February 27th - March 5th
“Happy St David’s Day! ”
On 27th February…
Succession to the Crown discussed in Parliament
1998 - The House of Lords in England first discussed putting an end to 1,000 years of male precedence by allowing a monarch’s first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first-born son. This would mean that if a King or Queen had a daughter before a son, the girl could become queen before her younger brother became king. If the law was to stay the same then the brother would become King no matter how old he was. It took another 15 years for this to become law under the Succession to the Crown Act (2013).
Can you imagine being the older sister to a younger prince, how would you feel if he got to become king over you? Or would you prefer to be in the background and not have to do all the duties that the monarch performs?
On 28th February…
364 - Valentinian I became Roman Emperor. In 399, he managed to restore order to Roman rule in Britain after the native tribes had rebelled and managed to overthrow the Romans that were in control. Valentinian had to send a large army, headed by the General Theodosius, which used soldiers from all over the Roman Empire, in order to try and gain control once more. The local Celts had overthrown the Romans and had been running the country for nearly two years. Less than fifty years later all the Romans left Britain to tackle other problems on the European continent.
On 1st March…
Happy Saint David’s Day
589 - Saint David, the patron saint of Wales died. He is buried at Saint David’s cathedral on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. This day is now known as St David’s day and is celebrated by Welsh people all around the world. People wear daffodils or leeks to celebrate this day in Wales.
Failed escape from the Tower
1244 - Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr, the son of the Welsh leader Llywelyn the Great died whilst trying to escape from the Tower of London. He had made a makeshift rope out of sheets and blankets and was attempting to climb from his window but the rope broke and Gruffydd fell to his death.
On 2nd March
1316 - King Robert II of Scotland was born. He was the son of Walter the Steward and became the hereditary Steward of Scotland at the age of 10 years. He was heir to the Scottish throne through his mother who was the daughter of King Robert the Bruce. Robert II became king when he was nearly 55 years old, he was the first of the Stewart (or Stuart) kings who eventually went on to rule England as well as Scotland.
Man takes a shot at Queen Victoria
1882 - An assassination attempt was made on the life of Queen Victoria whilst she was sitting in her carriage at Windsor Station. Roderick Maclean broke though the crowds and shot at the carriage. He was overpowered by the cheering onlookers and nearby police before he could let off another shot at the queen. Queen Victoria remained calm and continued on her way to Windsor Castle, after all she thought it was just an explosion from an engine and not somebody trying to kill her. This was the eighth assassination attempt on her life.
On 3rd March…
1284 - King Edward I issued The Statute of Rhuddlan which incorporated the Principality of Wales into England. This meant that from that day onwards the people of Wales had to abide by English law.
Inventor of the telephone is born in Edinburgh
1847 - Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
On 4th March…
1824 - The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) was founded by Sir William Hillary in a London Tavern. At the time there were around 1,800 shipwrecks around the coast of Britain every year and Sir Hillary refused to sit by and watch more and more people die from drowning. Living on the Isle of Man he had witnessed many shipwrecks first-hand and had helped to save many lives. He decided it was high time that something was done and gathered the support of prominent businessmen to set up the Institution. Did you know that it was originally called the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck?
1890 - The Forth Bridge was opened in Scotland. At the height of its construction there were about 4,600 workers employed in the building of the bridge. Building it was not the safest of jobs, over 50 people died and in one logbook alone there were 26,000 reports of accidents and sickness.
On 5th March…
Son born to empress Matilda
1133 - King Henry II of England was born in France. He was the son of Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I, and her second husband, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. (Anjou is a region in France.) Henry became King of England and began the Plantagenet Dynasty when his cousin King Stephen died.
1790 - Flora MacDonald the Jacobite heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape dressed as a maid died. She was imprisoned in the Tower of London for aiding his escape but was later pardoned and released.