Moments of Royal History - February 2nd

1141 - Forces under King Stephen are defeated at the Battle of Lincoln

Stephen, King of England

     During a period known as the Anarchy, a civil war waged in England between King Stephen and his cousin Matilda, Countess of Anjou. Stephen succeeded his uncle, Henry I, as King of England in 1135 despite Henry's choice of his daughter Matilda (who was his only legitimate child) as his heir. Matilda pressed her claim to the throne, and at Lincoln, her forces under her half-brother, Robert, Earl of Gloucester decisively defeated King Stephen and his armies in and around the city. Stephen was captured and imprisoned at Bristol, and this allowed Matilda the opportunity to become Queen, though she was not officially proclaimed as such, and would be defeated herself within a few months.

1461 - Yorkist victory at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross

The White Rose of the House of York and the Red Rose of The House of Lancaster

     In this battle of the Wars of the Roses, the Yorkist army of Edward Plantagenet, Duke of York faced the Lancastrian forces of Sir Owen Tudor and his son, Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, who were loyal to King Henry VI. Owen Tudor, a Welsh soldier, was the second husband of Catherine of Valois, the widow of Henry V, and therefore the King's step-father.

     On the day of the battle, the Duke of York and his supporters were said to have seen a meteorological phenomenon known as parhelion at the break of dawn, which three suns appeared to be rising. Duke Edward took this to represent the Holy Trinity, with the implication that God was on their side, and later took the on the image of the Sun in Splendor as a personal emblem. Sure enough, the battle was decisively won by the Yorkists, and it resulted in a rout of the Lancastrian forces and the execution of Owen Tudor. In just over a month, Edward, Duke of York would march into London and be crowned as Edward IV of England.

1901 - Funeral of Queen Victoria

     The late Queen's coffin had been moved by the Royal Yacht Alberta from the Isle of Wight to mainland Britain on February 1st. 

     On February 2nd, it was carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage through the streets of London, baring the Imperial State Crown, orb, scepter, and the Collar of the Order of the Garter. A large crowd lined the streets to pay their final respects to the Queen as the procession went through. Included in it were King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King George I of the Hellenes (Greece), King Carlos of Portugal, King Leopold II of the Belgians, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch of Russia, as well as the Crown Princes of Germany, Romania, Greece, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and Siam. Indeed, it was one of the last great gatherings of European royalty before World War I would see the toppling of many of these crowned heads.

     At Windsor, the horses became restless and unruly, resulting in sailors pulling the gun carriage to its final destination of St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the funeral was held. Two days later, Victoria was laid to rest next to Prince Albert at the Frogmore Mausoleum in Windsor.