At No.17 Fleet Street can be seen the rare sight of a pre-Fire of London building within the City of London. Built in 1610 as a tavern called The Prince's Arms, this Jacobean edifice rises over one of the gates into the legal district known as the Temple (the land once being owned by the Knights Templar). Later, it was renamed The Fountain and was a popular haunt of the diarist Samuel Pepys. The rooms held an exhibition devoted to Pepys for many years, though it is now closed to the public apart from special occasions.
During the 19th Century, the rooms played host to Mrs Salmon's Waxworks exhibition, at the front of the building, with the pub continuing to operate to the rear.
The original tavern's name (and the one we know it by today) derives from the occasion of the investiture of James I's eldest son - Henry - as Prince of Wales.
This sickly young man died at the age of 18, and the throne passed instead to his brother Charles when James died.
Charles would in time lead the country into Civil War, something which he would literally lose his head over.
Would history have taken a different course had Henry lived? Looking back through the ages, many of our monarchs were not the ones that were supposed to rule - sometimes for better, other times for worse. Many times it has been the spare who inherits, rather than the heir.
Just look at the current monarchy. There wasn't supposed to be a George VI or Elizabeth II in the 20th Century - nor any future Charles III, William V or George VII. Back in 1936, we should have had Edward VIII, but he got tangled up with a certain American divorcee, and so abdicated to be with her rather than assume the Crown. The Anglican Church and the Government of the day were quite prepared to let this happen as there was an acceptable spare - George - with a nice wife and daughters.
Go right back to the post-Conquest era. William the Conqueror was succeeded by his son - also William. William II (Rufus) had a son, but he died sailing back to England when his ship sank. William rather conveniently caught an arrow using his chest whilst out hunting and before his body had hit the forest floor, his younger brother Henry had ridden off to Winchester to have himself crowned Henry I. Henry was in the hunting party, and foul play cannot be ruled out. He also survived the ship wreck which claimed his nephew and rival. A bit too much coincidence there...
Henry's death would lead to the period known as the Anarchy - the civil war between his daughter Matilda, and her cousin Stephen.
This was only resolved when Stephen was given the throne but agreed to name Matilda's son - the future Henry II - as his heir.
Henry II was plagued by family problems - even going to war against his sons.
The successful one, Richard I (the Lionheart), died without issue, so his younger brother came to the throne - Bad King John.
Edward III's heir was Edward - the Black Prince. He died on campaign, so his young son became king - Richard II. An heir rather than a spare, but might he have been a better king had his father lived? Throughout English history, great kings are often followed by feeble ones.
The Wars of the Roses culminated in the rightful heir (and the spare) being murdered and the old king's spare taking the throne instead - Edward IV's younger brother Richard (III).
His short reign ended with the advent of the Tudor dynasty - one plagued by succession problems.
For a start, Henry VIII was the spare. His older brother George died before he could ascend to the throne. Henry got the throne - and his late brother's wife - which ultimately led to the whole English Reformation and centuries of sectarian strife.
The Crown then passed through all three of Henry's children before the line died out with the middle one - the Virgin Queen - which brings us back to where we started with James and his heir Henry.
Charles II died having fathered many sons. Problem was they were all illegitimate, so the throne went to his younger brother James (II). Despite having a male heir, he was thrown out due to his Catholicism, to be replaced by his daughter, Mary, who was married to William of Orange.
England would rather import Dutch and German monarchs than suffer an English Catholic one.
The current Queen's grandfather, George V, was also a spare. The throne was due to go to Edward VII's oldest son, Prince Edward Albert. He is the one who turns up in Jack the Ripper conspiracies - believed by some to have been the Ripper himself, or that the killings were carried out with government sanction to cover up his liaisons with prostitutes. (He is alleged to have married a commoner, and also have to dallied with male escorts as well - his name was implicated in the Cleveland Street Scandal. This was a high class male brothel where post office boys serviced rich and powerful patrons). Prince Eddy certainly wasn't the Ripper, as he is known to have been out of London, or to have been in the presence of plenty of witnesses, on the occasion of some of the killings.
So there you go. The history of the English monarchy is filled with unintended turnings. The Civil War and the Reformation - all under the watch of the spare. How different might things have been had the intended heir not died - or abdicated - when they did? Even the Royals can't survive terminal illness or accidents, so there is no guarantee that the current line of succession will follow its course.
(Had I written that last sentence a few hundred years ago I could have been hung, drawn and quartered - just envisioning a monarch's death being grounds for treason. Glad it's 2015 and not 1515).
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