BeatrixFan's Homework
Originally posted by BeatrixFan,
here.
.......................................................
22 October 2005
This is my second investigation. On this one, I did things a little differently.
I decided to start at Alfred the Great and used the Jus Soli rule - wherever a person was born, that was their nationality.
For Example;
Edward VII
His Paternal Nationality is German
His Maternal Nationality is English*
His Jus Soli Nationality is English
*Based on Jus Soli not on nationality of mother and father
So, what we have is a tree based on Jus Soli that can be used in various ways. If you want to determine nationality by paternal line, then follow the blue nationalities, making changes as you go - do the opposite for maternal.
The Lines do not show 'The Son/Daughter of' but just seperate each Monarch.
As you can see, there have been several breaks in the 'English' Monarchs.
The First Break comes after Edward II - he was succeeded by the Danish King Canute resulting in Danish Monarchs.
This is again broken after HarthaCanute - he was succeeded by the English King, Edward the Confessor.
This is broken by the Hungarian Edgar II. After Edgar, we get William the Conqueror - the first French King of England.
The line goes back and forth between French and English Monarchs until Henry II when it seems to stablise. English Monarchs reign until James I, who is the first Scottish King of England.
From Charles I - William III, the English line is unbroken. William III is Dutch, but the line once again goes back to the English with the accession of Queen Anne.
Germans then come into play. George I and George II are German Kings of England interrupted by George III. He stablises the line resulting in English Monarchs up until today.
HOWEVER, that is only based on the use of Jus Soli which is the official way of determining nationality (lucky for the British Royal Family). The Jus Soli rule means that they can boast English nationality since George III - or can they? If based on Maternal Nationality, things are little different - and again, based on Paternal Nationality, things are different.
Paternally, Alfred the Great is again, a true English King. The Line continues to Canute - the Danish King. This means that Harold I and HarthaCanute are Danish, as is every other monarch until William I, a French King.
French Monarchs reign until Henry VII - a huge space in time.
Henry VII is the first true English King since Alfred the Great, after a period of French and Danish Monarchs. His Son, Henry VIII and Henry VIII's children, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I all enjoy being pure English Monarchs based on paternal nationality. The English monarchs continue until William III - Dutch of course. Queen Anne takes the line back to the English until George I when we get our German Monarchs.
George I is the first German monarch. And he is totally German as far as paternal lines go. It means that every monarch since George I has been German including Queen Elizabeth II.
Her son will be the first Greek King of England based on his father's paternal nationality.
The Maternal Line proves to be even more colourful!
From Alfred the Great to Edmund II all is well. English through and through. Canute interrupts the English Kings but based on maternal nationality, the English Kings continue through until Edgar II.
William the Conqueror comes along and begins the French line. His wife, Mathilda of Flanders, is French. This makes William II French, and Henry I, French Kings of England.
King Stephen is also French and the French line continues through until Edward II who is Spanish through his mother, Eleanor of Castille. By marrying Isabella of France, Edward secures the French line which carries on until Henry IV - who is English - the English Kings return.
Every King is English until Henry V. He marries Catherine of Valois. His son is Henry VI who is once again a French King of England.
The English Kings return under Edward IV but based on maternal nationality, Edward's son, Edward V is Luxembourgish. The first Luxembourgish King of England.
Richard III restores the English line which continues through to George I. Even the Dutch William III had an English mother and so maternally, was an English King of England.
George I isn't a German King, rather, he is a Dutch King. By marrying Sophia of Celle, he makes the line German. This continues until Edward VII who marries the Danish, Alexandra.
George V is Danish, but by marrying the German (through maternal line) Mary, he ensures that his sons, Edward VIII and George VI are German. Elizabeth II becomes an English Queen through her English mother, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. This secures that Charles III will be and English King, and through his first wife, his son, William V will also be an English King.
TO SUM UP
By using the
Jus Soli method, the current Queen is most definately
English.
By using the
Paternal method, the current Queen is most definately
German.
By Using the
Maternal method, the current Queen is most definately
English.
