This Month in History
April

England lost its chance at having a King Arthur during this month in history, when King Henry VII eldest son Arthur died aged 16.

April also saw the death of Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of history's most beguiling women, and that of her favourite son, Richard the Lionheart.

Eleanor and Richard stand right at the beginning of England's longest-ruling family, the Plantagenets. King Edward IV, who also died during this month in history, is the second to last English monarch of that line.

On a more cheerful note, April also saw the coronations of Edward the Confessor and King Charles II - the glories of whose coronation we can still read about in great detail in Samuel Pepys' diaries.

1 April 1204
Death of Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine heads my list of fantasy dinner party guests. Queen of France and Queen of England, crusader, wife of two kings and mother of two more, ruler of England - and beautiful, sophisticated, headstrong and passionate.

A woman men died to abduct and men died to protect. The only woman able to raise the huge ransom demanded for the release of her son, King Richard the Lionheart.

She had a long, eventful life. By medieval standards a very long one. She died on this day in 1204, but I still wish I could have met her.

2 April 1502
Death of Arthur, Prince of Wales

Did England ever have a King Arthur? Experts argue about that one, but they cannot argue with the fact that we almost did.

The eldest son of King Henry VII and his wife, Elizabeth of York, was named Arthur and he was heir to the throne until his early death in 1502. He was only 16 years old.

Named after England's legendary king, he'd been born in Winchester, the ancient capital of Wessex. It was hoped he would securely unite the formerly warring factions of the Wars of the Roses and lead England to renewed greatness.

Instead, his younger brother succeeded to the throne as Henry VIII ... and we all know where that led.

3 April 1043
Coronation of Edward the Confessor

Edward was crowned on this day - Easter Sunday - in Winchester's Saxon cathedral. His path to the crown had not been straight. He'd lived in exile in Normandy for a time and was inclined to look to the continent for inspiration.

A deeply pious man, he spent all of his years as monarch building an abbey on a deserted island in the Thames just outside London. An abbey we all know: Westminster. And it's there that all subsequent English monarchs have been crowned.

4 April 1581
Francis Drake is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I

I grew up with Francis Drake's adventures: his daring raids on Spanish treasure ships, his marvellous three-year circumnavigation, his battle against the mighty Spanish Armada. He must have been a forceful man to achieve so much, energetic and determined.

On this day, just after he'd returned - laden with treasure - from sailing around the world, Queen Elizabeth I attended a banquet on board Drake's ship, the Golden Hind. (Even though, having been on the replica ship I cannot imagine where they found space to sit down to eat!)

She also knighted him, right there on the quarter-deck. A fitting tribute for such a successful seafarer, pirate or not.

6 April 1199
Death of King Richard the Lionheart

Richard the Lionheart, King of England since 1189, died at the siege of Chalus from an arrow wound. He's one of England's most popular kings, even though he didn't speak English, barely spent any time in the country and used it mainly to finance his wars.

Richard was most at home in Aquitaine, and that's where he died. Doing what he did best ... fighting. He was only forty-one and his death was wholly unnecessary, driven by greed and anger and probably carelessness.

He was succeeded as King of England by his brother John, who quickly became one of England's least popular kings.

9 April 1483
Death of King Edward IV

Edward IV, eldest son of the Duke of York, looked every inch like a king. When he rode into London for his coronation - aged only 19 - people cheered him. He was a good battle commander, but he also loved to live. As he grew older he spent less time in the saddle and more time at the table ... or in someone's bed. It's thought that the excess finally killed him. He was only forty years old and his son, the future Edward V, was still a child.

So the stage was set for more controversy. Edward's younger brother succeeded to the throne as King Richard III and Edward's two young sons became The Princes in the Tower

14 April 1471
The Battle of Barnet

The early years of King Edward IV's reign are marred by several ferocious battles, as power shifted and men changed allegiances. None was more adept at that than the Earl of Warwick. He'd begun as Edward's ally, but had later married his daughter Anne to the Prince of Wales and joined forces with the Queen. At Barnet, all his machinations came to an end.

The battle was fought just north of High Barnet, in dense fog. Edward prevailed and both the Earl of Warwick and his brother were killed. Only weeks later at the Battle of Tewkesbury the Prince of Wales also became a casualty and the Lancastrian cause was lost.

17 April 1194
Richard the Lionheart is crowned for the second time

It can't have been easy for a man as proud as King Richard I to spend 13 months as a prisoner in a German castle, not knowing when (or even if) he would be freed.

There were many things to worry him. A graceless younger brother scheming for his crown and the truly enormous ransom demanded for his release were only two of those. But men kept faith and the ransom was raised and exchanged for the King's freedom.

And on this day, Richard was crowned King of England for a second time, affirming his right to the throne, showing the world that he was back in business.

23 April 1661
Coronation of King Charles II

England had been torn apart by civil war, had seen its king die on the scaffold, had endured the repressions and restrictions of Oliver Cromwell. Now order was being restored.

When Charles II came home for his coronation, people rejoiced. They celebrated unashamedly, wishing their new king - and themselves - all the good fortune that had eluded them for so long.