On This Day: January 14

1878 - The Telephone is demonstrated before Queen Victoria.

Bell's early telephone's

     In 1878, Alexander Graham Bell exhibited the operations of a telephone to Queen Victoria at Osborne House, her Christmas holiday home on the Isle of Wight. The Queen herself took the 30 year old Scotsman's invention, and spoke to the Keeper of the Privy Purse (the financial manager for the monarchy), Sir Thomas Biddulph and his wife Mary, who were located elsewhere on the island. During the same conversation, a couple of songs were played over the phone. Other experiments were conducted from Southampton, Cowes, and London, with each city playing some music over the new device to the Queen at Osbone, including the National Anthem.

     Queen Victoria later wrote in her diary that "the whole process [was] most extraordinary", and later expressed her desire to purchase a set of telephones.

1882 - Death of Prince Eddy, the King that never was.

If this man had become King, we never would have had Elizabeth II or the House of Windsor.

 
     In 1892, Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward, Duke of Clarence and Avondale died of influenza at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England, UK during the midst of an international pandemic. He was aged 28. Known as Eddy amongst his family, he was the eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and Alexandra of Denmark (the future Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). Prince Eddy served in the Royal Navy as well as the British Army, and was the second in line to throne, but his premature death meant that he was outlived by his father and grandmother, Queen Victoria. It also meant that that his younger brother Prince George moved up the line of succession, and in the following year he married Eddy's fiance, Princess Mary of Teck. They eventually became King George V and Queen Mary.  

     To this day, rumors and conspiracy theories have suggested that Prince Eddy was Jack the Ripper, but such claims have been dismissed since Eddy could not have been in London during the time of the murder spree.


Photo Credit: Carl Malamud via Flickr cc

On This Day: January 8

871 - Alfred the Great leads an English army to victory over the Danes.

 

Alfred was not yet king that day, but he acted like one.

     In 871, Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon (Wessex) army to repel an invasion by the Vikings at the Battle of Ashdown. At the time, Alfred's brother Æthelred was King of Wessex, but Æthelred wanted to engage in prayer before the battle, whilst Alfred was chomping at the bit to engage with the Danes led by King Bagsecg. Alfred left the King at the church and took his men to a victory over the invaders, though with heavy casualties on both sides - including King Bagsecg and five Danish earls. The result was that the Danes were driven eastward toward London.

1107 - Edgar, King of Scots dies in Edinburgh.

Seal of King Edgar

 
     In 1107, King Edgar of Scotland died at the age of 33. He was the fourth of son of King Malcolm III, but the first to be considered eligible for the throne. His mother Margaret was a sister of Edgar the Ætheling, the last Anglo-Saxon King of England, and so Edgar was a direct descendant of Alfred the Great. King Edgar's reign is known for peace treaty with Norway, under which Norwegian claims in the west of Scotland were recognized and a boundary was settled. Following his death, King Egdar was buried at Dunfermline Abbey.

1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie captures Stirling.

The Young Pretender, as seen in a painting by John Pettie.

 In 1746, Charles Edward Stuart and his rebel forces occupied the Scottish town of Sterling during the Second Jacobite Uprising. Charles - popularly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Young Pretender - was the grandson of the deposed James VII & II, as well as the son of James Francis Edward Stuart - the Old Pretender. He was seeking to reclaim the British throne from his German cousin, George II, whose Protestant family had reigned in Britain since 1714 in order to avoid a succession by the Catholic Stuarts. This eventually resulted in failure, and it was the last attempt by the Stuarts and their descendants to regain the throne.

1864 - Birth of Prince Eddy, the King that never was.

If this man had become King, we never would have had Elizabeth II or the House of Windsor.

 
     In 1864, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale was born at Frogmore House in Windsor. He was the eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and Alexandra of Denmark (the future Edward VII and Queen Alexandra), and was known as Eddy among his family. Prince Eddy served in the Royal Navy and was the second in line to throne, but predeceased his father and grandmother, Queen Victoria in 1892 due to influenza. The result was that his younger brother Prince George moved up the line of succession, and eventually became King George V. To this day, rumors and conspiracy theories have suggested that Prince Eddy was Jack the Ripper. 

2004 - The christening of a new Queen.

The Queen Mary 2 in Southampton in June 2013.

     In 2004, Queen Elizabeth II christened the new Cunard liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, in Southampton. The QM2 is the world's largest ocean liner (as opposed to cruise ship), and is named for the RMS Queen Mary of 1936, which in turn is named after the reigning queen's grandmother, Queen Mary - the wife of George V.



Photo Credit: Odejea via Wikimedia Commons cc, Barry Skeates via Flickr cc