Note: The following story blends history, rumor, and royal legend. Its claims should be taken with a grain of salt.
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Conspiracy theories abound, and herein lies one of the most important but least known facts: the true reason behind British royals, up to now, only marrying other royals.
On Friday, 29 April 2011, Prince William is set to marry Kate Middleton. With all the planning involved, I certainly extend to the couple my best wishes and hope that everything goes off “without a hitch.”
Why, for so long, did British royals only marry other royals? Was it solely for political and economic alliances? There is a lesser-known fact -- a secret, really -- steeped in superstition and known only within the confines of British royal society: a centuries-old curse. A dark prophecy warns of apocalyptic consequences should a British royal ever marry a non-royal.
This article first appeared on Socyberty, a site under Triond.
Sounds far-fetched, to be sure, but consider the following:
In Winchester in 1087, King William had a survey created to list the ownership and worth of his kingdom. People of the time referred to it as the Domesday Survey, rumored to be the very Royal Prophecy of Doom to which I refer. King William died that same year.
Hints suggest that this shadowy bit of lore was passed down from monarch to monarch by word of mouth.
On 22 September 1327, the former King Edward II was brutally murdered in his cell in Berkeley Castle by having a red-hot soldering iron plunged into his bowels. What history does not record is that he was being tortured for information regarding this same Royal Prophecy, which he steadfastly refused to divulge. Was his successor contemplating marrying a commoner?
On Valentine’s Day 1400, the deposed King Richard II was hacked to death by eight assassins with axes in his prison at Pontefract Castle, on the orders of his usurper, King Henry IV. It’s said this was an attempt to secure information about the Royal Prophecy. Was King Henry IV also contemplating marrying a non-royal?
More intriguing still is a 1503 poem (celebrating the union between James IV and Margaret Tudor) rumored to quote part of the prophecy itself:
Original Dialect Version:
FOR GIFE THOW DOIS, HURT IS THYNE HONESTY
CONCIDDERING THAT NO FLOUR IS SO PERFYT.
Modern Version:
FOR IF YOU DO, HURT IS YOUR HONESTY
CONSIDERING THAT NO FLOWER IS SO PERFECT.
Perhaps the most compelling evidence came on 10 December 1936, when Edward VIII signed the instrument of abdication, paving the way for him to marry the non-royal Wallis Simpson. Did he abdicate to enjoy a long life (which he did -- living another 36 years, dying in 1972)? What did he fear if, as a king, he married a non-royal?
Is it only the monarch who fears the curse of the Royal Prophecy of Doom?
On Halloween 1955, Princess Margaret, third in line to the throne, declared that she would put duty before love and not marry (non-royal) Peter Townsend. Was she afraid of the consequences of marrying a non-royal if she were ever to ascend the throne?
It is my fervent wish that the happy couple’s wedding this coming Friday is a beautiful and joyful celebration.
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Disclaimer: This article is a work of speculative folklore. While it references real events and figures, the so-called “Royal Prophecy of Doom” is not supported by verified historical records. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.
