6 Worst British Rulers - Anglophenia Ep 8
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ส.ค. 2024
- Britain has had a number of great kings and queens, but also some truly terrible ones. Siobhan Thompson looks at the worst of the worst.
Visit the Anglophenia blog at www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia
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"Started an unnecessary war with France" Isn't that just the traditional pastime of British monarchs?
P99AT Wakes up one day and decides to go to war with a country because they felt like it.
Since when has war with France been "unnecessary"?
Siobhan and her "gonna learn you something" videos just make every day a little brighter (^^)
Another great video.
I'm William the Conqueror
My enemies stood no chance
They call me the first English king
Although I come from France
1066, the Doomsday book
I gave to history
So fat on death my body burst
But enough about me
To help remember all your kings
I've come up with this song
A simple rhyming ditty
For you all to sing along
Oh, William
(Bit short init? We need more kings. Who came next?)
William second, cheeks were red
Killed out hunting, so it's said
I took over, Henry one
That's my next eldest son
Then King Stephen, it's true check it!
Hi, Henry two, killed Thomas Beckett
Richard Lionheart? That's right!
Always spoiling for a fight
Oh King John, what a disaster
Rule restrained by Magna Carta
William, William, Henry, Stephen
Henry, Richard, John, oi!
Time for my mate, King Henry eight
To take up this song
Henry three built the abbey
Ed one hated Scots
A red hot poker killed Ed two
That must have hurt him lots
Edward third was a chivalry nerd
Began the hundred years war
Then Richard two was king aged ten
Then Henry, yes one more
King Henry four, plots galore
Not least from Henry five, why?
Killed ten score at Agincourt
Then Henry six arrived
Edward four, Edward five
Richard the third, he's bad
'Cause he fought wars with Henry seventh
First Tudor and my dad
So Henry eight, I was great
Six wives, two were beheaded
Edward the sixth came next
But he died young and so my dreaded
Daughter Mary ruled, so scary
Then along came... me
I'm Liz the first, I had no kids
So Tudors RIP
William, William, Henry, Stephen
Henry, Richard, John, oi!
Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two
Then three more Henrys join our song
Edward, Edward, Rich the third
Henry, Henry, Ed again
Mary one, good Queen Bess
That's me, time for more men
James six of Scotland next
As England's James the first he led
Then Stuarts ruled, so Charles the first
The one who lost his head
No monarchy until came me
Charles two, I liked to party
King Jimmy two was scary, woooh
Then Mary was a smarty
She ruled with Bill, their shoes were filled
By sourpuss Queen Anne Gloria
And so from then, you were ruled by men
Till along came me Victoria
William, William, Henry, Stephen
Henry, Richard, John, oi!
Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two
Then three more Henrys join our song
Edward, Edward, Rich the third
Henry, Henry, Ed again
Mary one, good Queen Bess
Jimmy, Charles and Charles and then
Jim, Will, Mary, Anna Gloria
Still to come, it's Queen Victoria
And so began the Hanover gang
George one and George two (grim)
Then George the third was quite absurd
Till I replaced old him
King George the fourth and known henceforth
As angry, fat and cross (hang on)
It's true you beat Napoleon
But for mostly a dead loss (bang on)
Old William four was a sailor (ahoy)
It's nearly the end of the story-a
As onto the scene comes the best loved queen
Hail to Queen Victoria
William, William, Henry, Stephen
Henry, Richard, John, oi!
Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two
Then three more Henrys join our song
Edward, Edward, Rich the third
Henry, Henry, Ed again
Mary one, good Queen Bess
Jimmy, Charles and Charles and then
Jim, Will, Mary, Anna Gloria
George, George, George, George
Will, Victoria
Victoria Victoria Victoria
(I ruled for sixty four years, you know.)
Ed seven, George five
Then Ed, George sixth
Liz two then reigned and how
And so our famous monarch song
Is brought right up to now, oh
William, William, Henry, Stephen
Henry, Richard, John, oi!
Henry, Ed, Ed, Ed, Rich two
Then three more Henrys join our song
Edward, Edward, Rich the third
Henry, Henry, Ed again
Mary one, good Queen Bess
Jimmy, Charles and Charles and then
Jim, Will, Mary, Anna Gloria
George, George, George, George
Will, Victoria
Edward, George, Edward, George six
And Queen Liz two completes the mix
That's all the English kings and queens
Since William first that there have been
I've seen that too :3 I learned the chorus
Not strictly true , The Normans settled in Normandy , but were kind of vikings ,really . They took up the French language and catholicism , to appease the French.
Martynn 1969 you just blinded me with science :)
Ola Los 😂
Martynn 1969 it's a song from horrible history
Mary was actually pretty popular because most of England was still catholic- that's why the device (the document put together to try and cut Mary out of the succession) fell through within a couple of weeks. It all fell apart a bit after she married a Spanish king because no one liked a foreign ruler.
Also George IV may have been a bad king but he does have the best horrible histories song
***** Thumbs up for the Horrible History reference XD
***** Mary's Horrible Histories song is pretty great though.
***** i was wondering if he was Georgie Porgie...
DragonLandlord He was.
Just realized I meant Charles II not George IV. Forget his song.
Henry IV is also pretty good
It's not at all surprising that Mary took the English Reformation personally. Her entire youth she was publicly humiliated. Her once-loving father renounced her, and her mother was treated despicably for not doing the same. Thousands and thousands of people changed their religion for the specific purpose of not having to accept her as a future leader. How was she supposed to react?
Now of course that certainly doesn't justify religious persecution; but Mary was hardly unique there. During the reign of the stratospherically popular Elizabeth many Catholic priests were drawn and quartered. I suppose I'd take that over burning if those were my only two options, but it's not exactly an easy way to go. And even if it were, it's still persecution. Why should Mary's crimes be singled out while many others' are ignored?
finally been waiting for a new video!! keep them up :D
I love your channel!!! I am totally into British history, it's so colourful! Thanks for making these videos they are awesomeee!
no cromwell? Dude, he BANNED CHRISTMAS!!!
+Flora Gosling He is a Hero for banning Christmas.
+Chris66able, Siobhan [sp.] does mention Oliver Cromwell in passing.
+Flora Gosling Cromwell banned anything that was fun.
+Flora Gosling That is because he wasn't technically a Monarch.
Rishabh Daga He was a ruler though, yes?
At least when George IV died, he was replaced by his butler Edmund.
+evrbody you mean WILLIAM IV
Best Blackadder ever.
Dying
No, wait. He had a cigarillo case in his pocket, too.
Oh. Left it at home.
Best Comment Ever!
You videos are always great!! I love them all!! keep it up)
Absolutely loving your channel!
Richard I, a warmonger who's constant crusading left England bankrupt, and who left the place in the care of a bunch of men who weren't up to the job, and whos failure to pick a successor (his younger brother John, or Arthur of Brittany, the son of Geoffrey, younger than he, but older than John) did lead to a succession war, which was a major reason why John did so poorly in France.
actually from historical sources I have seen King Richard I left the Kingdom in the hands of their MOTHER Queen Eleanor (which is with the exception of Normandy), Eleanor brought all the French land that Jonh "Lackland: later lost. Some sources say that King John like Richard III killed their nephew (in this case Arthur)
Right. The barons didn't like John but liked his nephew Arthur far less. John was more English than Arthur and the barons didn't like Arthur's mother, either, also very French. So they went with John but never liked him too much, even forced him to sign the Magna Carta.
Technically speaking John was neither a bad regent, nor a bad king, rather he was trying deal with the categorically worst king in history, his brother, the much beloved glory hound Richard.
Richard bankrupted the country for his gloryhunting expeditions in the crusades, never spent any time in the british isles if he could help it (he was french nobility of the plantagenet lines and most of their interesting holdings were in france), he also warred with other french monarchs, got captured, ransomed for another huge fortune, and finally died in a pointless battle (history tells us his men skinned alive the men of the fort from which the arrow came that killed him) in France. He also was quoted as saying "I'd sell the city of london, if only I could find a buyer"
John was attempting to resurrect the british economy, and rather than Magna Carta being an actually good check on royal power, it was the nobles forcing the king into a corner because he wanted them to pay the tab for the gloryhunting they and his brother had been on.
He was certainly the most competent monarchs of the pre-tudor era (don't judge a ruler on how good a situation is, rather judge them on how much worse it could be if they were not holding back disaster by force of will and political brinksmanship), and belongs in the annuls of great kings, rather than villainous ones.
Good point. John was given an impossible situation, then used as the scapegoat when it blew up on him.
I TOTALLY agree.
I knew John would make this list, while Richard I would never (heaven forbid) make it on a list of bad kings.
Richard I was a selfish king who did not give two figs about England - which he used as a piggy bank and despised. Yet he is hailed as a Hero.
John is totally villainised, and unfairly; because he had to deal with the mess his over-glorified brother made.
Great videos. Very informative as well as entertaining. Wry and witty.
A new episode.. FINALLY haha,, nice video, Cheers from Venezuela.
Worst british Prime ministers ... David Cameron anyone?
He's really not that bad... I'd put John Major up there though.
Margaret Thatcher
"Ding dong the wicked witch is dead"
the oakley family show Thatcher
U can get arrested for doing that. True
Eren Jaeger Pretty bad. But let's not forget the evil Thatcher. I lived through her time as Prime minister and I still have nightmares about it.
Doesn't matter what Siobhan is speaking about, I'd listen to her forever! So professional!
Loved the GOT reference. :) Love your videos! They're great!
every time i watch your video i learn something new.
you are slowly making me smarter.thanks.
i wish you and your team all the best.
Since you asked, few other un-praiseworthy monarchs might include....
- Vortigern (invited the Saxons in at the expense of the Celts)
- Ethelred the Unready (the name says it all, even if it is mistranslated)
- Henry VI (lost France)
- James II (blew the Stuart Restoration)
- Queen Anne (signed away the remains of Scotland's independence without thinking)
- Edward VIII/Duke of Windsor (gave up the crown for "love," when Wallis didn't want him to)
Ron Lewenberg I think that Henry VI falls in that time frame, as it happens.
Matt Warwick Not a monarch.
Matt Warwick Not a monarch: don't give him the dignity of the term.
+DreamyEyedLover Going insane probably didn't help him. Well, at least Henry founded some good schools.....
+Nick Hentschel France would have been lost anyway, by someone else if not by Henry VI. Even Edward III lost back many Plantagenet possessions to the French.
I have a video recommendation. What makes a proper fish-n-chips,
White fish and potatoes
Wranglerstar a proper fish and chips is a big large cod tons of chips and a nice topping of salt and vinegar. Course I never have any of that except the chips i usually have a nice battered sausage
Wranglerstar CHIPS should be deep golden brown,. NOT that horrible looking almost white that so many shops serve up....they are often limp, flabby sticks of grease,. They should be CRISP on the outside soft white on the inside!!!!Every true Brit, should be able to tell a GOOD chippy from at least 500 meters away ( on windy day,,). using his/ her built in " Chippy detector". Which we are all born with!!!!Just SMELL it folks!
If there is one thing that SPOILS the taste of Chips It's VINAGAR.....YUK , YUK ,YUK! Why do you do that?
The happy bhuddist er .well yes, I hadn't thought of that!!!!
I love these videos!
These vidoes are the best!
You missed David Cameron.
He is one of the best parlementarian leader the country has ever known
+Slated neither just a well informed conservative who lime to pay atyention to what is happening and i believe him to be great
+Slated after all he did win the election
Maxwell Day if he wanted brexit then yes the man is a genius. if, as he lead us to believe, he did not want brexit then ibwould say he is not very clever at all.
Thanks for not including Richard III--the poor man has suffered quite enough because of Shakespeare.
How about a list of Britain's best monarchs? I'd d definitely include Edward VII...he was a jolly, avuncular sort.
Agreed. I was fearing seeing Richard on here. I do believe he was a good king, and would have been a great king had he been allowed to rule in peace and longer than a mere 2 years.
Love your vids. Love 'em I say!
Big fan of Siobhan. Will look for her elsewhere. Having said that, I decided to go through the playlist after seeing her replacement (whom I can't remember the name but seemed lovely) so I'll file through until I get to see her. Neat show - particularly for those who are American and married into a British family. Cheers.
How can these be British rulers when Britain didn't even exist yet for half of the ones mentioned.
They came from the island of Britain. Just because it didn't exist as a political entity didn't mean it didn't exist unless you're seriously suggesting that until the act of union a stretch of water separated England from Wales and Scotland.
TehFrasssaa Well yeah if you are talking the British Isles, although that term didn't even get used before 1600.
Ever since the Scottish referendum though we have seen countless programmes/youtube channels where British history really equals English history(with no history from the other nations). Britain is now self conscious and trying to up its identity, its not really working.There is no empire/industry or war to hold it together. Politically the 4 nations are now very divided.
Even though the UK wasn't officially formed until 1707, Great Britain goes back at least as far as the time of Christ. The first King of England was Egbert I who reigned 800-839. He was a Saxon king.
beatlesrgear great britain was once joined physically to norway.then the earthquakes split it all up. england only came into being when the a nglos and the saxons came to what is not england.
there was no england in the days of christ. jesus only set foot on cornish soil, not english soil. cornwall is ancient. england is just the new kid on the block.
heres johnny This is Barry here, i just created this fake account to prove you wrong that you can have an apostrophe in your name on google+.
Well.. I am from Germany... I don't even know where to start.. but champion of the worst ruler.. I know you know him... and he wasn't even a German... he was a Austrian -.-
I love Germany and when I tell people this if they're stupid they obviously bring him up, so I have to keep having to telling people that he's Austrian.
+Ruby Rogers hitler is cool (constipated overrated out of shape loser)
I can think of several worse than Hitler
Stalin, hirihito and mao was much worse
I am enjoying your postings! I would fancy adding Richard I, given he a) was away most of the time b) spent a lot of money elsewhere and c) cost the country a lot to get him back.
Who keeps coming back here like me just to watch the funny Siobhan Thompson and her funny and informative little videos like this sarcastically made one here?! lol Can’t get enough of her videos bc sorry not sorry I like her bettter than the other one …and btw it’s 2024 already.. cheers 😂
Got to disagree with you on Mary Tudor to be honest. I mean she wasn't the best monarch but I honestly wouldn't say she was the worst.
Yes she killed many of her subjects however Elizabeth I actually burned a lot more just over a longer time span so it is over looked.
As to returning Catholicism, well that only seems natural given her background. Her mother was Catherine of Aragon, Spanish and a devout Catholic and Mary grew up in the time when England was still tied with Rome so obviously she was going to have Catholic views. When she brought back Catholicism to England she did so with a lot of support, particularly Cornwall and the northerners were still Catholics and supported her change in religion. Therefore she was actively ruling the country in ways she genuinely believed beneficial to her country and that can't be disregarded...
If you're looking for the worst King in England I would personally look at Henry VI in the 15th Century who caused the Wars of the Roses
In 6 years Mary burned over 200
Elizabeth burned 9 in 10 years
TwoLovelyGirls
Mary killed 284 yes, however compared to the monarchs around her time period...
Henry VIII - around 72,000
Edward VI - over 5,000
yet Mary is the one known for her brutality?
Yes, Anglophenia suckered in by hundreds of years of protestant indoctrination there
Richard the First was pretty bad, he may have been likable but he never bothered learning the language, only came to the country for something like six weeks and then got himself captured on the way back from the Crusades.Eleanor of Aquitaine spent a load of time running about to raise money to ransom him and then he went off to wage war in France. The fact that he was John's brother really only adds insult to injury.
Agree. His three days of constant executions at Acre where "the streets ran red with blood", was also one of his most remembered acts. But Sir Walter Scott so ennobled him in his novels that no one remembers the bad reality.
I love this stuff.
You should've classed Cromwell as one. Went into more detail. He banned Christmas. What a monster.
Ok, Mary was not that bad. She wasn't a good ruler by any means, but she certainly wasn't the worst. The fuss about her is based pretty much entirely on the fact that in the end, the Protestants won, and therefore got to proclaim pursecuting protestants the Worst Thing Ever. But in terms of body count, she's relatively tame; especially compared with the thousands of soldiers and peasants who died in all those wars. And every monrch at the time persecuted people of other religions, hell, Elizabeth I killed her fair share of Catholic priests. Mary was fairly typical in terms of brutality, and a far more interesting, complex and, yes , tragic character than she's made out to be. She's perhaps most interesting as a study in just how much"history is written by the victors"is true.
Mary burnt far, far more people than previous monarchs & at a time the country was not at war.
Henry VII burnt 10 people in 2 years
Henry VIII burnt 81 in 38 years
Edward VI burnt 2 in 6 yrs
MARY 284 people in 5 years
Her successor Elizabeth I burnt 5 people in 45 years.
It was this brutality that ensured the Protestants won
Andrew Betts
As if it were all about burning and not also about beheading, hanging-drawing-quartering, starving, imprisoning, fining and destroying the land's culture!
Mary did kill more than Elizabeth despite ruling for a far shorter time, she definitely deserved the nickname "Bloody Mary". Although I agree, if she'd lived longer and restored Catholicism she probably would have gone down in history as a great monarch. History is definitely written by the victors.
Depends on whose telling the story. The Vatican considers Bloody Mary a great queen for obvious reasons.
Mary Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and Cockell shells and pretty maids all in a row. I used to love that nursery rhyme when I was little lol. Always thought it was about an actual garden not a queen who liked murdering and torturing people haha
MORE GIVE ME MORE!
More great videos please
are these post william the conqueror rulers? because you shouldve put æthelred the unready or eadwig if not for post william the conqueror you should’ve added richard iii
We have had some pretty useless Presidents but...so far...none have burned anyone at the stake!!!
+scarletfluerr yeah, the mid ages, cruel time for europe
+scarletfluerr like george w. bush
+scarletfluerr I'm sorry as an englishman I am confused. What happened at Salem?
+Jill Elliott People (mostly women) were accused of being witches. They were then put on trial for performing witchcraft and sentenced to burn at the stake. People believed that if they were truly a witch, they would be able to get out of the fire. Of course, everyone was falsely accused, so they were all burned to death. I would recommend looking up The Crucible. It will give you a better idea of what went on.
Oh I see. Just like the protestants in Mary's time I guess however a big difference here was that it affected men more. I assume there was a president of the US during the Salem witch trials to which you refer.
Unfairest ruler of them all? Thats easy, 1) Margaret Thatcher , 2) William the Conquerer and 3) King Stephen.
Margaret Thatcher did not rule - she only thought she did. Awful woman. I'm not sure I'd put Stephen third. Mary I and John were probably worse, but it's hard to judge monarchs from different eras.
AndrewofWare Glad she is dead
***** What, even Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot etc ?
mshara1 I don't know, William the Conquerer did some good. He paved the way for the end of the slave trade with a law that he probably wrote to make money more than on a moral principal. But without it, the British Empire would never have had their staunch stance against slavery post-napoleonic wars which then in turn stopped it for the rest of the world (as Britannia did indeed rule the waves.)
mshara1 What about Ethelred the Unready? He was never ready when the vikings were
What about a video on Britain's best rulers?
Thank you for not demonizing Richard third
I was glad for that also. Then again, there is nothing to demonise. He was a good king! And had he reigned for longer than 2 years and 2 months; he'd have been a great king. Sadly Henry VII had to take that away from him; then leave England with his tyrant son...
Ah, the four George's. Horrible histories anyone!
This should be titled Worst ENGLISH Rulers, not British. Most of these did not rule all of Britain.
But they were rulers in Britain.
John Does that makes no sense. Were French Kings, kings of Europe because France is in Europe? The flag is British but the title term Anglophenia means England. I think she has no idea the difference between England and Britain.
Good video, madam!
Hmm? Why would that be ol' chap?
good stuff
Didn't kind Henry the eighth kill more people though?
Nope
I think you are just assuming that because of the way he treated his wives
+Alex “ap123” Palmer No, he was a paranoid bastard and he executed a hell of a lot of people.
How about the best 6?
What about James II of England or as he was known in Scotland James VII?
Episode 9 isn't available for mobile users. I'm a little upset.
Why did you not do more on Oliver Cromwell he was a terrible ruler who's' actions still cause friction between England and Ireland to this day.
Because Cromwell was never King.
Because they only had 5 minutes?
Maybe because he did things during his rule that can be seen as attributes of a good ruler.
His 'new model army' model, seeds of a more democratic society, many military victories etc.
Those on the other end of military campaigns will never see him as a good man but the fact he is divisive doesn't mean he was a bad ruler.
sealaughin He was never king, although he WAS asked to be king AND was offered a coronation. Crowned or not, he was, though, "in locum tenens regis" as it were - he was the ruler of England when there was no king. He ruled with more authority than any king since, was succeeded by his son and was buried with a crown. As they say, "if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and acts like a duck, chances are..." and the video isn't titled "worst British/English monarchs". He's worth more of a mention than some of the monarchs on the list, but not as worthy as some of the omissions - his own successor, for example!
He was however, extremely good at killing people. Especially the Dutch.
Thank you for not putting Richard III on this list! Shakespeare really did a number on his reputation.
Richard II and Henry VI could have easily made the list too.
Best ruler I'd say was probably James I. He seems the most likeable, anyway.
And thats why guy Fawkes tried to kill him
psyplops Guy Fawkes was more anti-parliament, wasn't he? If he was anti James I, he would have tried to blow up a royal palace instead.
In any case, James I was just ... cool. A decent, moderate chap - and somewhat openly bisexual! Dickens wrote that pretty much the only thing wrong with James I was his unattractiveness.
+Benjamin Rome Clarke he got done for treason though. Probably shouldn't have chosen the State Opening of Parliament with the King present
at least we get Bonfire Night.
remember,
remember,
the 5th
of November,
Gunpowder,
Treason,
and Plot
+Benjamin Rome Clarke He planned to blow up Parliament while James was opening it. So if he had succeeded he would have destroyed Parliament AND the King.
+simhedges Fawkes was hired to blow up Parliament it was planned by Catesby and pals,
while it is true Guido Foulks was a rabid Catholic sympathser he was really only a catspaw
.........M
Is the mentioned Mary the same heroine of the TV series(reign)?
No that is her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots.
oh oh oh this is my favourite so far!!! :) reminds me of school. history was my favourite subject. =:)
1) Margaret Thatcher
Tony Blair !!
There are a number of television shows with both British and American versions (the Office is an obvious example). You should do a run-down of the prime examples.
Why?
British versions tend to be significantly different than US versions even though the show premise is the same.
Are you recording the sound through a potato?
The best ten: 1) Alfred the Great 2) Athelstan 3) Elizabeth I 4) Edgar the Peaceful 5) Edward III 6) Edward the Elder 7) Victoria 8) Henry VII 9) Edward I 10) Henry V
Why is henry the 8th not on the list but bloody mary
Because he was actually quite a good king. A terrible person, but a good(ish) king. Good people don't make the best rulers and vice versa. Mary I - rightly called 'Bloody Mary' - executed hundreds of men, women and children just for being Protestant. This was the only time England's Reformation came close to killing people on a large scale, but even so it was nothing compared with what was happening in continental Europe.
eugene chua Stalin was responsible for more deaths than Hitler, but they were both awful human beings with millions of people's blood on their hands. Many people say Mao Zedong, the Chinese dictator, killed more than both Hitler and Stalin, but I don't know enough about him to tell you how many deaths he was responsible for.
Agree
AndrewofWare She is called Bloody Mary by protestants. Catholics rightly call Elizabeth Bloody Bess. She and William Cecil made life hell for English Catholics and made them second class citizens in their own country.
braemtes23 I think you have been reading some very dodgy history books. Elizabeth killed very few people for religious reasons. The Jesuits and (very few) Cathoplics she did kill were for political reasons. The Jesuits were in England to encourage the Catholics to rebel and kill Elizabeth. Mary killed hundreds of men, women and children just for being Protestants. Eluizabeth did not do this to Catholics. The Jesuits I mentioned were hung not burnt (which was the way heretics were killed). Before you criticise Elizabeth you had probably better look at the tens of thousands (if not hundreds) of Protestants killed by the Catholics in Europe. An estimated 70,000 alone (men, women and children) were killed in the months after the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, for example). Mary was the only time such religious bigotry was seen in England.
How about Henry VIII himself? Or do we just put him on the terrible person not terrible monarch list?
well he wasn't a horrible monarchy... though he was a terrible father, friend and of course husband (just ask Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard)
He was mentally impaired because of a joisting accident.
He seems to have been good for the economy and had a huge impact on making England independent from Europe, though he added more land from France to the kingdom with his conquests. I would put him under "one of the worst human beings of all time" but not call him a terrible monarch, though his seizure and ransacking of the religious buildings (and his forcing all monks and nuns to marry) under the name of converting the populace to Protestantism makes me come mighty close.
Good list. Very much agree on the choices...
For some reason your comments are not showing up on the TH-cam page??? This has happened to me before as well.
modernknightone That's odd.
Where can I find a UK map like those behind her.
Henry VIII was useless and he kept on beheading people.
Useless? How?!
Useless? How?!
Well---Mary I has some pretty stiff competition when it comes to executing and torturing people of the "wrong" religion, such as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I and Boy-king Eddie. Oliver Cromwell wasn't a king (strictly speaking), but he was a pretty nasty piece of work.
Actually Elizabeth I did not execute many people for being Roman Catholic. She tolerated Catholicism - indeed her greatest lover, the Earl of Essex, was Catholic. She did have a lot of Jesuits executed after the Spanish Armada, but not for their religion. They were sent to England by the Pope to encourage the Roman Catholics to rebel. So they were executed for being terrorists - as were the few Catholics who helped them. Compared with the tens of thousands of Protestants killed on the continent at this time she was remarkably tolerant.
You are so good
Interesting video, though I noted Richard I was missing (who I'd put at #1 personally!). James II was pretty terrible too, and...yeah, there are many other options!
I'm not sure I'd put Richard I as no. 1, but he was certainly bad. He only spent six monthos of his ten year reign in England and he just used the country as a source of money for his crusades. Mind you, when he died it meant that John became king and he was probably even worse.
Henry the VIII for some reason has gone down in history as a 'great ruler'. He was, in certain things. What he did to his first wife was atrocious. And all the rest, except for Jane Seymore, who died after birth giving him his much coveted son. He was a pedophile, e.g., Catherine Howard whom he made queen, and other concubines. Yes, he killed many, many people, all because he couldn't get a son, or for political expedience. Luckily, he died before having Katherine Parr, wife #6 beheaded. She came close. His only son, Edward, died in his teens, leaving him his two daughters. Both became queens. His second daughter, by Anne Boleyn, ended up with the throne for years after bloody Queen Mary died. Elizabeth I. She was a very good ruler and very smart. She learned from her mother to NEVER MARRY and give some man power over her. She wasn't a saint, by any means. But a good ruler. Then came King James.........
Manuel Lujan From what I've read, Catherine Howard was just barely 16.
Pamster Berg in England 16 is still the legal age of consent
The age of consent was lower then no doubt. Women were nothing but chattel at that point.
+Pamster Berg I think you're going way out on a narrow-minded limb with the paedophile accusation. Age of consent is a relatively modern concept based on sociological exigencies. There's a gravestone - 17th century, I think - somewhere in East Anglia of a 13-year-old girl, and the stone is inscribed with her name followed by 'virgin.' That's because it was relatively uncommon in those days for a 13-year-old woman still to be in such a condition. Earlier cultures were more inclined to follow the natural line - once you've gone through puberty, you're ready for sex. There's no point in judging the past sniffily through modern eyes.
I am far from narrow minded. I've read and researched a lot from that time period. That's my story and I'm stickin to it.
This is just a terribly uninformed list that seems to put more stock in pop culture than historical fact. King John was a far better king than was King Richard. Britain didn't "decide to get rid of the monarchy", the monarchy was overthrown by Cromwell. And Charles was such a horrible king that they begged him to come back after the Commonwealth collapsed. And leaving Aethelred the Unread off the list is just ridiculous. The man was a boob.
You do realize Charles I was dead by then, right? They invited his son, Charles II. And he was an okay guy, unlike his dad.
King John was obviously worse than Richard I. Richard had his shortcomings as a king but in the end of the day he largely managed to keep his father's empire intact and his subjects were loyal to him. John lost all of the lands on the continent, blowing away all of his subjects' money in the process and was a terrible person who got much deserved comeuppance in the end.
And pre-Norman rulers usually aren't counted as kings of England/Britain.
I slipped up on Charles, but nearly all historians agree that John was a far far better king than Richard. Richard was one of the worst kings in English history, at least if you don't get your history from watching Kevin Costner movies. What was his comeuppance? Ruling for 17 years before he got sick and died? Surely that's divine retribution paying him for all his sinful ways. And pre-Norman rulers are absolutely counted among the kings of England. www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/KingsQueensofBritain/ . Go away son, you bother me.
Can anyone please suggest me other TH-cam channels like this one?
Why?
Who were/are the best rulers in your opinion?
Your history is pretty bad. King John faced off against one the most capable kings in French history. He also didn't exactly start those wars. Finally you forgot to mention that he was stuck cleaning up after the mess left by his older brother; you know the one who bankrupted the country funding pointless wars and crusades. Richard I, who argurable is one Britain's worst Kings. For goodness sake, that man niether spoke english or ever event set foot on the Island. At least John did both.
Also Mary I? Really number 1 after a father like Henry VIII? A man who ordered the death of over 50,000 people. A man who's temper often made him easy prey for manipulation by foreign kings (leading to disastrous foreign policy), and who left the kingdom in far worst shape than when he got it.
When Henry VIII ascended to the throne, England was one of the top powers of Europe. By the time he died, the kingdom of Naples was considered more consequential than England.
Finally Edward II? As kings go, Edwards only real problem was that he was gay. This was the reason he had so many problems. Hardly a reason to name him a worst ruler. Also a bit homophobic really...
There is also the perpetuation of the myth of Magna Carta. Sure John signed it (because he was forced to by his barons and the Church) but it was not in any way intended to grant rights to "yer average English bloke" - it was entirely about ensuring the rights of the barons and the Church. More importantly, pretty much as soon as he got away from Runnymede where he'd been forced to sign it, he dismissed it as invalid because he'd been forced to sign it!
I think you underestimate Henry - he had expensive tastes and, by the end of his rule especially, his sanity is doubtful. It's also doubtful that he was "more bloody" than Mary - sure he executed more than she did, but then again, he had longer to do it!
Edward II? His real problem was NOT that he was gay. There is no real evidence that he WAS gay except the propaganda of his enemies. His real problem was that he was rubbish at being king and his rubbishness was made all the worse not by his "allegedly fluid" sexuality directly but by his allowing himself to influenced by his favourites having chosen unpopular favourites. Indeed, he chose favourites whose popularity matched his own. And the red hot poker story? "Almost certainly" untrue.
There was a lot more about Edward II that was bad. He was a terrible administrator, pitted people against each other, skyyved off on duties, abandoned his pregnant wife and took his boyfriend with him while fleeing a rebellion... not to mention his behavior regarding the Ordinances of 1311. Yeah, the issue was more than who he liked to sleep with.
I agree about Richard I, he was a crap king of England.
Even though he was born in England, favourite son of Elanor of Aquitaine, lived in France, couldn't speak English and he disliked England. His remains are in France too.
Richard the Lionheart, bad king, brilliant military leader.
P.S. He was born on the island.
What about Henry VIII himself? I think he was by far our worst king ever!
+Pen ML While he ruined England's economy he also modernised the navy and army. He was one of the first major European adopters of the cannon. He made England a protestant nation, no longer tied to the Catholic church's laws. And he made England's rise to power possible. As before him England was degrading into a secondary power.
He basically laid the ground work for Lizzy's later "greatness".
+Pen ML Henry VIII was arguably the most accomplished and talented monarch we have ever had. Scarily intelligent he could speak several languages and the quality of his writing (in Latin) was one the reasons why the Pope made him "Defender of the Faith". He was also a pretty good music composer - not Greensleeves, but Past time with Good Company is ace. Then throw in his sporting ability - jousting, tennis, wrestling. Oh and was supposedly very good looking. Amazing guy.
As for the actual ruling... for the time he was pretty effective, given that England was not the richest country in Europe (by a long way).
Temper, fatness? Well he nearly died at a joust that left a permanent and very painful leg injury for the rest of his life. And even so the fatness is probably exaggerated in portraits as kings were supposed to be fat, as that showed how rich they were.
Okay there were the wives, which people go on about endlessly. But of the six...
No 3 died in childbirth (so not Henry's fault);
No 4 was not consummated - and Anne of C was treated very well indeed by Henry afterwards (though the same cannot be said for advisers who got him into it)
No 5 was a guilty as sin, .
No 6 outlived him, and...
No 1 was arguably illegal - and deeply religious Henry probably did believe that the lack of a male heir was God's punishment
Which just least No 2... well, we all make mistakes and frankly there have been kings who have done way worse to wives etc - and if you count No 1, he did not legally marry anyway her anyway.
Henry VIII... Taking everything into consideration, one of the best!!!
By what criteria are you basing that view on?
On his ability as a ruler. I appreciate that on a personal level many (or indeed most) of our rulers have been worse but I terms of a ruler I didn't rule. He ran away from battles did nothing to help heal a war ripped country and let Warwick have a ridicules amount of power
I’m actually related to king John and Henry II via one of john’s welsh mistresses I think. I’m somewhere around king Henry II 39th great granddaughter.
I've watched the video of the different British accents but I can't place hers. Where is she from?
+GiGi Here's a couple theories I have regarding your question. 1- main theory) You know how here in the US, radio and tv professionals take diction classes to erase all regional accents they might have, and they all speak "perfect" American English? I think that's what is going on with her, having taken British diction classes. She's obviously been trained in what the Brits call "presenting". BTW- she is frequently on another TH-cam channel called "College Humor", which has much knowledge, but is often quite hilarious. 2) Here in the US, people may live all their lives in places where the majority of folks speak with the stereotypical accent of that particular region, i.e. the deep south, New York, etc., but some people, despite growing up hearing speech with mostly a particular accent, for whatever reason don't have much of a discernible accent. I know you can't possibly hear me speak, but for example, I live in a small farming town in Missouri. Most people around here speak with a light "country" accent, but I don't . Maybe it's because my mother grew up in San Diego, CA, or maybe because I am a voracious reader with a large vocabulary, or I think sometimes the accent around here makes people sound a bit uneducated, maybe it's a bit of all those things- I don't know. These theories are just from my observations, but I think both are viable explanations.
Hunny Beez Whatever it is I really like it. So, you think this is the equivalent to living in the US without any discernible accent to give away what part of the country you are from? I grew up in the military so we moved a lot. I had learn quick to pick up accents to keep from being picked on. Now I teach people that work for me to speak properly, trying to help them lose whatever accent they have. At least while they are at work. Our accents kind of define us so I would never want to srtrip them of their accents. When I'm out riding my horse with my friends, my country comes out very strong.
+GiGi She's using the standard BBC presenter accent
+GiGi She has a home counties accent, and what is called Received Pronunciation. which is the standard form of British English pronunciation, based on educated speech in southern England, widely accepted as a standard elsewhere.
+The Batman. No no. Whatever she is speaking, it is neither RP nor "home counties". She may be TRYING to speak RP, but her vowels are too shallow and her consonants too slack. There is a definite twang of something else in there.
Henry VIII definitely.
"Divorce, beheaded, and died. Divorce beheaded survived! I'm Henry VIII I had six sorry wives. Some might say I ruined their lives!"
Savannah Myers Henry VIII never had six wives.
He either had two wives (if you're a Protestant - as Henry VIII became) or four wives (if you're Catholic - as all Popes are)...
It's complex, but all to do with annulments (marriages never taking place) and sleeping with your dead brother's wife, and forms of bigamy - All to do with either the Old Testament, laws, or legal changes.
Savannah Myers #horriblehistories
geography27
It's nothing to do with Catholicism or Protestantism. It's to do with the Laws of England at the time. He had four wives - whether you are Catholic or Protestant. Catherine of Aragon was a legal wife. Yes, she was his brother's wife, but his brother was dead when he married Catherine. This made it a legal marriage. Anne Boleyn was not a legal marriage. When he married Anne Henry had yet to annul (not divorce!) Catherine so Anne's marriage was bigamous. Jane Seymour - a legal wife (and Henry VIII's favourite). Anne of Cleves - not a wife. Laws of England at the time said that for a marriage to be considered valid then it had to be consummated. Despite the Royal Household examining the bedsheets every morning they never found any evidence of sexual relations. Both Catherine Howard's and Catherine Parr's marriages were legal.
AndrewofWare It was all about Catholicism and Protestantism. The Pope and Henry VIII weren't liking each other's religious rules and regulations :-)
You missed Margaret Thatcher.
***** Someone should have told her that - we can't tell her now ... hey, ho ....
+LucifersSweetAngel I don't think anyone ever mentioned that to her...
We should have cut the price on her useless funeral...
+Twirlyhead LOL agree, same way the Cons here in the US revere Saint Ronnie.
Twirlyhead Maggie was a legend
The worst thing is, Mary was the first ever official queen of England
Use a de-esser filter on your sound cilps.
I KNEW a ASOIAF or GoT reference was in there somewhere. Totally called it.
Henry VI - when he went mad it was a private tragedy but his recovery was a national disaster
And you couldn't have been my history teacher some years ago?
The ironic thing here is of course that one can't see into the near future to perform an accurate comparison.
I learned more about history in this video than I have learned in history class.
Oh, and i love ur accent. Wish i had one
What about James II?
very good
Mom and I are learning quite a bit off of these videos.
Topherthetenth- There are many ways of writing the titles of monarchs, 1,l and i can all be used. In my comment I stated, as you did that Charles 11 reigned after Charles 1, as with the restoration of the monarchy he took over from Richard Cromwell. Some records were even made to make it seem that Charles 11 had taken over directly from his father, leaving out the Cromwell years. Your comment about all the Charles' going up to Charles X1 or whatever is pointless as I stated in my comment that Charles 11 ruled after Charles 1.
Where is Henry VI?
what happened to henry the 8th??
You can add a new one right this moment. :)
what about king gorge 3
Ethelred and William II could have been on the list too. I agree with your choices though, spot on.
With Charles I having his head chopped off, it's ironic that Cromwell after he died was exhumed and his head ended on a spike and was handed around until 1960 before finally buried. Just goes to show how successful being anti monarchy gets you. Too right as well.
You should make a Prime Minister one...with Thatcher and Cameron at the top of the list
The BBC just announced their prediction on The UK referendum about EU membership. The UK has decided to win the War of 1776 (the one for Independence) and the War of 1812 (the one that secured sovereignty and created our close relations). They did this without firing a shot. I am very pleased and will cook a roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding tomorrow.
Both John and Edward II were WAY worse than Mary ever was. In fact Edward never really ruled for himself, but let his lovers rule for him. The hot poker up the bum rumour of his death is a myth.
Yes; and Richard I and Henry VIII.
I think I might love her, I could listen to her talk forever.
+Kieran Collins 'old youse 'orses Kez