Two Kings died on this day.

6 February 1685 - Charles II, King of England and Scotland 1660-85, died.

Fled into exile aged 15 in the closing stages of the Civil War. Should have been King at 18 upon his father's execution in 1649 but Parliament abolished the Monarchy. Recognized as King-in-exile by Royalists. Landed in Scotland in 1650 and was accepted as King and crowned the following year. Forced back into exile later that year when his invasion of England failed.

The Commonwealth collapsed within two years of Oliver Cromwell's death and Charles was restored as King in 1660.   

6 February 1952 - George VI, King of GB 1936-52, died.

Died in his sleep aged just 56. His daughter Elizabeth, who was on a visit to Kenya, succeeded to the Throne whilst stating at Treetops, a lodge built, quite literally in the trees, thus becoming the only Monarch to inherit a Crown whilst up a tree. Thus today is the 68th anniversary of her accession. 

Ronnie Regan born in 1911. Another great conservative who I thought was a complete plank when he first came along but like Trump, he proved me entirely wrong. Our Queen Liz came to the throne in 1952

7 February 1812 - Charles Dickens, born.

Probably the world's greatest novelist, if he isn't I'd like to know who is. 

He's got my vote Mark. Also, Sir Thomas More born in 1477

8 February 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots 1542-67, executed.

Forced to abdicate in 1567 Mary fled to England the following year in an attempt gain the support of Queen Elizabeth to help her to regain her Throne. However Elizabeth had no such intention and Mary was held in confinement in a number of secure residences for the rest of her life.

Throughout there was the problem of what to do with her, coupled with the fact that she was Elizabeth's heir to the English Crown and therefore the centre, more often unknowingly, of intrigues against the Queen of England. Many in authority wanted her dead and sought to trap her, but Elizabeth was reluctant to shed the blood of an annointed Queen.

Finally in 1586 Mary went too far, she became involved in a desperate plot not only to secure her release but to overthrow Elizabeth. She was arrested and tried for treason. Convicted in October 1586 she awaited death, but Elizabeth refused to sign the death warrant. Finally she signed it in February 1587 and Queen Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire aged 44. 

Elizabeth took on the responsibilities of the ruling Monarch on Feb 6th 1952 but wasn't crowned Queen until June 2nd 1953 soon after we got our first TV set. "Operation Pony Express" flew the film from Buckingham Palace to Canada by Helicopter, RAF Bomber and then RCAF Fighter Jet so Canadians could see the film of the Coronation the same day that it happened.

American General Sherman born in 1820

9 February 1957 - Miklos Horthy de Nagybanya, Regent of Hungary 1920-44, died.

An important figure in World War II, but little known today.

Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the closing months of World War I Admiral Horthy emerged as the ruler of Hungary after two years of chaos following the collapse and dismemberment of the Habsburg Empire. He adopted the title Regent stating that when the time was right the former Emperor Karl would be restored as King of Hungary, but that time never came, although Horthy maintained the fiction that he was acting as Regent for the yet to be proclaimed King.

Initially he led a moderate government, but with the rise of Fascism and the arrival of Hitler he became increasingly authoritarian. Hungary gained land from Czechoslovakia in 1938 and from Roumania in 1940 thanks to Hitler, but Horthy was reluctant to get involved in a full scale war with the West. However under pressure from Berlin he invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941 and declared war on Russia in June.

By 1943 with events going badly for Hungary Horthy refused Hitler'as demands for more men to be sent to the Eastern Front against Russia and in October 1944 he began negotiations for a separate peace with Russia. This resulted in his overthrow and arrest by the Germans who deported him to Bavaria. Here he remained until liberated by American troops in May 1945. Initially held under arrest as a potential war criminal he was released at the end of the year and died in exile in Portugal aged 88.    

10 February 1567 - Henry, Duke of Albany, murdered.

Better known as Lord Darnley, the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the 19 year old who captured the affections of the 22 year old Queen in 1565. Their marriage was extremely unpopular with the powerful Scottish nobility; Darnley, although of Scottish descent, had been born and brought up in England. He was created Duke of Albany on the day of his marriage.  

Mary swiftly became pregnant whereupon their marriage fell apart, Her husband was vain, cruel and above all jealous. After the birth of their son in June 1566 they lived mostly apart. He alienated almost everyone, so much so that early in 1567 he learnt of a plot to kill him. He fled to the safety of his father's house in Glasgow, where he fell ill. He was persuaded by Mary to return in stages to Edinburgh. Here the story becomes murky, the full extent, if any, of the Queen's complicity in the murder plot has never been revealed. What is known is that early in February he lodged at Kirk o' Field, a house just inside the Edinburgh city walls where Mary would visit him and sometimes stay herself. 

On the evening of 9 February Mary was at Holyrood Palace and Darnley and his five servants remained at Kirk o' Field. At around 0200 10 February a huge explosion, heard all over the city, reduced the house to rubble. The first on the scene found one man alive and two bodies in the garden, those of Darnley and his valet. They were both dead but showed no signs of blast injuries, there were however marks around their necks, they had been strangled. 

The likely scenario is this - the conspirators intended to kill Darnley by smuggling barrels of gunpowder into the cellar and blowing up the house as he slept, but alerted by some noise he and his valet escaped through the window as the blast destroyed the house. Cornered in the garden they were strangled.

Being a chess fan I thought I'd put a word in for probably the greatest chess player of all time, Gary Kasparov. On this day in 1996 he began a competition with a computer built specifically by IBM for the job called Deep Blue. It was over six matches and Kasparov won 4-2. I remember at the time jumping for joy at the news of his first win, thinking, the bastards haven't passed us yet, but it would be short lived and Deep Blue beat him the following year and no human will ever beat the likes ever again. I was listening to Kasparov being interviewed on the radio and he was talking of the match and said,.... well you have to remember, your phone has more computing power now than Deep Blue.

11 February 1466 - Elizabeth of York, born.

11 February 1503 - Elizabeth of York, died.

The daughter of a King (Edward IV), the sister of a King (Edward V), the wife of a King (Henry VII) and the mother of a King (Henry VIII).

When Henry Tudor, the Lancastrian claimant, defeated and killed the Yorkist King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 the most senior Yorkist figure remaining was Richard's niece 19 year old Elizabeth. Henry claimed the Throne thus introducing the Tudor family to history. In order to quell any resurgence of the defeated Yorkists he married Elizabeth thereby uniting the two families. In doing so he authorized the design of the emblem of the Tudor Rose which combined the white rose of York with the red rose of Lancaster.   

Elizabeth bore him eight children, but died on her 37th birthday shortly after giving birth to her eighth child.

On this day in 1847 Thomas Edison was born. Singularly or in partnership, he owns the world record of 1,093 patents. His most famous none invention was the light bulb. True, he was working on the idea but he could not solve the problem of a lasting element. Others around the world were also working on the problem but it was Englishman Joseph Swan who solved it first. Edison stole his idea and tried to patent it in the US. Swan took him to court in the US and won, which resulted in a partnership called the Edison Swan company, which worked for both of them, as Swan was a useless businessman but had the product and Edison was a brilliant businessman and needed the product. 99% of Americans and 95% of the world still believe Edison invented the light bulb. As for the rest of his patents, Edison employed an inventing team of brilliant engineers and scientists, who worked their magic on every kind of problem and when they came up with a new idea or invention, Edison patented it as his own. Not to say Edison wasn't a brilliant man, he was but not on the scale he is portrayed, as there are so many unsung geniuses who invented Edison patents who are now completely forgot.

Yes, they did have a go in the Philippines Mark but it was not their finest hour. Too many dead bodies with bullets in the back of their heads.

Yes, they did have a go in the Philippines Mark but it was not their finest hour. Too many dead bodies with bullets in the back of their heads.

‍Well there you go again Major, along with toadie Pete claiming you invented everything. To set things straight, Americans invented the assembly line, the light bulb, the steam engine, the telephone & basketball.

Being a chess fan I thought I'd put a word in for probably the greatest chess player of all time, Gary Kasparov. On this day in 1996 he began a competition with a computer built specifically by IBM for the job called Deep Blue. It was over six matches and Kasparov won 4-2. I remember at the time jumping for joy at the news of his first win, thinking, the bastards haven't passed us yet, but it would be short lived and Deep Blue beat him the following year and no human will ever beat the likes ever again. I was listening to Kasparov being interviewed on the radio and he was talking of the match and said,.... well you have to remember, your phone has more computing power now than Deep Blue.

‍What about Bobby Fisher, Major? I learned to play chess at my local PAL (police athletic league) when I was just a pup. Learned to box there as well. Anyway, hadn't played chess in 50 years & 5 years ago was with my almost brother-in-law in Austin Texas. He is a PHD & a libtard all the way. He challenges me to a game of chess & I beat him twice. After the second game when he toppled his King.........it was my finest hour.

11 February 1466 - Elizabeth of York, born.

11 February 1503 - Elizabeth of York, died.

The daughter of a King (Edward IV), the sister of a King (Edward V), the wife of a King (Henry VII) and the mother of a King (Henry VIII).

When Henry Tudor, the Lancastrian claimant, defeated and killed the Yorkist King Richard III at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 the most senior Yorkist figure remaining was Richard's niece 19 year old Elizabeth. Henry claimed the Throne thus introducing the Tudor family to history. In order to quell any resurgence of the defeated Yorkists he married Elizabeth thereby uniting the two families. In doing so he authorized the design of the emblem of the Tudor Rose which combined the white rose of York with the red rose of Lancaster.   

Elizabeth bore him eight children, but died on her 37th birthday shortly after giving birth to her eighth child.

‍I assume it was an arranged marriage, but after 8 children they seemed to get along well, eh?

He is a PHD & a libtard all the way. He challenges me to a game of chess & I beat him twice. After the second game when he toppled his King.........it was my finest hour. Well there you go Tom, a degree in life and the school of hard knocks beats a PHD (Phucking Dick Head) every time. I played for a team in our local chess league for around ten years but incredibly, it became just too expensive for me to accept. We moved from a free pub to a social club, which meant you had to join the club to enter to play chess, even though I never went there otherwise. There's 40 quid. Then you had to pay the club fees, another 40 quid. then you had to pay to be a member of the British chess organisation, another lump of money, then some other grabbing bastards called the ranking group, who gave you a ranking for how good you were, put their grubby mitts out. We never needed them for years, yet suddenly you had to pay them. Then you had to pay over and above to play on the night. I told them they were taking the piss and quit. I miss it still but all that money didn't take into account travelling expenses and the fees other clubs charged you to enter their social club for a few hours, even if you didn't have a drink. Naarrr, bollocks to that. Goodness knows how expensive it's become since I left. I now play online and play almost every day. I can't go a day without a game of chess, as it wakes me up and gives the ol' grey matter a proper daily workout. How else could I cope with Pete? As for Bobby Fisher, it's a tough one that. I said Kasparov was probably the best of all time but there are millions of Fisher junkies who would give you a sound argument there. Fisher was a freak of nature, a natural who never had to try hard to be a genius. On his day, and there were thousands of them, he was glorious and did things no other chess player would dream of. Kasparov was a typical Soviet machine, manufactured and tuned to be a champion whilst still shitting in a nappy. He had all the natural ability, which was then hardened by the state. Had Fisher been a Soviet he would have been the greatest for all time or committed suicide. We'll never really know who was the best but i would still have to put my shirt on Kasparov.

He is a PHD & a libtard all the way. He challenges me to a game of chess & I beat him twice. After the second game when he toppled his King.........it was my finest hour. Well there you go Tom, a degree in life and the school of hard knocks beats a PHD (Phucking Dick Head) every time. I played for a team in our local chess league for around ten years but incredibly, it became just too expensive for me to accept. We moved from a free pub to a social club, which meant you had to join the club to enter to play chess, even though I never went there otherwise. There's 40 quid. Then you had to pay the club fees, another 40 quid. then you had to pay to be a member of the British chess organisation, another lump of money, then some other grabbing bastards called the ranking group, who gave you a ranking for how good you were, put their grubby mitts out. We never needed them for years, yet suddenly you had to pay them. Then you had to pay over and above to play on the night. I told them they were taking the piss and quit. I miss it still but all that money didn't take into account travelling expenses and the fees other clubs charged you to enter their social club for a few hours, even if you didn't have a drink. Naarrr, bollocks to that. Goodness knows how expensive it's become since I left. I now play online and play almost every day. I can't go a day without a game of chess, as it wakes me up and gives the ol' grey matter a proper daily workout. How else could I cope with Pete? As for Bobby Fisher, it's a tough one that. I said Kasparov was probably the best of all time but there are millions of Fisher junkies who would give you a sound argument there. Fisher was a freak of nature, a natural who never had to try hard to be a genius. On his day, and there were thousands of them, he was glorious and did things no other chess player would dream of. Kasparov was a typical Soviet machine, manufactured and tuned to be a champion whilst still shitting in a nappy. He had all the natural ability, which was then hardened by the state. Had Fisher been a Soviet he would have been the greatest for all time or committed suicide. We'll never really know who was the best but i would still have to put my shirt on Kasparov.

‍Well you must be a grand master by now Major. I really like chess but my lack of play resulted from a lack of opponents, now I can always get a game of checkers or euchre. Anyone here play euchre or pinnacle? I do play poker (Texas Hold-Em) once a week with the R.O.M.E.O. club (retired old men eating out),

12 February 1554 - Lady Jane Grey beheaded.

Always referred to as Lady Jane Grey, but she was nominally Queen for nine days in 1553 and as she was married to Lord Guildford Dudley it ought to be Queen Jane or Lady Jane Dudley.

By the spring of 1553 it was clear that the boy King 15 year old Edward VI was dying. The Regent, the Protestant John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland was fully aware that Edward's heir, his Catholic half-sister Mary, would probably order his execution, so he organized a Protestant coup to save his own skin. Firstly he married off his 17 year old son Lord Guildford to Lady Jane Grey, the 15 year old daughter of the King's cousin and more importantly a Protestant.

As Edward lay dying Northumberland persuaded him to change his will leaving Jane as his heir. He died on 6 July and four days later Jane was proclaimed Queen with Northumberland, naturally, as Regent.

However things began to unravel immediately. The rightful Queen Mary was at large in East Anglia and Northumberland set out with an army to capture her. In his absence the Privy Council in London got cold feet when they realized that the coup had no popular support, so on 19 July they revoked their allegiance to Jane and Northumberland declared her deposed and accepted Mary as Queen.

Jane, the nine day Queen and her husband were imprisoned in the Tower of London as Mary made her entry into the City. Within three weeks Northumberland had been executed. But no such action was taken against the young couple for several months. They were tried for treason in November and sentenced to death. However Mary was reluctant to execute the two teenagers and hesitated. The announcement of Mary's intended marriage to Philip of Spain changed everything. A rebellion against the proposed match broke out in January and there were calls for Jane to be restored. What finally sealed Jane's fate was a declaration by Philip that he could not marry Mary if the threat posed by Jane remained, so she gave in and ordered her execution.

The 17 year old Lord Guildford was beheaded on Tower Green first, his wife saw his headless body as it was carried on a cart past her window before she too faced the headman's axe. At 16 she was the youngest person to be beheaded in England.   

Sadly just a pawn in a bigger game she had no control over

Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin born on this day in 1809 and Chile declared independence from Spain.

Two of the great names of the 19th century born on the same day, that doesn't happen very often. 

Two of the great names of the 19th century born on the same day, that doesn't happen very often. 

‍1964 - The British invasion started with the Beatles playing at Carnegie Hall. For most of the rest of the decade we were infested with awful music.......with some exceptions of course.

Two of the great names of the 19th century born on the same day, that doesn't happen very often. 

‍1964 - The British invasion started with the Beatles playing at Carnegie Hall. For most of the rest of the decade we were infested with awful music.......with some exceptions of course.

‍Well it has been a couple of weeks since GB cast off the EU's yoke. We Colonials are worried about you Limey's well-being......without toilet paper & all. Wait a minute, GB has given the world the Magna Carta, parliamentary democracy, the Industrial Revolution, & human rights, I guess you can survive sans bum-wad. Never Mind!!!!!

The EU is feeling very motherless at the moment Tom, being deprived of Britain's tit. Britain has always scrutinised them for centuries, making sure no single despot can exercise  domination over them all. One of the top movers and manipulators of the EU, Barnier (I think) stood up in the EU parliament and said how sad he was to see the nation that had twice saved them from tyranny but he should have said four times, as he forgot Louis 16th, which John Churchill (Winnies relative) saw off and of course our old friend Napoleon, who Wellington saw off. That's not forgetting the vast amount of money Britain paid into this left wing jamboree. So far, the earth hasn't opened up and swallowed us whole and we've not yet reverted to chasing balls of shite up and down our backs with tracing paper. Project fear has failed and has seen to have failed. We are on the verge of a new and exciting future, free of the confines and oppressive bureaucracy of the socialist EU, free to pursue the tried and trusted Anglo Saxon model of entrepreneurial capitalism. I see our exit as the hole in the dam and once the rest see us prospering, they will follow suite. It's not about prosperity to socialists, it's about control, it's always about control. The EU has rules to govern every breath you take, every word you utter, every movement you make. EU junkies in this country are still in mourning and some Lemmings are still flying EU flags over their town halls and would gladly see their citizens suffer economic disaster if only it could restore us to the freeby, political jamboree. You can feel the mood of optimism in this country now, the new sense of political freedom and the economic triumphs to come.

The EU is feeling very motherless at the moment Tom, being deprived of Britain's tit. Britain has always scrutinised them for centuries, making sure no single despot can exercise  domination over them all. One of the top movers and manipulators of the EU, Barnier (I think) stood up in the EU parliament and said how sad he was to see the nation that had twice saved them from tyranny but he should have said four times, as he forgot Louis 16th, which John Churchill (Winnies relative) saw off and of course our old friend Napoleon, who Wellington saw off. That's not forgetting the vast amount of money Britain paid into this left wing jamboree. So far, the earth hasn't opened up and swallowed us whole and we've not yet reverted to chasing balls of shite up and down our backs with tracing paper. Project fear has failed and has seen to have failed. We are on the verge of a new and exciting future, free of the confines and oppressive bureaucracy of the socialist EU, free to pursue the tried and trusted Anglo Saxon model of entrepreneurial capitalism. I see our exit as the hole in the dam and once the rest see us prospering, they will follow suite. It's not about prosperity to socialists, it's about control, it's always about control. The EU has rules to govern every breath you take, every word you utter, every movement you make. EU junkies in this country are still in mourning and some Lemmings are still flying EU flags over their town halls and would gladly see their citizens suffer economic disaster if only it could restore us to the freeby, political jamboree. You can feel the mood of optimism in this country now, the new sense of political freedom and the economic triumphs to come.

‍Well the "remainers" could be a major problem Major (double entendre intended). The colonial press has given their % @ 47 which of course is kinda high.

13 February 1542 - Katherine Howard beheaded.

The fifth and youngest of Henry VIII's six wives. She caught the King's eye in 1540 as a 16 year old lady-in-waiting to his fourth wife Anne of Cleves. Just days after his swift divorce from Anne he married Katherine, he was 49, she no more than 16 or 17. However her abundant livlieness and vivaciousness that so attracted Henry would lead to her downfall.

She had been "friendly" with a number of young men before her marriage and she foolishly continued to see and exchange letters with them afterwards. As a member of the powerful Howard Katherine had many enemies and in November 1541 Henry was informed of her past and alleged present behaviour and that she had a pre-contract to marry one Thomas Culpepper. The pre-contract had never been formally annulled and therefore her marriage to the King was technically unlawful.

Already of a suspicious nature Henry determined to be rid of Katherine and in a cunning move a law was passed in January 1542 which made it treason for a prospective bride of the King to fail to reveal her past sexual history and any pre-contracts. In order to avoid an embarrassing trial Parliament passed an Act of Attainder, in effect condemning her without trial, in February and accordingly she was sentenced to death.

She was beheaded on Tower Green aged no more than 18 or 19.

13 February 1542 - Katherine Howard beheaded.

The fifth and youngest of Henry VIII's six wives. She caught the King's eye in 1540 as a 16 year old lady-in-waiting to his fourth wife Anne of Cleves. Just days after his swift divorce from Anne he married Katherine, he was 49, she no more than 16 or 17. However her abundant livlieness and vivaciousness that so attracted Henry would lead to her downfall.

She had been "friendly" with a number of young men before her marriage and she foolishly continued to see and exchange letters with them afterwards. As a member of the powerful Howard Katherine had many enemies and in November 1541 Henry was informed of her past and alleged present behaviour and that she had a pre-contract to marry one Thomas Culpepper. The pre-contract had never been formally annulled and therefore her marriage to the King was technically unlawful.

Already of a suspicious nature Henry determined to be rid of Katherine and in a cunning move a law was passed in January 1542 which made it treason for a prospective bride of the King to fail to reveal her past sexual history and any pre-contracts. In order to avoid an embarrassing trial Parliament passed an Act of Attainder, in effect condemning her without trial, in February and accordingly she was sentenced to death.

She was beheaded on Tower Green aged no more than 18 or 19.

‍Pre-contract? Please advise,

A pre contract is something we did 500 years ago, which the islamic community is still practicing today. It's where you promise your daughter to another family's son, even if they are only youngsters and have never met. Rather barbaric when you think about it in modern, enlightened Christian times.