Like Father, Like Son

Posted on by Frank Brinkley

He began badly and ended worse. Often viewed as a minor historical figure, James, Duke of Monmouth, led an unsuccessful rebellion against his uncle James II at the start of that king’s short reign. The 36-year-old bastard son of Charles II, Monmouth was proclaimed king of England by his supporters on 20 June 1685. Less […]

Fight & Flight

Posted on by Frank Brinkley

‘If England were fairly polled, the present king would be sent away to-night,’ Dr Johnson announced in September 1777, during what Boswell calls a ‘violent’ after-dinner argument with his host, a Whig named Dr Taylor. George III had possession of the throne, Johnson admitted, but the Hanoverians could never rule by ‘inherent right’. That right […]

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