharles II - Son of Charles I, reinstated after eleven years of no monarch, practiced religious tolerance
SJames II - Roman-Catholic, grew up in exile in France at the court of Louis XIV, became king at 51 fifty-one, a hated ruler, abdicated his throne to his daughter and her husband, died in France
SWilliam III and Mary II - Protestants, Mary was the daughter of James II and William (of Orange) her husband, invaded James's kingdom together and forced him to abdicate, ruled together, Mary died without children and William ruled afterwards, put down the law that England and Scotland could never be ruled by a Catholic
SAnne - Sister of Mary II, reigned during the time that party politics were becoming very popular in England and the time when England and Scotland began their process of uniting
HGeorge I - Elector of Hanover, 52nd in line and only succeded to throne because he was the closest Protestant, ruled both kingdoms at the same time, dislike between him and his son the future George II
HGeorge II - The last British Monarch to fight alongside his soldiers (in France, 1743), reign plagued by threats of the Scotish Jacobites for much of the time but finally defeated them
HGeorge III - Grandson of George II, remembered for being the hated King Geoge who lost the American Colonies and going mad, widely believed to be a result of lead poisoning
HGeorge IV - Ruled as Prince Regent for the last ten years of his father's reign because he was unfit to do so himself, extravagent art collector
HWilliam IV - Brother of George IV, forced to sign the Reform Act which he highly opposed
HVictoria - Had the longest reign in British history, married her first cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg, had nine children who married into all of the most important houses in Europe and are indirectly responsible for World War I, bought and renovated Buckingham Palace for her large family
SCGEdward VII - Eldest son of Queen Victoria, heir apparent for the longest time in British history, known as the "Uncle of Europe" because he was related to very nearly, every other ruler on the continent
WGeorge V - Reigned during World War I, was the one who changed the family's name from the very German Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor
WEdward VIII - Met and fell inlove with an American actress, Wallis Simpson, while he was Prince of Wales, abdicated after an eleven month reign because he wasn't allowed to marry Ms. Simpson, given the title HRH Duke of Windsor by his brother George VI, lived in Paris until his death in 1972
WGeorge VI - Born Albert, second son of George V, took the throne after his brother's abdication, beloved for his charm and innocence during World War I, worked closely with Winston Churchill
WElizabeth II - The current ruler, asceded at age twenty-six, has ruled during an age of great political change


KEY
Y = York
T = Tudor
S = Stuart
H = Hanover
SCG = Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
W = Windsor

First Day Poem

A cry, a scream, a shriek
The new life- bare, infantile, and fragile
Surrounded by people who gently massage the caches of red atop her tiny head
and piously sit, eyes closed, hands clasped, thanking God for this day-
For her first day.

Another cry, scream, shriek
The flaming red of a young girl's braids whipping about
Her hands and legs violently clutching onto the body of her young mother
Tears thundering down her round, little cheeks
with ominous fog rolling off the blacktop beyond her
While her mother just hopes that they'll get through this first day.

An internal cry, scream, shriek reverberate under the shield of perfectly straightened, scarlet hair
Other insecurities and uncertainties plaguing the adolescent's mind as she journeys
down the road,
towards unknown territory.
Walking through the halls seemed strange, foreign
And as the bell rings for the first time-
the girl takes her seat and realizes how much she is dreading her first day.

Years later there are no more tears to cry, shrieks to bellow, or screams to shout-
only silence.
The muted confidence of the ginger-haired girl follows her around as she-
Wanders the current corridors,
Meeting new faces,
Enjoying her learning of new lessons,
Becoming immersed in her new community
And crafting the start of a unique identity
A newly found excitement for her first day tingling about inside.