The New Murrey and Blue blog

Our monarchs’ nicknames….

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Number five on the list, George IV, Prince of Whales

When I first saw this list of monarchs’ nicknames I felt sure I’d have come across them all. But no, I only knew ten of the eleven. No doubt you know them all, but the one on which I came a cropper was number seven, the Be-Sh*tten – James II. Or James the Sh*t.  Good grief! 😱

Luckily the list gives explanations for all eleven, so readers are left in no doubt about the whys and wherefores.

Poor old Richard III heads the list, of course, but with his vast, ever-increasing army of modern-day supporters I think the terms Crouchback/Crookback is going to fade from memory. I hope so, anyway.

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  1. jay Avatar
    jay

    was richard ever given this ‘nickname’ by comtempories? if not then very unfair to include it on this list! nothing new there but another example of richard being singled out for unfair ‘labelling’.

    yes – viscountess – i had heard of ‘seamus an chaca’ - he must have really disappointed his irish followers – he just used them and then ‘legged it’ unworthy of their loyalty.

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    1. viscountessw Avatar
      viscountessw

      Yes, he WAS known as the Prince of Whales at the time. For example, there is a 1 May 1812 cartoon by George Cruickshank titled “The Prince of Whales or the Fisherman at Anchor” George Cruikshank | The Prince of Whales or the Fisherman at Anchor | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

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  2. jay Avatar
    jay

    my query was about ‘our’ richard being called crookback in his lifetime?

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    1. viscountessw Avatar
      viscountessw

      Ooops, I’m SO sorry. I completely misread your first comment. That’s what comes of answering things when I haven’t had my first cup of tea in the morning. I apologise. As far as I know the name-calling of Richard started with the Tudors. While Richard was alive very few people would have known about his back. His tailor would have been able to disguise it. After Bosworth, when his body was stripped, of course, the scoliosis became obvious to all….and provided a perfect opportunity for Henry Tudor to create a monster of him. I may be wrong, of course, and as I’m not a historian I’m prepared to be corrected. Once again, sorry about the Prince of Whales. 🙄

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  3. jay Avatar
    jay

    i typed my query after a glass of wine so i probably didnt phrase it as clearly as i should have! and i think i misspelled the gaelic for james the sh?t.!

    i think the only negative reference to richards physique that i’ve ever read was that piece of theatre that was supposed to have happened at the council meeting when he claims to have been bewitched. but i think most sensible historians regard that as propaganda – made up probably by morton long after the event- to try and make richard look dangerously volatile and even a bit ‘unhinged’.

    i really hope we can stop these ‘lists’ repeating nonsense – but i suppose its too easy for the authors to just trot out ‘sensational’ traditionalist tropes.

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