To submit your answers, you may use the comment box OR e-mail to princessesreign@gmail.com
Princes William and Harry have often been referred to as "The Heir and the Spare." Throughout history, the British line of succession has been somewhat precarious.
1. How many English monarchs since the Norman Conquest have been directly succeeded by their firstborn son?
2. How many English monarchs since the Norman Conquest have been directly succeeded by their firstborn daughter?
3. Which English king had the most children become an English monarch?
4. Which kings were immediately succeeded by their grandchild?
5. Which 20th century British monarchs were not firstborn children?
View Answers
29 January 2011
Interview with an Expert: Marlene Eilers Koenig
Marlene Eilers Koenig had a life-changing experience at the tender age of 12. While exploring a biography of Queen Victoria, she encountered the queen’s family tree and became immediately and permanently fascinated. From that moment, she began her own investigation into the queen’s vast progeny, trawling books and articles, eventually writing to and even phoning descendants. Over many years, she earned the trust and respect of the people she was researching, many of whom actively assisted her in her quest.
Eventually the research project morphed into a book project and Koenig found herself knee-deep in the kind of struggles faced by many first-time writers. “At first, it was very hard,” she recalls. When her first publisher went out of business, she was left was with unpublished manuscript. That’s when she met George Tantzos who connected her with Atlantic International Publications. Koenig’s first book, Queen Victoria’s Descendants, was published in 1987 as a comprehensive guide that sought not only to include all of the descendants in a genealogical volume but also to tell their real stories.
In the mean time, Koenig had launched another major project also borne from her consuming interest in royal history: Royal Book News, a subscription newsletter in which she reviews as many royal books as she can get her eyes on. In the last two and half decades, she has read and reviewed nearly every royal tome produced in English. In January 2011, she transitioned the labor-intensive and budget-busting printed publication to a more cost-effective blog, having first tested the effectiveness of the blogosphere for a couple of years with Royal Musings, a daily compendium of royal news stories from that date in history mixed with other commentary and observations.
In all of her writings and interviews, Koenig is ruthlessly honest in expressing her opinions about poorly researched books and articles about royalty. She is still ticked off that Kitty Kelley cited her in the ‘tell-all’ book, The Royals. Kelly attended a lecture Koenig had presented at the Smithsonian, but Koenig insists, “she learned nothing.” Koenig has also been loudly critical of the deluge of publications following the death of Diana Princess of Wales and the more recent announcement of Prince William’s engagement by authors she calls “hack writers” who rely on unsubstantiated claims, rumors, and speculation. She includes people like Lady Colin Campbell in this group, but asserts that others, like Andrew Morton, clearly use meticulous research.
And, Koenig is one who knows about meticulous research. She has amassed an extensive list of contacts among royal insiders and royals themselves as well as a personal library that includes more than a thousand royal books. She also maintains news clippings about European royals that date back to the turn of the last century. In fact, when European History Journal recently contacted her to write about the 2011 engagement of Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, she was able to begin her research by thumbing through her files at home, where she found original articles about the prince’s birth and the weddings of both his parents and grandparents, among other useful items.
She believes a personal library is critical for a royal expert. “I can pull from personal resources,” she says. “I can easily discover what Queen Victoria had to say about a particular event. You need to have access to material.”
Koenig is frustrated about the lack of English translations of excellent biographies and histories written in other languages, but she says the most difficult thing about her royal avocation is finding time for it outside of her full-time job as a librarian and her other obligations. Nevertheless, she has had a prolific career as a royal expert. In addition to writing, editing or contributing to several books—including last year’s The Grand Dukes, Sons and Grandsons of Russia’s Tsars—she has composed numerous articles for Atlantis, European History Journal, Majesty, Royalty Digest and Royalty. She’s been interviewed as a royal expert by ABC, BBC, CBC, CNN, and NBC as well as the Washington Post, New York Times, and London Daily Telegraph. All of this while still maintaining Royal Book News and adding daily postings on Royal Musings.
Her outspokenness has earned her some vociferous criticism, especially on the message boards. She was one of the first people to point out some of Diana’s less charming characteristics and to criticize Sarah Duchess of York. Since both formerly royal women have a broad base of extremely loyal supporters, Koenig has taken many hits for not being in love with them, too. Nevertheless, she says this has never hindered her ability to find publishers.
Koenig has also had run-ins with people asserting spurious descent from Queen Victoria. Decades of in-depth research on the topic has provided her with more than sufficient credentials to support or denounce such claimants.
In fact, she has continued to maintain such excellent relationships with undoubted descendants of the late queen that she is often invited to royal events and she is on several royal Christmas card lists. Just this week, she posted a copy of the Christmas card she received from the Prince and Princess of Venice on Royal Musings.
As for the changing atmosphere surrounding royalty over the course of her observations, Koenig doesn’t really see a difference in tone from today’s royal coverage. “If you look at the sons of King George III, there was certainly a lot of gossip and speculation about them, although they obviously didn’t have photographers following them around.” She is more concerned about the media outlets that are no longer covering royal news. For instance, “The New York Times doesn’t cover royalty the way it used to; royalty used to be front-page news, but it isn’t any more.”
One reason for her concern is that Koenig believes there is more than just romantic mystique behind royal traditions. “In Europe, among the most stable and wealthiest nations are the ones with monarchies. There seems to be something positive about having a head of state who is tied to history and tradition over one who is elected.”
So, Koenig will continue to share her royal fascination through meticulous research and forthright commentary. In addition to the Arts Journal assignment, she is currently working with publisher Ted Rosvall on a book about the descendants of Danish King Christian IX, who happens to share many descendants with the woman who launched Koenig’s royal career, Queen Victoria. Having published a new edition of Queen Victoria’s Descendants in 1997 and a companion book of updates in 2004, Koenig has continued to maintain her interest in the topic, periodically updating her information although she admits that some of the younger descendants are less interested in her project than their forebears.
Now well beyond her girlhood, Marlene Eilers Koenig has built a solid career as a royal expert by surrounding herself quite literally with Queen Victoria’s descendants. Few people have changed their own lives so completely by turning a page in a book.
Eventually the research project morphed into a book project and Koenig found herself knee-deep in the kind of struggles faced by many first-time writers. “At first, it was very hard,” she recalls. When her first publisher went out of business, she was left was with unpublished manuscript. That’s when she met George Tantzos who connected her with Atlantic International Publications. Koenig’s first book, Queen Victoria’s Descendants, was published in 1987 as a comprehensive guide that sought not only to include all of the descendants in a genealogical volume but also to tell their real stories.
In the mean time, Koenig had launched another major project also borne from her consuming interest in royal history: Royal Book News, a subscription newsletter in which she reviews as many royal books as she can get her eyes on. In the last two and half decades, she has read and reviewed nearly every royal tome produced in English. In January 2011, she transitioned the labor-intensive and budget-busting printed publication to a more cost-effective blog, having first tested the effectiveness of the blogosphere for a couple of years with Royal Musings, a daily compendium of royal news stories from that date in history mixed with other commentary and observations.
In all of her writings and interviews, Koenig is ruthlessly honest in expressing her opinions about poorly researched books and articles about royalty. She is still ticked off that Kitty Kelley cited her in the ‘tell-all’ book, The Royals. Kelly attended a lecture Koenig had presented at the Smithsonian, but Koenig insists, “she learned nothing.” Koenig has also been loudly critical of the deluge of publications following the death of Diana Princess of Wales and the more recent announcement of Prince William’s engagement by authors she calls “hack writers” who rely on unsubstantiated claims, rumors, and speculation. She includes people like Lady Colin Campbell in this group, but asserts that others, like Andrew Morton, clearly use meticulous research.
And, Koenig is one who knows about meticulous research. She has amassed an extensive list of contacts among royal insiders and royals themselves as well as a personal library that includes more than a thousand royal books. She also maintains news clippings about European royals that date back to the turn of the last century. In fact, when European History Journal recently contacted her to write about the 2011 engagement of Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, she was able to begin her research by thumbing through her files at home, where she found original articles about the prince’s birth and the weddings of both his parents and grandparents, among other useful items.
She believes a personal library is critical for a royal expert. “I can pull from personal resources,” she says. “I can easily discover what Queen Victoria had to say about a particular event. You need to have access to material.”
Koenig is frustrated about the lack of English translations of excellent biographies and histories written in other languages, but she says the most difficult thing about her royal avocation is finding time for it outside of her full-time job as a librarian and her other obligations. Nevertheless, she has had a prolific career as a royal expert. In addition to writing, editing or contributing to several books—including last year’s The Grand Dukes, Sons and Grandsons of Russia’s Tsars—she has composed numerous articles for Atlantis, European History Journal, Majesty, Royalty Digest and Royalty. She’s been interviewed as a royal expert by ABC, BBC, CBC, CNN, and NBC as well as the Washington Post, New York Times, and London Daily Telegraph. All of this while still maintaining Royal Book News and adding daily postings on Royal Musings.
Her outspokenness has earned her some vociferous criticism, especially on the message boards. She was one of the first people to point out some of Diana’s less charming characteristics and to criticize Sarah Duchess of York. Since both formerly royal women have a broad base of extremely loyal supporters, Koenig has taken many hits for not being in love with them, too. Nevertheless, she says this has never hindered her ability to find publishers.
Koenig has also had run-ins with people asserting spurious descent from Queen Victoria. Decades of in-depth research on the topic has provided her with more than sufficient credentials to support or denounce such claimants.
In fact, she has continued to maintain such excellent relationships with undoubted descendants of the late queen that she is often invited to royal events and she is on several royal Christmas card lists. Just this week, she posted a copy of the Christmas card she received from the Prince and Princess of Venice on Royal Musings.
As for the changing atmosphere surrounding royalty over the course of her observations, Koenig doesn’t really see a difference in tone from today’s royal coverage. “If you look at the sons of King George III, there was certainly a lot of gossip and speculation about them, although they obviously didn’t have photographers following them around.” She is more concerned about the media outlets that are no longer covering royal news. For instance, “The New York Times doesn’t cover royalty the way it used to; royalty used to be front-page news, but it isn’t any more.”
One reason for her concern is that Koenig believes there is more than just romantic mystique behind royal traditions. “In Europe, among the most stable and wealthiest nations are the ones with monarchies. There seems to be something positive about having a head of state who is tied to history and tradition over one who is elected.”
So, Koenig will continue to share her royal fascination through meticulous research and forthright commentary. In addition to the Arts Journal assignment, she is currently working with publisher Ted Rosvall on a book about the descendants of Danish King Christian IX, who happens to share many descendants with the woman who launched Koenig’s royal career, Queen Victoria. Having published a new edition of Queen Victoria’s Descendants in 1997 and a companion book of updates in 2004, Koenig has continued to maintain her interest in the topic, periodically updating her information although she admits that some of the younger descendants are less interested in her project than their forebears.
Now well beyond her girlhood, Marlene Eilers Koenig has built a solid career as a royal expert by surrounding herself quite literally with Queen Victoria’s descendants. Few people have changed their own lives so completely by turning a page in a book.
Tenno Designation Answers
Provided by Yvonne Strong L.C.R.E.
1. Emperor Akihito is the 125th emperor in the traditional order of succession. How many of those rulers have been female?
The list of Japanese Emperors goes back to the mythical Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC; he was supposed to be the great-great-great grandson of the Sun goddess Amaterasu. Actual real-life emperors (people for whom there's independent historical evidence aside from history books) came on the scene around the 5th century AD, but the emperors are numbered starting with Jimmu; Emperor Akihito is 125th in this list. From the time when the emperors were real-life people, eight women have ruled as Emperor: Empress Suiko (592-628), Empress Kōgyoku (642-645 and then again as Empress Saimei 655-661), Empress Jitō (686-697), Empress Gemmei (707-715), her daughter Empress Genshō (715-724, the only case of a woman passing the throne to her daughter), Empress Kōken (749-758 and then again as Empress Shōtoku 764-770), Empress Meishō (1629-1643), and Empress Go-Sakuramachi (1762-1771). Since it was required for members of the imperial family to marry within certain related families, all the emperors and empresses were related, so the line can always be traced back from one male to a previous male even when there were female rulers in between. In only one case did a woman pass the throne to her daughter, when Empress Kōken succeeded her mother Empress Gemmei.
The actual prohibition on female rulers came with the Meiji Constitution of 1889, an attempt to modernise Japan by creating a new constitution based on European principles. This new constitution was based on Prussian law, and the succession to the throne of Prussia excluded females; Article 2 of the Meiji Constitution specifies that the throne will be succeeded to by imperial male descendants. Nowadays it's claimed that it was this way all along in Japan and the female rulers were anomalies who didn't really count, with the succession eventually reverting to men (where it belonged of course), but at the time these women were considered rulers in their own right. Nowadays, with members of the imperial family marrying complete outsiders, the unbroken descent through the Y chomosome would be lost if women were able to succeed to the throne; however, there's more to genetics than the Y chromosome although certain dinosaurs in the IHA appear to have a fairly shaky grasp of genetics.
Since there's one legendary empress (Empress Jingū, 201-269) and since two of the eight empresses ruled twice and had different names for each of their two reigns, any number from 8 to 11 can be interpreted as a correct answer. Also, since the title Tennō is gender neutral, it's correct to call these rulers Emperor or Empress.
2. By what name is Toshi-no-miya better known?
Toshi-no-miya is more commonly known as Princess Aiko. Young members of the imperial family are given personal titles as well as names. Princess Aiko (whose name means "love child") has the personal title of Toshi-no-miya ("Toshi" means "one who respects others" and "no-miya" means Prince or Princess). Most female names in Japan, and all female names in the imperial family, end in "-ko," which means "child." In the imperial family, male names end in "-hito," which means "person" or adult." The personal title of Crown Prince Naruhito is Hiro-no-miya, and during his two years at Oxford in the 1980s he was known as Prince Hiro. The personal title of his brother Prince Akishino (whose actual name is Fumihito - Akishino is the name of the branch of the royal family that he heads) is Aya-no-miya, and the personal title of their sister Princess Sayako while she was still a member of the royal family was Nori-no-miya.The Emperor's personal title is Tsugu-no-miya.
3. What does the Imperial Regalia consist of?
The Imperial Regalia of Japan (otherwise known as the Three Sacred Treasures) are the sword (Kusanagi), the mirror (Yata no Kagami), and the jewel (Yasakani no Magatama). They're referred to as sacred because they're the most sacred relics of the Shintō religion, originating with Amaterasu the Sun goddess. Legend has it that Amaterasu hid in a cave from her brother Susanoo (god of the sea and storms), so that the world went dark. She was lured out of the cave by Ame-no-Uzume (goddess of dawn) who had hung the mirror and jewel outside the cave so Amaterasu would see her reflection and emerge from the cave, bringing light back to the world. The sword was found by Susanoo inside the tail of an eight-headed serpent that he slew, and he presented it to Amaterasu to make up for the incident that led to her going into hiding in the cave. She presented the regalia to her grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto when she sent him to Earth. He was the great-grandfather of Jimmu, the first (legendary) emperor, and the possession of the regalia signifies the descent of the emperor from Amaterasu. The regalia are used at the enthronement ceremony, where they are presented to the new emperor. It is believed that the jewel (which is thought to be a piece of jade) is stored at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, the mirror is stored at the Inner Shrine of Ise in Mie Prefecture, and the sword is stored at the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya.
4. What is the Utakai Hajime?
The Utakai Hajime is the annual new year's poetry-reading ceremony which takes place at the Imperial Palace in January in the presence of the Emperor and Empress. The tradition of poetry readings at the imperial court goes back for hundreds of years, to the time when the country was ruled by shoguns while the emperors sat in their palaces and concentrated on religious and cultural matters. The poems are the tanka (five-line, or short) form of waka poetry. Poems by the Emperor and Empress and the Crown Prince and Princess are read at the ceremony. The other poems to be read are selected from submissions by the public and professional poets, and the members of the public whose poems are selected for reading are invited to attend the ceremony. Each year there's a different theme for the poems; this year's theme was Leaf. The ceremony is televised, and the poems submitted by the imperial family are posted at the Imperial Household Agency website.
5. In the Meiji restoration of 1868, what was restored?
The Meiji Restoration transferred power from the Tokugawa shoguns, where it had resided since 1603, to the Emperor. Throughout most of history the emperors had been figureheads while various families of shoguns ruled the country on their behalf, but there had been times (usually fairly short-lived) when the emperors had taken power themselves. Hence the term "restoration," since power was being restored to the emperor. By the mid-19th century the Tokugawa shogunate wasn't all that formidable, and the arrival of Commodore Perry and his fleet in the mid-1850s showed how much more advanced Western technology was, while Japan was still a basically feudal society. Emperor Meiji's predecessor, Emperor Kōmei, was already asserting his authority over the shoguns, and after his sudden death in 1867, Emperor Meiji continued the policy. By 1868 he had formally taken power, and the stage was set for direct imperial rule, which was codified in the Meiji Constitution of 1889. After World War II, a new constitution was written by the Occupation, returning the Emperor to the status of a figurehead.
1. Emperor Akihito is the 125th emperor in the traditional order of succession. How many of those rulers have been female?
The list of Japanese Emperors goes back to the mythical Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC; he was supposed to be the great-great-great grandson of the Sun goddess Amaterasu. Actual real-life emperors (people for whom there's independent historical evidence aside from history books) came on the scene around the 5th century AD, but the emperors are numbered starting with Jimmu; Emperor Akihito is 125th in this list. From the time when the emperors were real-life people, eight women have ruled as Emperor: Empress Suiko (592-628), Empress Kōgyoku (642-645 and then again as Empress Saimei 655-661), Empress Jitō (686-697), Empress Gemmei (707-715), her daughter Empress Genshō (715-724, the only case of a woman passing the throne to her daughter), Empress Kōken (749-758 and then again as Empress Shōtoku 764-770), Empress Meishō (1629-1643), and Empress Go-Sakuramachi (1762-1771). Since it was required for members of the imperial family to marry within certain related families, all the emperors and empresses were related, so the line can always be traced back from one male to a previous male even when there were female rulers in between. In only one case did a woman pass the throne to her daughter, when Empress Kōken succeeded her mother Empress Gemmei.
The actual prohibition on female rulers came with the Meiji Constitution of 1889, an attempt to modernise Japan by creating a new constitution based on European principles. This new constitution was based on Prussian law, and the succession to the throne of Prussia excluded females; Article 2 of the Meiji Constitution specifies that the throne will be succeeded to by imperial male descendants. Nowadays it's claimed that it was this way all along in Japan and the female rulers were anomalies who didn't really count, with the succession eventually reverting to men (where it belonged of course), but at the time these women were considered rulers in their own right. Nowadays, with members of the imperial family marrying complete outsiders, the unbroken descent through the Y chomosome would be lost if women were able to succeed to the throne; however, there's more to genetics than the Y chromosome although certain dinosaurs in the IHA appear to have a fairly shaky grasp of genetics.
Since there's one legendary empress (Empress Jingū, 201-269) and since two of the eight empresses ruled twice and had different names for each of their two reigns, any number from 8 to 11 can be interpreted as a correct answer. Also, since the title Tennō is gender neutral, it's correct to call these rulers Emperor or Empress.
2. By what name is Toshi-no-miya better known?
Toshi-no-miya is more commonly known as Princess Aiko. Young members of the imperial family are given personal titles as well as names. Princess Aiko (whose name means "love child") has the personal title of Toshi-no-miya ("Toshi" means "one who respects others" and "no-miya" means Prince or Princess). Most female names in Japan, and all female names in the imperial family, end in "-ko," which means "child." In the imperial family, male names end in "-hito," which means "person" or adult." The personal title of Crown Prince Naruhito is Hiro-no-miya, and during his two years at Oxford in the 1980s he was known as Prince Hiro. The personal title of his brother Prince Akishino (whose actual name is Fumihito - Akishino is the name of the branch of the royal family that he heads) is Aya-no-miya, and the personal title of their sister Princess Sayako while she was still a member of the royal family was Nori-no-miya.The Emperor's personal title is Tsugu-no-miya.
3. What does the Imperial Regalia consist of?
The Imperial Regalia of Japan (otherwise known as the Three Sacred Treasures) are the sword (Kusanagi), the mirror (Yata no Kagami), and the jewel (Yasakani no Magatama). They're referred to as sacred because they're the most sacred relics of the Shintō religion, originating with Amaterasu the Sun goddess. Legend has it that Amaterasu hid in a cave from her brother Susanoo (god of the sea and storms), so that the world went dark. She was lured out of the cave by Ame-no-Uzume (goddess of dawn) who had hung the mirror and jewel outside the cave so Amaterasu would see her reflection and emerge from the cave, bringing light back to the world. The sword was found by Susanoo inside the tail of an eight-headed serpent that he slew, and he presented it to Amaterasu to make up for the incident that led to her going into hiding in the cave. She presented the regalia to her grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto when she sent him to Earth. He was the great-grandfather of Jimmu, the first (legendary) emperor, and the possession of the regalia signifies the descent of the emperor from Amaterasu. The regalia are used at the enthronement ceremony, where they are presented to the new emperor. It is believed that the jewel (which is thought to be a piece of jade) is stored at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, the mirror is stored at the Inner Shrine of Ise in Mie Prefecture, and the sword is stored at the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya.
4. What is the Utakai Hajime?
The Utakai Hajime is the annual new year's poetry-reading ceremony which takes place at the Imperial Palace in January in the presence of the Emperor and Empress. The tradition of poetry readings at the imperial court goes back for hundreds of years, to the time when the country was ruled by shoguns while the emperors sat in their palaces and concentrated on religious and cultural matters. The poems are the tanka (five-line, or short) form of waka poetry. Poems by the Emperor and Empress and the Crown Prince and Princess are read at the ceremony. The other poems to be read are selected from submissions by the public and professional poets, and the members of the public whose poems are selected for reading are invited to attend the ceremony. Each year there's a different theme for the poems; this year's theme was Leaf. The ceremony is televised, and the poems submitted by the imperial family are posted at the Imperial Household Agency website.
5. In the Meiji restoration of 1868, what was restored?
The Meiji Restoration transferred power from the Tokugawa shoguns, where it had resided since 1603, to the Emperor. Throughout most of history the emperors had been figureheads while various families of shoguns ruled the country on their behalf, but there had been times (usually fairly short-lived) when the emperors had taken power themselves. Hence the term "restoration," since power was being restored to the emperor. By the mid-19th century the Tokugawa shogunate wasn't all that formidable, and the arrival of Commodore Perry and his fleet in the mid-1850s showed how much more advanced Western technology was, while Japan was still a basically feudal society. Emperor Meiji's predecessor, Emperor Kōmei, was already asserting his authority over the shoguns, and after his sudden death in 1867, Emperor Meiji continued the policy. By 1868 he had formally taken power, and the stage was set for direct imperial rule, which was codified in the Meiji Constitution of 1889. After World War II, a new constitution was written by the Occupation, returning the Emperor to the status of a figurehead.
22 January 2011
Casting Royal Wedding Fans
Announcement via Mandy's Royalty/Royal Representative
CASTING ROYAL WEDDING FANS FOR TRIP OF A LIFETIME!
Can you name William and Kate’s favorite London nightclub?
Do you run a blog that reports every detail of the royal wedding planning?
Did you grow up with a Princess Diana-obsessed mother?
Do you dream of marrying into the royal family?
If so, you may fit the bill for a major American cable network, currently seeking the country’s most obsessed royal wedding fans. We’re looking for outrageous, outgoing characters who can’t get enough Wills and Kate! Candidates must be American and willing to travel. To apply, please email royalweddingcasting@gmail.com and a producer will send you an application.
CASTING ROYAL WEDDING FANS FOR TRIP OF A LIFETIME!
Can you name William and Kate’s favorite London nightclub?
Do you run a blog that reports every detail of the royal wedding planning?
Did you grow up with a Princess Diana-obsessed mother?
Do you dream of marrying into the royal family?
If so, you may fit the bill for a major American cable network, currently seeking the country’s most obsessed royal wedding fans. We’re looking for outrageous, outgoing characters who can’t get enough Wills and Kate! Candidates must be American and willing to travel. To apply, please email royalweddingcasting@gmail.com and a producer will send you an application.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)